Cheap Trail cam

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   I recently purchased  this trail cam on Temu for $35.
The camera requires 8x AA batteries and a micro SD card or up to 32GB before it can be used. 

Initially I was not too impressed with the performance at night with the out of the box settings. Both videos and still pictures were very grainy and difficult to see much detail.  I did try setting up a solar powered motion detecting spotlight which worked quite well.  However I have  now found that  reducing the resolution on videos or stills to 1280x720 works quite well.  Below is an example of a night picture at this setting.  I don't seem to be able to upload videos but the clarity is very similar.   

Both pictures and videos  in daylight are good at this resolution.  The device has a USB port which makes it simple to download to a PC, tablet or phone.  There is a small LCD screen on the device that enables viewing captured images/pictures directly.

There is a reasonable range of settings for both video and still pictures.   The  manual is  quite basic so I'm still testing some settings to get a full understanding of what these cameras are able to do.

The batteries seem to last 10-14 days using the camera for around 8-10 hours a night.   There are some settings  that may improve this.   With the the maximum 32gb microSD card I would expect you would run out of power before you would run out of storage.    

The camera seams to be reasonably weather proof - it has stood up way better than the solar security light I had which died after the first decent overnight rain.

Overall I am happy with this trail cam, in fact I have now purchased a second one. 

Edited by -Ec - 17 Oct 2025 at 10:52am

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-Ec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 02 Sep 2025 Location: Matamau Status: Offline Posts: 48	Post Options Post Reply Quote -Ec Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Topic: Cheap Trail cam Posted: 17 Oct 2025 at 10:50am
	I recently purchased this trail cam on Temu for $35. The camera requires 8x AA batteries and a micro SD card or up to 32GB before it can be used. Initially I was not too impressed with the performance at night with the out of the box settings. Both videos and still pictures were very grainy and difficult to see much detail. I did try setting up a solar powered motion detecting spotlight which worked quite well. However I have now found that reducing the resolution on videos or stills to 1280x720 works quite well. Below is an example of a night picture at this setting. I don't seem to be able to upload videos but the clarity is very similar. Both pictures and videos in daylight are good at this resolution. The device has a USB port which makes it simple to download to a PC, tablet or phone. There is a small LCD screen on the device that enables viewing captured images/pictures directly. There is a reasonable range of settings for both video and still pictures. The manual is quite basic so I'm still testing some settings to get a full understanding of what these cameras are able to do. The batteries seem to last 10-14 days using the camera for around 8-10 hours a night. There are some settings that may improve this. With the the maximum 32gb microSD card I would expect you would run out of power before you would run out of storage. The camera seams to be reasonably weather proof - it has stood up way better than the solar security light I had which died after the first decent overnight rain. Overall I am happy with this trail cam, in fact I have now purchased a second one. Edited by -Ec - 17 Oct 2025 at 10:52am
	Regards -Ec

Pauly5 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Forum Moderator Joined: 11 Mar 2013 Location: Titahi Bay Status: Offline Posts: 1662	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pauly5 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 Oct 2025 at 8:38am
	Thanks Ec, I have often wondered how good the cheaper ones were. I had bought a more expensive one for work a few years ago and I was never very impressed with the battery perfermance and then it just died anyway. So that's quite a reasonable price. I use them to see what's happening in peoples ceilings or under their houses.

-Ec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 02 Sep 2025 Location: Matamau Status: Offline Posts: 48	Post Options Post Reply Quote -Ec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 Oct 2025 at 9:25am
	I got my first one beginning of September and the 2nd around two weeks later - so have not had them long but now that I have the settings sorted I'm pretty happy with them. I'm using some rechargeable AA batteries I already had in the first one. I was using some cheap alkaline batteries in the 2nd but when they needed changing yesterday I went out and got rechargeable for it. I use them for seeing what is moving around the property at night. They come with a strap to attach them to trees/fence posts but as they also have a screw thread on the bottom I have put an old security camera mount on a post in next to the chickens feeder and use a mini tripod for the other so I can use it in different locations. Last night I tried the 2nd in a new location and had a possum come right up to it and knock it over! Really keen to set them both down by stream that runs through the farm next door as I know there are quite a few deer down there.
	Regards -Ec

-Ec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 02 Sep 2025 Location: Matamau Status: Offline Posts: 48	Post Options Post Reply Quote -Ec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 hours 59 minutes ago at 12:01am
	Here are a couple of videos from one of these cameras I placed a camera under the trees on our boundary fence line and this is what happened https://youtu.be/HGWygGm2Ous I have camera mount set up next to the chook food dispencer ... https://youtu.be/_15FBTEFUqE
	Regards -Ec

RangerPete Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 19 Apr 2023 Location: Cambridge. Status: Offline Posts: 1023	Post Options Post Reply Quote RangerPete Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 7 hours 56 minutes ago at 9:04am
	I have an old bushnell that I've had for years. it takes decent photos and videos, certainly good enough to show you whats going on out there when your not looking. I live in town, so I use mine to monitor all the stray cats that come through my garden, so far I have identified 7. Wouldnt mind getting a few of the cheep ones you have tried! What do you think this cat was doing...???
	Walk quietly, but carry a big stick.

kruzaroad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 03 Jul 2022 Location: Hastings 4 now Status: Offline Posts: 2614	Post Options Post Reply Quote kruzaroad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 7 hours 44 minutes ago at 9:16am
	Having a spiritual awaking by the way the tail glows lol -Ec is the camera set too different pixel rates? The difference between clarity of close and distance is rather bombastic. Distance photo is clear too. Edited by kruzaroad - 7 hours 40 minutes ago at 9:20am

-Ec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 02 Sep 2025 Location: Matamau Status: Offline Posts: 48	Post Options Post Reply Quote -Ec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 3 hours 35 minutes ago at 1:25pm
	Kruza, Both the videos and still photos are using 1280x720 Still photos can go upto 4840x3486 and video to 1920x1080. Haven't tried Stills at any other resolution but videos in the dark at the max are too grainy. Haven't tried lower resolutions for either as I'm happy with the results I'm getting FWIW below is a video of a magpie in early morning https://youtu.be/xVYvFXR1m8Q
	Regards -Ec