Cuddeback Capture Reviews

[Goose]

Any experience with Cuddeback's Capture Model? Please let us know how you rate them.

Camera Details - http://www.cuddeback.com/models.html

[Goose]

My brother and I both bought a Capture for 2009. We ran them last year from July to February. We had no major problems with them. Every once in a while a picture will be missing the yellow for some reason so everything appears to be red. The battery life is so-so, when it gets cold here in WI they don't seem to last real long which can get pricey if your running a couple of them. The trigger speed is fast, we have pictures of owls, rabbits, squirrels etc...Its easy to set up and get running.

Likes:
-Fast trigger speed
-pictures are clear and centered
-easy to set up
-dependable
-SD card is very easy to access

Dislikes:
-Couple of red pictures
-Cant tell battery level
-Seems like if batteries go completely dead, the SD card is not readable, rendering all pics on the card unreadable which is really frustrating.

I would say that this is a good camera but not perfect.

[gunther89]

I owned one for roughly a year and when it was working I loved the camera.  The trigger speed is fast and you won't miss a deer or other animal.  I also liked how the day time pictures weren't white if the sun was shinning.  The battery life was decent for me as they lasted about 6 months.

The dislikes are there is only a year warranty on the camera.  After a year is up you will have to pay for all your repairs and I believe they will cost you alot of money to fix it.  The customer service is the worst I have seen as they kept sending me replacement cameras that didn't work.  I also don't like how there isn't a video mode and no battery level indication. 

[mbcook]

I have had the capture model for about 6 months now i was very pleased with it up until the last couple of weeks. The camera takes great pictures you can literally count the hairs on a deers body the clarity is great, and the trigger speed is unbelievable. With that being said the camera is great when its working right, but the last few times i have had the camera out it keeps taking pictures every 30 seconds of nothing. I dont know whats causing this, but hopefully i can get tit fixed quick.

[Wanderer]

Is the camera in a place where it gets direct sunlight for most of the day?. One of my Moultries did the same thing when I put it overlooking a feeder in an open area. The trigger supposedly "reads" body heat and movement. If the camera gets heated up to much from direct sunlight, it can't really tell body heat from ambient air temperature and it'll take a picture of any movement (branches swaying in the breeze,etc).

[mbcook]

the camera is in a relatively shady area so i dont think its the sunlight thats doing it and it also does the same thing at night, but there are some bushes directly out in front of the camera maybe 20 ft or so but i cant think of anywhere i would put my camera besides a field that i wouldnt be looking at some sort of bush or tree limb that may sway....any suggestions? 

[gunther89]

I would suggest to remove the batteries and put them back in.  If that doesn't work you will probably have to call cuddeback about the problem.

[mbcook]

thanks scott i will try that although i did just put new batteries in it so maybe that has something to do with it...if not hopefully they will work with me at cuddeback 

[gruberr]

mbcook,
 
I had the same thing keep happening to my 2 Cuddeback Experts 3 years ago.  I stumbled across some info on the Net back then claiming excessive moister and rain will create this condition with the Cuddeback Experts (maybe it can happen with some of the Captures too (bad seal??), not sure).  So to fix this problem, I purchased Bear Safe cages for the cameras and also put 3/4 of a 5 gallon pail, specially cut out to protect the camera and painted up in camo over the top of the Camera/Bear Safe as it is screwed into the tree.
 
The deer don't seem to mind the 5 gallon pail setup at all, even the very mature bucks (many, many repeated visits by multiple mature bucks, one absolute giant that is 6/7 years old).  I even think it helps hide the camera a bit.
 
Since then I've never had those 2 cameras fail once with this condition, where it was repeatedly happening before I did this.  It was very frustrating to have happen and a great feeling to solve the problem as I love the quality centered pics Cuddebacks produce.  Wish I could attach a picture to show you how this looks, but my cameras are out in the woods already and they are 2 hours away in far western WI.  Whether or not the same thing is happening to your Capture, not sure, but might be worth a try.
 
If this thread is still going in a month or two when I go back there to pick up pics, I'll try to remember to take a picture of the setup and re-post on this thread.
 
With all the rain we've been getting this year, I'm feeling much better knowing a bulk of the precip (if not all) is not getting to the 2 Experts.

[kevjack6]

I love my Capture. I haven't had a single issue with it and I've had it out non-stop for 1 1/2 years. Sure, it could have a battery indicator and video but other than that, for the money, it is one of the best in my opinion. I've tried several of the others and almost gave up on scouting cameras altogether. I was sick of replacing batteries every other week only to find a card full of pictures of nothing. I keep saying I'm going to smash the S------Cam I have into pieces and send it back to the company!

Luckily, I haven't had to deal with customer service so I can't comment.

One time for about a two-week stretch I was getting "empty" pictures only during the day. I was able to go to my land on a sunny day during the week one time and found out what was happening. For most of the day, the camera was in full sun (it was fall so the days were cool but sunny). Cluster flies were congregating on the sensor which was causing the camera to take a picture every 30 seconds! Weird, I know. I moved the camera into a shady area and the problem stopped. The sensor is dark so it attracted the heat from the sun and I guess made it a comfy place for the flies to land.

Anyway, just my $.02!