# BAD CAMERA BY STEALTH CAM DON'T BUY



## firebreather

My wife purchased a Stealth Cam STC-AD3X for me for Christmas 1 1/2 years ago from Bass Pro Shop and now it doesnt work.    She did alot of research on the digital game cameras before buying it for me because she knew how much I wanted one, a good one.  I had an old one (not digital) but it didn't take pictures half the time.  She even went so far as to go to Bass Pro Shop in Atlanta and talk to a rep. before she purchased it.  We should have known something wasn't right from the beginning because when we took the card from the camera to have the pictures developed we learned that it was not compatible w/Wal-Mart or any picture printing place like that, so we had to develope pictures on the computer at home.  Then, to top it off, when I went to get the camera from my "honey hole" about 2 weeks ago I was very disappointed to find that it did not work at all!  There was no power to the camera, even with the battery pack connected to it (fully charged) at 6.75 vdc.  You guys can understand how mad this makes me because I have pictures of piebald deers as well as some huge bucks on the camera, but can't get to them because the camera won't power up.  My wife emailed Stealth Cam and was told that there was a 1 year warranty from date of purchase and that all we could do was call                .  At this point my wife was "fed up" with it and feeling she had disappointed me in this purchase, so I called them.  I explained the situation and told them I thought it was the power supply board  they agreed, and that, that part was on back order and since I am in electrical maintenance I could fix it myself if they would just send the board to me.  They informed me that they could not do that, that the whole camera had to be sent in and they would charge me to look at the camera and then fix it if I wanted .Then I said let me talk with your boss well he's at an doctors appt. he'll call you back what do you think happened , he never called.    We, in turn, called Bass Pro Shop to ask them their policy on this since they are a worldwide company and have always said they "stand by their products".  We were told they have a 90 day return policy and other than that they couldn't help us. This whole situation infuriates me because my wife spent her hard earned money on this for me  400 dollars total and now it's useless. Has anybody else ever had this problem with a Stealth Cam or in dealing with this company?         
I guess i'll wish for a cuddyback from santa this year ,because it won't be a stealth cam and maybe  santa will buy direct not from butt pro shoot shops


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## gadeerwoman

Unfortunately it seems that stealth cams and moultrie cams, stealth in particular, there have been just too many problems with them to justify a purchase. You got a few folks who have gotten lucky and got one that worked fine, but the vast majority have has nothing but continuing bad luck with them even when they got replacements free.


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## deerbandit

My father and I had two of the old 35mm cameras and his didnt work that good but mine would fill up a roll of flim in about two weeks. Last thanksgiving I believe basspro had digital trail cameras on sale so we went to look at them it was to wildview (by stealth cam) they were two for $90.00 so we bought 2 packs of them. Was about all we could afford my father had just had two cancer surgerys and open heart surgery around thanksgiving. We did not know who made them when we bought them just liked the price once he found out who made them he wanted to take them back but I talked him out of it. We have hade them in the woods from Jan. till now and the only problem we have had is that one of the memory cards that we purchased seperatly is not working good but other than that it has been great the flash is a little weak but not bad for $90.00. So over all we have had a good experience with stealth cam.


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## HUNTINGJUNKIE

deerbandit said:


> My father and I had two of the old 35mm cameras and his didnt work that good but mine would fill up a roll of flim in about two weeks. Last thanksgiving I believe basspro had digital trail cameras on sale so we went to look at them it was to wildview (by stealth cam) they were two for $90.00 so we bought 2 packs of them. Was about all we could afford my father had just had two cancer surgerys and open heart surgery around thanksgiving. We did not know who made them when we bought them just liked the price once he found out who made them he wanted to take them back but I talked him out of it. We have hade them in the woods from Jan. till now and the only problem we have had is that one of the memory cards that we purchased seperatly is not working good but other than that it has been great the flash is a little weak but not bad for $90.00. So over all we have had a good experience with stealth cam.



We have 2 of the same exact camera's and they are nothing but junk!! Ours is taking nothing but blank pictures!!


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## elfiii

If you are going to own a trail camera, you are going to experience problems, regardless of the model.

1. They stay outside, thus are subject to temperature and humidity extremes.

2. If placed in an open area, they will be bombarded by UV rays from the sun. In addition to the heat, the UV rays will "cook" the camera.

3. If you buy a "moderately priced" product, you should expect "moderate" success with same product.

I have two Cuddeback 3.0's and One Moultrie Gamespy 200. One of the Cudde's is about 2 years old. Its' been back to the factory once. The other Cudde is one year old. It is currently back at the factory for the second time in 90 days. Seems there is a woodpecker in my locale who just doesn't like the motion sensor on this camera and keeps pecking holes in the cover.

The Moutrie is about 8 months old and has been in the field since the day after it was bought. It is going back to Moultrie today as the digital display quit working last week. Other than that, it has performed flawlessly. The only thing I don't like about this camera is the "full moon eyes" all the deer have in pictures taken at night.

So far, the customer service at Non Typical (Cuddeback) has been excellent. The Moultrie folks were cordial on the phone yesterday and there will be no charge for repair of my camera. We shall see how long it takes them to repair it.

Maybe you are expecting too much? Like I said, if you are going to operate a trail camera, you are going to have problems with it. Too me, there are two issues that determine "quality" for this type of product.

1. Mean time between failures - does the camera work long enough and well enough before it breaks to make the purchase "worth it"?

2. When the camera breaks, what is the quality of the customer service/technical support?

If the customer service at Moultrie is good and the camera is repaired and functions properly, I might consider buying another Moultrie. The Cudde's are "too blue for my blood" even though they take a good picture.


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## Hoss

Hate to see folks having problems with em, but Elfiii has some good points.  These cameras are put in a pretty tough environment, so failures are going to happen.  Customer service may be as important as price with these.

Hoss


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## Killdee

Elfiii does make some good points and btw the next time they peck the fresnal lens out pm me and I'll send you 1 save you some shipping.I will say this again, all my homebrews stay out year round some are 5-7yrs old with no problens. I always keep silica packets in my cams to absorb moisture from sweating and swap them out every couple mounths.The technology is avalible to build reliable units but the mfgs are to cheap to use them.They would rather use poor control boards than lose the 30-40$  to use a reliable on.


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## Arrow3

My cudde has been nothing but great....My moultrie was shipped back a week ago...


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## whitetaco02

Arrow3 said:


> My cudde has been nothing but great....My moultrie was shipped back a week ago...




What was wrong with it?


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## Arrow3

whitetaco02 said:


> What was wrong with it?



Just stopped working....Wouldn't even come on.


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## swampdaddy

I wouldnt give a moultrie to someone i hated.
They are terrible!!!!!!!!!! I had 7 of them at one point ( my dumb@#%*&) bought them all at once 4 years ago and they sit on the shelf now. Nothing but utter frustration. The Moultrie customer service is good but the cameras all kept breaking or not working at all. 
I dont reccomend buying one. Can you tell
swampdaddy


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## one_shot_no_mor

*What he said...*



Killdee said:


> Elfiii does make some good points and btw the next time they peck the fresnal lens out pm me and I'll send you 1 save you some shipping.I will say this again, all my homebrews stay out year round some are 5-7yrs old with no problens. I always keep silica packets in my cams to absorb moisture from sweating and swap them out every couple mounths.The technology is avalible to build reliable units but the mfgs are to cheap to use them.They would rather use poor control boards than lose the 30-40$  to use a reliable on.


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## bestbucks

I'm thinking of trying a cuddeback this time. Can anyone tell me about the video features of these cameras and how well they work? Also, in terms of reliable cameras the original Camtrackers sold out of Watkinsville Ga. have been very reliable for me. I bought two in 1997 with an average usage of six months out of a year, and they have withstood brutal punishment from me. To have to  go through my abuse and are still working fine, you won't go wrong with these cameras. As a matter of fact, their both mounted to a tree right now and working fine.


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## DoeMaster

I agree with elfiii.........using digital cameras is a constant struggle.  I've tried many different types and they've all had problems.  I now try to keep three going.  I have a new Cuddeback, a Bushnell, and a Moultrie.  Seems like I'm having trouble with at least one camera all the time.  My old Trailmac 35mm is the best camera I've ever had.  It's about 4 years old and I've never had a problem with it.  Unfortunately, the film and processing cost is just too much.  I still use it when I find a good scrape during the rut.  I know I can count on the old 35mm to show me what I need to see.  The digitals are pretty good to put on feeders or food plots, but they're very unreliable.  Hopefully the technology will get better.


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## elfiii

bestbucks said:


> I'm thinking of trying a cuddeback this time. Can anyone tell me about the video features of these cameras and how well they work?



They work fine, but spend a few extra bucks and see if Killdee will build you one of his homebrews.


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## firebreather

I appreciate the input but 
i 'm gonna get i leaf river or cuddie expert .when stealth cam said that power supply boards were on back order .
i replace those at work thought of makin a frankinstein board camera out of one . but they wouldn't even offer to send me a board so i'm done with them and will always tell people their a piece of crap . and arrow3 will give me heck about purchasing one of the cuddy back so in short good bye 400 dollars stealth cam who??????


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## Arrow3

Bruce....You will enjoy a cuddeback...


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## firebreather

i hope so


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## Auchumpkee Creek Assassin

i have the  WILDVIEW trail cam( 100 dollar digi), been working for 2 years no problems...........my 2 cents


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## Luckybuck

Have two cameras, first was a deer cam scouting camera 35 mm.  Worked for a couple of years then started eating batterys and would not retain power to leave in field.  Was going to send back for repairs but was told they do not have parts for this camera anymore, so it is now closet junk.

My moultrie is a 3.1 digital game spy that worked decent for about a year.  Now I am having problem as you can walk back and forth in front of camera and it will not detect you.  Sometimes after you pass in front of camera on the second pass it will activate and take picture.  Anyone know what is going on with the Moultrie.

Also, thought about buy a Cuddelback, but after reading many of the reviews I am afraid to invest in this camera as well.  Seems there is a lot of negative input about the camera.  Cuddleback did say they would allow 75 credit off purchase of high end Cuddleback with return of the deer cam.  Seems to me that all the cameras have some problems, just the roll of the dice I suppose.


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## Jack Flynn

I just bought a couple of cameras and I'll have to say that the user is probably the worst enemy with them. I've found out that if I follow the rules laid out by the manufacturer that they will work seems like. But one push of a button or the wrong cord and you just might lock it up or shut it down. I'll know more come Monday. Going to get mine and download the pics from Screven  County.


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