In this series, I will do my best to relay to you the strong points and weaknesses we found in each one of the cameras we used over a four month period from July through October to help us scout for elk, deer, bears and lions in the high country of southwest New Mexico. Once I finish these reviews, we will put the cameras back to work out in the desert lowlands scouting for our January deer, sheep and ibex hunts. A second round of reviews will follow for each camera at the conclusion of those hunts.
The next camera we reviewed is the Wildgame Innovations Pulse 10 (Model x10). The technical specifications of this camera as advertised are as follows:
- Oversized 2” Display
- JPEG Photos or AVI video clips
- 10.0MP Resolution Photos on Hi Resolution (can be reduced)
- 36 High Intensity LED’s with 55’ Range
- Uses 8 AA Batteries
- Runs up to two months on one set of batteries
- Adjustable PIR (Lo/Med/High)
- Programmable trigger interval: 15 seconds to 10 minutes
- 1 image per trigger
- Video length: 30 seconds
- PIR sensor is motion activated out to 55 feet
- SD card slot (up to 16GB)
- Up to 300 feet Wi-Fi capability with optional YN1 Unit
Now that we know what the technical claims are for this camera, let’s talk about what we found it can really do. Overall, we found this camera to be an excellent performer in our reviews. With an MSRP of less than $169.99, this camera provides a bunch of extras for the money. We found the Wildgame Innovation line of cameras to be dependable, reliable and to take excellent quality photos.
The 36 high intensity LED lights were far better than advertised. We picked a hard to shoot area to use this camera. We knew that the majority of the photos we would get in this area would be at night with our focus being on a mature Coues Whitetail that was extremely nocturnal. Based on the location selected, we knew that the IR flash would have to perform at least as good as advertised for the camera to catch our buck. Wow, did it ever work. We had numerous pictures of the buck far beyond the claimed IR flash range, up to 30 feet beyond. Each photo was very bright and very clear.
The PIR sensor worked far better than advertised. The specifications on the camera listed the PIR range at 55 feet. We had numerous photos where the subject triggered the camera at well over 90 feet at the high sensitivity setting (you can set it for low, medium or high sensitivity)! Overall, the Wildgame Innovations sensor circuits and the sensor system in the Pulse 10 is excellent exceeding all expectations in range.
The trigger speed / response time was excellent as well. All of our pictures caught the subject full frame (no back half photos) with all well centered adding to the quality of the photos. The specifications for the camera simply listed the trigger speed as “rapid” and we found this to be true, with the Pulse 10 clearly competing with cameras in the same price range with advertised trigger speeds of 1 second.
The photo interval is selected by the user at intervals between 15 seconds and 10 minutes. As such, we did not review the recovery time beyond what the camera said it would do. Recovery time fell within the presets in each case, and photos were at even intervals just as we had selected on the preset menu.
The picture quality for the Pulse 10 as well as every other Wildgame Innovations camera we have used is excellent! The pictures were extremely clear and sharp with extra detail and color. The night pictures were top of the line. This is the strong point of the Wildgame lineup of cameras, top to bottom, daylight through dark, the quality of the photos is great! Each picture is date and time stamped with the moon phase and temperature included.
The Pulse 10 camera has the ability to record VGI videos, 30 seconds in length, both during the day and at night, that adds to the versatility of the camera. The excellent photo quality of the still images carries over into the videos as well, and the video quality is excellent on this model.
The camera operates on 8 AA batteries. Battery life was above average compared with the other cameras we reviewed and have used. After 4 months and lots of pictures and videos, the batteries were ready for replacement. Overall, battery life was good compared to the advertised duty cycle for the camera. Of course, battery life is very dependent on the number of pictures and videos the camera takes, and whether they are at day or at night.
The Pulse 10 is extremely easy to program, with the LCD display console and power button located right inside the protective housing of the camera. The only thing this camera was missing was a way to secure it down without purchasing a separate security box. Wildgame Innovations does sell security boxes and/or security brackets to offset this issue for each model.
Wildgame Innovation pushes the envelope on this model with the addition of the Fieldnet Wi-Fi technology. Unlike cellular enabled cameras, Fieldnet Technology is a local area remote technology similar to your home wireless network. Fieldnet does not utilize a cellular tower network to communicate, nor does it require cellular technology. Fieldnet is a revolutionary new way to locally network and remotely access your game scouting cameras from up to 300 feet away. Hook it up and you can view, edit, delete, and download all images from your cameras without ever having to be present at the camera itself. You will never have to swap another SD card again from your camera, and as a result not disturb your hunting area! The camera requires a separate Wi-Fi attachment to utilize this aspect of it. We did not test the Wi-Fi capabilities in this trail, but can’t wait to do so in the near future.
I would highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for a cutting edge camera that won’t be outdated in a couple of years. The excellent photo quality, the ability to record videos day or night, and the Wi-Fi potential with this model make it a must have camera in the gear bag! To top all of that off, this is the best photo quality camera we have ever used.
For more go to: Wildgame Innovations
