Deer season is not over in many states and as this picture shows, some decent bucks have survived the firearm seasons and are still “available.” In bad weather situations, a cellular camera is an ideal way to keep tabs on your stands and animal activity in the area. Unfortunately, freezing temperatures are battery killers, and getting there to replace them is difficult and expensive when you must replace 8-12 batteries.
Security and Wildlife
Vosker cameras are sold as security devices, yet they caught my eye due to their price and built-in solar panel. My deer stands are difficult to access and I wanted a camera that would send images instantly and not require frequent visits to replace batteries. This V200 model works day and night and extends the life of 8 AA batteries to a year in my experience.
Technology and I do not do well. Fortunately, the camera was very easy to set up and the digital screen and minimal buttons were easy to navigate. You scan a QR code with your cell phone which loads the app and installs the camera. Once done you get this screen that will allow you to make sure that the camera is working and you get a preview of what it sees. Notice the “searching network” tab and the battery charge which are visibly displayed. You toggle up and down the menu with the buttons and then push “OK” when you want to read them.
Solar Power
Solar panels work best when they face the sun for long periods of time. Both of my stand sites are on northwest slopes where getting direct sunlight is difficult. Despite this disadvantage, the camera extended the life of my batteries for about a year. the camera takes photos, time-lapse photos, video, and photos plus time-lapse images.
Easy Peasy
The battery compartments of some cameras are difficult to load. Not this one. Push a button and the back of the camera pops open with a diagram so that you don’t get the polarity of the batteries mixed up. You will note dirt and debris in this camera, the reason for which will be clear in the next image. This camera has been in the field for two full years in very harsh conditions.
Black Bear Toy
Black bears have been the biggest challenge to this camera. They have torn it down three times and doing “who knows what” in the process. Notice that the belt clips that make the camera easy to attach to a tree have been completely torn off. This meant that the camera lay in the leaves and snow for a week or more until I could rescue it.
Incredible Customer Service
My camera stopped working two weeks ago. I learned that the camera was taking pictures and saving them to my media card, yet not sending them cellularly. I called customer service on two occasions, waited about 5 seconds each time and the same person walked me through a solution. Apparently, my media card failed and after reformatting it and reinstalling the software, it worked immediately. I’ve never worked with a company where I got such accurate, concerned, and speedy customer service.
Great Night Pics
Daylight only tells half of the story. These two youngsters are about to square off and will be shooter-size next fall. I have artificial licking branches at this site, yet the motion sensors only fires when an animal is present. The night identity range is easily 50 feet.
Sharp Color Images
I set my camera for instant transmission, something that quickly burns battery life in other cameras. Although clear, these cellular images are smaller in size than traditional cameras. If you want more detailed images, you can retrieve them from the media card. My goal is to know what animals are near my stand and Vosker has done an economical and consistently great job of delivering to my phone each day. I highly recommend them. www.Vosker.com
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