If you’re looking for your first cellular trail camera or to replace an existing trail camera, you’ve come to the right place.
In this blog post, I’ll outline the 11 best cellular trail cameras available on the market today.
We’ll discuss each one’s specs and pros and cons, so that you can make an informed decision about which one is best for you.
So without further ado, let’s dive into the best cellular trail cameras!
What is a cellular trail camera?
If you’ve found this page, I’m willing to bet you’re already a full bottle on the ins and outs of cellular trail cameras. But for those new to the game, here is a quick rundown.
We all know what a camera is. We also know what a cell phone is. A cellular camera is just the love child of a camera and a cell phone. In other words, they are cameras that use 3G, 4G, 5G or another cellular network to transmit data.
Usually they are used to monitor the activities of wildlife. As such, they are installed in outdoor environments. Being a piece of outdoor gear, they have to be powered remotely. You’ll find a lot of them have an onboard solar charging system or are battery powered with long battery life.
Much like a phone, you will need a SIM card and data plan for the camera to transmit.
Whilst a lot of people use cellular trail cameras for hunting, if you’re anything like me, you may just want one to figure out what’s making weird noises outside your house, or to be nosey and watch the wildlife while they potter around your garden.
What is the best cellular trail camera?
To help you decide on your next cellular camera, here is a list of the 11 best cellular trail cameras.
#1: Spypoint Link-S Trail-DARK Camera
Specs
Stills resolution: 12MP
Trigger Speed: 0.07 sec
Video resolution: Full HD video (1080p)
Data storage: SD or SDHC card up to 32 GB
Power: Built in solar panel.
Data: 4G Data Plan
Detection range: 100′
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- Solar powered cellular trail camera.
- Claims to have fastest marketed trigger speed of any cellular trail camera.
- Daytime pictures possess bright colour, decent clarity and plenty of depth.
- Recovers faster than nearly any other cellular cam on the market.
- Solid case design.
- One of the few cameras that can be programmed to be on or off on certain days of the week.
- Unlimited photo downloads for free in your first month of use.
- Offers a free data plan so you can get up to 100 photos per month.
- One of the easiest trail cams to set up.
Cons
- Night vision photo quality depends on the mode you use so you may have to play around with it to get the best images.
- At the end of the detection range, images are a little blurry.
- Picture quality is decent but not exceptional.
#2: Stealthcam DS4K
Specs
Stills resolution: 32MP
Trigger Speed: <0.2 sec
Video resolution: 4K
Data storage: SD card up to 128 GB
Power: 12 AA batteries
Data: AT&T / Verizon
Detection range: 100′
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- This cellular trail camera has extremely high quality images and video.
- Great battery life.
- Trail camera has outstanding night time image quality.
- Great customer support.
- The camera’s app provides a lot of added value. It’s simple to use so you can change your camera settings on the fly.
- Clever design that means you won’t require a padlock in addition to a cable lock to fasten the door shut and secure the camera to a tree.
- Night videos are among the best you’ll see from low glow trail cams.
Cons
- Despite the seemingly fast trigger speed, a few people report seeing more of the back of an animal than they would like.
- In 4K mode the camera can only shoot 15 frames per second which results in very choppy video.
#3: Tactacam Reveal X
Specs
Stills resolution: 16 MP
Trigger Speed: <0.5s
Video resolution: Full HD.
Data storage: 16-32 GB
Power: AA batteries
Data: Verizon / AT&T
Detection range: 96+ft
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- Easy to use app.
- One of the more affordable trail cam options.
- Great customer service.
- Very compact trail camera.
- Built in WiFi.
- Can also log into a web portal to view your pictures.
Cons
- No built in display.
- Low glow flash.
- No option to transmit video clips via cellular network.
- User manual could be better.
- Not the fastest trigger speed for a trail cam.
#4: Bushnell CelluCORE 30
Specs
Stills resolution: 30MP
Trigger Speed: 0.2s
Video resolution: HD
Data storage: 32 GB SD card
Power: 12AA batteries
Data: AT&T / Verizon
Detection range: 100ft
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- First 30 days free.
- Very high picture quality compared to other cellular trail cameras.
- Great video quality. Shoots full HD at 60p.
- Reliable motion sensor.
Cons
- This trail camera is hard to find outisde the USA as it’s relatively new.
- Unsubtle design for a cellular trail camera.
- By virtue of it having such high quality images, you’ll need to keep an eye on storage.
#5: Covert Blackhawk LTE
Specs
Stills resolution: 20MP
Trigger Speed: 0.7s
Video resolution: N/A
Data storage: SD card up to 32 GB
Power: 12 AA batteries
Data: Verizon
Detection range: 100′
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- Camera sends photos directly to the Covert Qireless mobile app.
- Up to ten exposure burst shots.
- Invisible infared camera flash.
- Time lapse mode for long-term observation. A feature that other cellular trail cameras lack.
- Robust mobile app to operate your camera remotely.
- Option to use solar panel accessory.
Cons
- Limited cellular carriers.
- Some users report this trail camera has blurred and grainy images.
#6: Yellowstone.ai 4G LTE
Specs
Stills resolution: 12MP
Trigger Speed: 0.4s
Video resolution: 1080p HD
Data storage: 32 GB SD card
Power: 12 AA batteries or optional solar panel
Data: AT&T
Detection range: 65′
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- An amazingly versatile cellular trail camera with the option to buy a standard or wide lens.
- Camera comes with preconfigured SD and SIM data card.
- One of the easiest trail cams to set up.
- US based customer service (less of a pro if you live internationally).
- Trail camera has good battery life.
Cons
- Detection range is significantly shorter than other cellular trail cameras.
- Invisible flash so night pictures won’t be as bright and clear as cameras that use a visible flash.
- The passive infared motion detection technology occassionally misses.
#7: Moultrie Mobile Delta Base
Specs
Stills resolution: 24MP
Trigger Speed: 0.75s
Video resolution: Hi-Def video
Data storage: 32 GB
Power: AA alkaline / external lithium battery / solar panel accessory
Data: Verizon / AT&T
Detection range: 80′
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- External Cellboost antenna optimized for stronger cellular reception.
- All advanced features are free for all users.
- US-based customer service team.
- Free unlimited cloud storage.
- This trail camera has great picture quality.
- Very affordable price compared to other cellular trail cameras.
- One of the few affordable trail cams that comes with a no-glow flash.
Cons
- Trigger speed isn’t as fast as other cellular trail cameras.
- No GPS On-Demand like its predecessor.
- Limited number of transfers per month unless you purchase more, although not out of the ordinary for a trail camera.
#8: Spypoint Link Micro LTE
Specs
Stills resolution: 10 MP
Trigger Speed: 0.5s
Video resolution: None
Data storage: 32 GB Micro-SD
Power: 8 AA batteries
Data: AT&T
Detection range: 80′
Audio recording: N/A
Pros
- Very affordable cellular trail cams.
- It’s very small compared to other cellular trail cameras.
- Amazing battery life.
- 30 days of unlimited photos for free and then 100 photos free each month.
- Has international cell carriers. In the UK uses O2.
Cons
- Doesn’t have the best image quality compared to other cellular trail cameras.
- The quality of the photos transmitted to your phone can be suspect.
- You will fail to receive good quality night photos unless you position your camera with a timber backdrop for the infared flash to bounce off.
- Relatively cheap build compared to other cellular trail cameras.
#9: Browning Defender
Specs
Stills resolution: 20 MP
Trigger Speed: 0.3 – 0.7s adjustable
Video resolution: Full-HD
Data storage: Up to 512 GB
Power: 16 AA Batteries / external lithium batteries / solar panel
Data: Verizon / AT&T
Detection range: 80′
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- Great picture and video quality.
- For a cellular trail camera, this is very easy to use.
- Above-average detection range.
- Impressive flash range.
- Transmits video clips.
- Very fast trigger speed as compared to other cellular trail cameras.
Cons
- Low glow flash.
- This trail camera has no time-lapse feature.
- Not able to set hours of operation which is a very useful feature for trail cameras.
- Best for use with a PC.
#10: Spypoint CELL-LINK
Specs
Data storage: 32 GB
Power: 8 AA batteries
Pros
- Captured photographs transmitted instantly via LTE which is 10x faster than 3G or 4G.
- Time-lapse mode.
Cons
- Not technically a trail camera in itself, but can turn virtually any non-cellular camera that uses a standard SD card slot into a cellular trail camera.
#11: Spartan GoLive M
Specs
Stills resolution: 8 MP
Trigger Speed: 0.4 / 0.5s
Video resolution: 1080p
Data storage: 128 GB
Power: Internal lithium-ion cell / 12 AA batteries
Data: Spartan Shared Data
Detection range: 80′
Audio recording: Yes
Pros
- On demand live stream capabilities. Something a lot of other trail cameras don’t support.
- Internal rechargable battery.
- Has a GPS locator.
- Killer quality photo and video quality.
Cons
- Designed exclusively for Spartan Shared Data. This trail camera uses smart carrier switching to keep you connected throughout the US.
- Not a cheap trail cam.
What should I consider when buying cellular trail cameras?
Finding the best cellular trail camera is different for everyone. So while this article may have listed the best cellular trail cameras, you’ll still have to decide what is best for you.
Buying trail cameras is much like shopping for any other tech item. Everyone has different needs and likes different things.
The biggest consideration will obviously be budget. How much can you afford to spend? How much do you want to spend? You also need to factor in the cost of running trail cameras. You willl have to purchase data plans and often tiered subscriptions as well.
The next thing to consider is the tech specs of each trail cam and what is most important to you.
Will you want to use your trail cam at night? In order to capture photo and video at night, cellular trail cams use infared LEDs to illuminate the subject with no visible light used. The two main types of system used are no glow and low glow. No Glow produce very little visible light. They are virtually undetectable by the subject. Whereas low glow produces a faint red light which can sometimes alert the subject. However low glow cellular trail cams can illuminate better over longer distances.
Trigger speed is another important consideration. Trigger speed is the time taken for the camera to take a photo once movement has been detected. If you wish to catch a fast moving subject, you’ll need a lower trigger speed.
Recovery time is the time it takes your camera to recover and be ready to take another photo. If you want to capture a fast sequence of images, your trail cam will need a faster recovery time.
When buying cellular cameras or any other cameras, you’ll always need to consider the resolution. Higher resolution sensors, capture crisper images. An image taken from a 30MP camera will be noticably sharper than an image from a 10MP camera. However, with increased resolution, comes larger file sizes. This means spending more on storage.
Some trail cameras come with built in LED screens and others don’t. Will this make it harder for you to use? A built in viewing screen can be particularly useful if you want to take a few test shots.
Finally, you’ll likely want to consider how you cellular trail cam will be powered. Most cellular trail cameras require AA batteries. AA batteries can get expensive if you have to constantly replace them. Would a solar panel be a better option for you?
Ultimately there is no best cellular trail camera. There is only the best cellular trail camera for you. So write a list of the things that are important to you and try to find one that fits your requirements.
How much does it cost to run a cellular trail camera?
As we mentioned earlier, the upfront cost of buying a cellular trail cam isn’t the only cost. Cellular trail cams require, as the name suggests, cellular technology to function. So much like your cell phone, you’ll have to purchase a data plan. These can vary depending on a variety of factors:
- The brand, model and type of cellular trail cam you use;
- How much data and photos you anticipate using every month;
- Whether you are paying on a monthly or anually basis;
- Whether you opt for thumbnail or full-size images; and
- Whether you opt for any add-ons or bonus features like cloud storage.
On average these plans can cost you anywhere from $60 to $1000 anually.