Back at the beginning of the season, I purchased a Stealth Cam Archers Choice Trail Cam and a good friend of mine purchased the Moultrie M80 around the same time. He was nice enough to allow me to borrow it for the better part of this hunting season. So now…I am sharing what I think of it.
The Moultrie M80 offers pictures, video with sound with a 50' distance and it takes daytime and IR (infrared) nighttime photos. There are lots of different settings that allow you change the frequency of pictures and video, picture quality, among other things. This is a small compact camera in a decent price range.
The Pro's:
After a couple months of use, I must say that there are a lot of advantages to this camera. It is compact which allows you to conceal the camera easily. The camera has the ability to use 8 AA batteries or use a 12 volt external power supply. It has a super fast trigger speed and takes clear crisp images during the day and at night with the IR. The battery life is pretty good; you get about 5000 to 6000 pictures per set of AA batteries. This is better than other cameras that I have used or heard about. I think this is a great buy at the average price between $120 - $150 depending on sales and where you shop.
The Con's:
I only found two major complaints about this camera as of right now. The first is that it has a very small loop where you are able to lock the camera. I use a braided cable and padlock on both cameras, but was forced to get a smaller lock for this camera to allow the lock to pass through the holes for the lock on the camera. My other complaint is the strap that attaches it to the tree. It is nice that it has a quick release clip, but you cannot always make it as tight as you want because the clip is undersized and it would break. If they put a two inch clip and strap on the camera it would solve the problem.
I also have one thing to mention that is slightly annoying to me. The camera accepts SD cards up to 16 gigabytes. However, it only accepts standard SD cards and if you get a high speed, premium, or anything else other than a standard SD card it can affect how well the camera works. I found out the hard way that it can also shut the camera down and then you have to do a hard reset on the camera which I had to call Moultrie to find out how to do.
My Final Thoughts:
After the time I have used the camera, other than the two cons mentioned above, I have grown to really like this camera. Should Moultrie fix those little things about the camera, I would have to say this is the best camera that I have come in contact with. The camera takes great images as many of you have seen from the images posted on our site. The camera has a really fast trigger speed and captures images up to 50 feet away. I have been very impressed with this camera and I am currently in the process of ordering an external power supply for this camera so I can stop dealing with batteries. I also wanted to note that after having the issue with the camera not working, I called customer service, waited less than two minutes on hold and got a nice lady whom asked me a series of questions and then explained that by using a premium SD card I had affected the formatting and therefore the camera would take pictures it just would not save them to the card. She explained that all I had to do was a hard reset on the camera which involved taking the batteries out and turning the camera on for 15 to 20 minutes and then replacing the batteries and turning the camera on. This very simple process combined with going back to a standard SD card fixed the problem and it did not cost any money or more than 20 minutes. Moultrie's customer service gets an A in my book compared to other companies that I have contacted in the hunting world. Overall, this camera is a great buy for around $140 and has impressed me enough that I would highly recommend it and I might get another one for next season!
Do you own a Moultrie M80 trail cam? What do you think of it?
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