Customer Reviews

Moultrie Game Spy D-40 Megapixel Game Camera

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I recently purchased 2 of this units. Out of the box, one was defective. I called Moultrie who said ship it back and they would replace it. After waiting a week to hear from them I called and learned that it would take "3 or 4 weeks before my problem was evaluated". I explained that the unit was new and defective but was told it would have to go through their normal repair process, again 3 to 4 weeks.

If you decide to buy this product and have a problem, prepare to be very patient.

I bought the D-40 to keep an eye on the trails in my back forty, where daughter and boyfriend spotted a bear and her cub a month ago. Sure enough, the D-40 captured the cub walking down the road within a week or so. So, for under a hundred, the performance seems "ok."

Strengths: seems to capture well - the sensor does work, although I get a lot of "empty frames" with nothing there, these could be fast moving targets, or just random triggers of some kind caused by light or wind - don't know. Waterproofness - seems a good design, especially for the money. Overall, the design seems effective.

Weaknesses: the camera is pretty lousy, really. Even at 4MP, the images are not good, and the exposure control reeks. Many of the images are thin and washed out, even under broad daylight. I have the camera oriented facing northerly, so I know it's not sun flares. It actually took the best picture (of me walking past) in very dim twilight, for whatever reason (flash did not fire). The biggest weakness, and I suspect this is true of most game cameras, is that the lens is not "wide" enough. The field of view is only about what you'd get with a "normal" lens on a 35mm camera (if you remember those!), and it needs at least a moderately wide angle.

All in all, a decent package for the price, but I'd like to find something a bit better.

The battery life is excellent on this unit, ours has been out a good two months and battery life is still at 50 percent, and it does not take a lot of unnecessary pictures. We are pretty happy with it. The only peeve is that it does not come with a USB cord, but mostly you can just use the SD Cards and view them straight from the computer on newer computers anyway. You can set it to take like 3 pictures every 10 minutes, or 2 every hour or just one at a time. We haven't tried to do a video yet.


I hope I haven't reviewed the wrong thing, ours says Infrared Activated Game Survelillance Camera 4.0 MP. It looks the very same.

Let me preface this review with the fact that I own a couple of different game cameras. I have had experience with several brand names. I purchased the Moultree camera from a very well known outdoor outfitter store in mid-August, hoping to get some pictures of the local deer population before the season start in mid-October. I put the camera out, following all instructions, immediately upon returning home from the store. In the following 3 weeks I got several decent shots of the wildlife. After the fourth week, I went out to download pictures to my laptop, and the camera was inactive and inoperable. It worked for 4 weeks. As previously stated, I have other brand name cameras, some cheaper, that have all outlasted the Moultree. I now need to go through the hassle of returning it, etc... etc.... I'm sure that some people probably have had great results from this camera, my experience found it to be undependable.

The photo quality is much better than I was expecting. I'm on my second unit. The first's IR didn't work and I had over 1,000 shots over one night. Amazon customer service had a new unit out that day. Been using it for about a week in sub-freezing weather with great results. So far have shots of deer, racoons and even a blue jay. The night flash is especially good and works automatically. Very easy to aim (2 options) and program. Had it up and shooting in about 5 minutes. For the serious hunter, sure, but also great fun for the rest of us.

TOTALLY HAPPY WITH PRODUCT EXCEPT FOR ONE THING.
WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPS BELOW 32 DEGREES IT STOPS WORKING. AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR HERE IN NEVADA WE HAVE DAYTIME IN THE FOURTYS AND FIFTYS BUT AT NIGHT IT CAN DROP BELOW FREEZING.

I Purchased a few of these cameras from the local Bass Pro Shop. I have used these cameras for awhile now and have captured some great wildlife shots. Last Year One of my cameras was accidently left out through a major Ice storm, the camera remained outdoors until the following season. I ordered some rechargable batteries and headed to the woods, with much suprize the camera turned on and worked flawlessly. If your looking for a reasonably priced camera I would Highly recommend this camera.

The flash could reach out a bit further. With a black bear about 15 feet away it did not illuminate it as much as I would have thought. Battery life is average. For being a 4 mg res I would have expected the pics to be more clear. For $100 it appears to be reliable and worth the investment and so far no whiting out. I have a wildview 2.0 that sometimes whites out really bad so as long as this camera operates as advertised I'm happy.

Switches on camera are very cheap and apparently non-functional. Camera would not go into test mode.... Which turned out to be irrelevant since it also would not go into active mode or allow us to set date / time.
Batteries ran down in spite of being turned off. Tried new batteries but still non-functional camera.
Am stuck with it because it was a gift and after 30 days when confirmed it was non-functional. Don't make the same mistake.

I now have 6 of these cameras and have not had a single problem. I use them year round and have alot of friends with higher priced cameras that may have a little better picture quality, but they buy 2 for the price I bought 6, and I can scout 3 times the area they can.