Customer Reviews

Moultrie Game Spy M-80

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I bought this camera a few weeks before the hunting season opened and did a series of backyard tests before installing it at my feeder. All turned out satisfactorily, so I placed it near a huge scrape and switched it on. The camera functioned perfectly for a week, providing some stunning shots of big deer. However, after a week the camera became totally inoperable. When I turned it on, the sceen lit up, but no data was displayed. The only way I could turn it off was to remove the batteries. I contacted Moultrie by phone and, much to my surprise, the CR said all I needed was a software update. He walked me thru the process and in less than ten minutes the camera was functional again. Great job of customer service. I own two much older models that have never failed and still produce good shots.
Thanks Moultrie for a great product.Moultrie Game Spy M-80

Camera works great. It is not the top of the line model but I knew what i was buying !
Easy to set up
great day pics ok night pic kind of blurry but that ok I do not hunt at night.
will be buy another if the price is right !

I've used a lot of Moultrie equipment from feeders to seed spreaders to cameras. They are always a good value for the dollar. This camera keeps that faith going.

The Good:
It's fairly simple to setup.
It's compact.
The pictures are good.
The trigger speed is better than most for a camera in this price range.
Battery life seems reasonable so far, although it's going to be far short of their 1 year claim, but I didn't realistically expect that.

The Bad:
the deer seem to react more to the infrared flash than they do to a standard flash, they don't leave because of it, but I have more pics of the deer staring at it.
you still get wash out/ over exposure from the flash if your subject is too close, although it did make a neat negative picture of the rack on my 10 pt buck.

My previous cameras were Bushnell Tropy Cams, so this review is based on those as the standard. Thus far, compared to the Bushnell, the Moultrie M80:
- costs less
- same basic size
- superior form factor allows for easier changing of batteries and SD Card
- silent programming (no beeping unlike the Bushnell)
- Bushnell's always seem to let in the elements in the battery area - no issues with the Moultrie
- Widescreen view allows for wider pictures - a definite plus
- picture quality seems a tad better during the day, and much better definition at night
- does not have integrated slots for use with the Python MasterLock system of locks
- is totally silent when taking pictures whereas the Bushnell makes a audible clicking noise that deer alert to
- battery life seems to be not quite as good as the Bushnell

Conclusion - The Moultrie represents a superior value, will see how they hold up over the course of the next year or two, but I will be switching to these cameras going forward.

Overall I am pleased with the camera for the price and would recommend it.
The pros:
-Large flash range, says 60 feet, It looks like more in the photos
-Small enough to fit in your pack
-Seems to trigger well
-Uses 8 AA batteries(not C or D)
-Can operate on only 4 AA's
-Setup is simple
The Cons:
-Plot mode captures in very low resolution and no option to change it
-When using all 8 batteries and in a normal plot watch they need to be replaced every 5-6 days. The camera is not flashing it shouldn't use that much battery.
-Cold weather causes alkaline batteries to cut the camera off with some voltage still remaining and camera does not come back on. Even though the switch is in the on position.
-The external power port is only for use with Moultrie's solar panel and the camera will not run solely on external power. If the internal AA's run out the camera will shut off.
-In order to open the door you have to disconnect the external power.
-When in plot mode the camera will only take normal game cam triggered photos at night

Most of these changes could probably be made with a firmware update. I would easily give the camera 5 stars if they were fixed.

I have two of these now, one I have had for about 3 months, the other 2 weeks. So far no problems with either camera. Daytime pictures are very good. Much better than my old Moultrie cameras. I really like having the option for the Plot camera mode, also nice is the Hybrid mode of Plot cam by day, trail cam by night. Plot camera mode will drain the batteries quickly. Set to 1 picture a min, 8 rechargeable AA's will go about 10 days. They only show about 50% charged in the camera when fully charged, but that is probably expected. In normal trail camera mode I am still running on the same set of regular alkaline after 2 months. Battery life will not be a major concern with this camera in trail mode. I also, like how this camera has a strap that feed through the back. My old Moultrie just had little ears on the four corners on the camera to hook small bungie cord to, and after aging outdoors for a couple of years (all year), they had a tendency to break off. I paid $129 and it is worth that. The price is lower now, so even better. I would definatly reccomend this particular model, but I cannot say the same for some other Moultrie models like the D50. Each model must be evaluated on it's own.

Second mx80 I have bought. Simple to use. good photos day and night.Amazon is the best deal for buying this camera I have found.

I got this camera from a retail store. I got it because I know several people who have it and talk about how great it is. When I got my it was DOA. I returned it to the store and got another one in working condition. Worked great for two months and then went out. Change the batteries and nothing happened. I called Moultrie and they said that they would replace it. I sent mine in and never received a new one. I called to see if it was shipped yet and they said yes and gave me tracking information. When I entered it in, it didn't even leave the plant yet. Called them just to return my money. Don't recommend Moultrie.

I picked up this camera with the intent of doing timelapse video's more than use as an actual game camera. As some of the other readers have noted it doesn't appear to work well with faster SD cards. It seems to eat battery's, either alkaline or nimh rechargeables. This is likely because I am taking shots every 5-15 seconds instead once every few hours. I had to shoot a number of days before I was able to get it to successfully record a 'plot' which works and can be edited as an AVI file by simply just renaming the extension. This allows you to use the Windows Movie Maker to edit the videos. For the price you can't beat this camera as I'm not one to leave out the fancier DSLR's out in the open for the weather and/or thieves. This camera blends in well and can be attached to a tree or left on the floor to watch your cats at night. I have used this to capture wildlife and racoons, skunks, coyotes etc. do not seem to react to the flash as one other reviewer had said. Its a great camera and the only reason I am giving it three stars instead of five is the above mentioned difficulty's and the fact that the manual and Moultrie's website do NOT seem to list the size adapter plug you need. Why bother posting the voltage and polarity? They do sell a solar panel for around $50 but I want to use a portable battery back as some of the timelapes I will be recording will be in overcast conditions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uv3ZBXXSXA

I've been playing around with trail cameras for the last 5 years, even built a few,this little camera really works good!
I have had pictures from out to 60ft. and the night pics are great (black and white). Infrared flash range of up to 60ft! Trigger speed seems to be good also. It will have a little "ghost" imagery on fast moving animals but were talking about a trail camera not a professional photographers high dollar camera, lol
I will have more!