Customer Reviews

Primos Truth Cam 46 Camera

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Well about two weeks ago i purchased this camera... it was much much better than my Wildgame innovations s2, until it went insane:
I came out to check the pictures and it had 15 (3burst shots, brought the SD card up to the house and had lots of nice night photos on it... brought the sd back to the camera. loaded it and went to arm the camera and it starts taking pics w/o counting down like its supposed to, so i went into it and tried fixing settings but it takes pics about every 5 seconds so you cant get anywhere... it now just freezes the screen and takes pics... i even turned it upside down on the floor and you can hear the faint click it makes about every 5 seconds... anyways working on that with Primos ATM, hopefully i just got a dud. so your wondering why i gave this a 5 star review at this point, well here's why:
Pros:
-Takes awesome night pictures!
-Trigger time is very fast... birds can't even escape it's grasp
-it is very simple to use/set up and has lots of wonderful options like shot bursts and adjustments to how many LED's you use
-Battery life is awesome, 2 weeks in the woods and its at 96%
-Day pics are even better than the night pics
-Camo- nice when all the black ones tend to draw thieving paws' attention
-Pre molded hole (i'd recommend masterlock's python)
-i also like that it counts down from 30 til' it arms so you have some time to figure out if its where you want it ( my WGI just kind of goes into sleep mode so you shut the door and run i guess)

Cons (other than the obvious):
-There is a click when the shutter opens... deer seem to only notice it if they are within 5 ft.
-The mounting strap idea is absolutely terrible! i wish they'd tossed a couple holes in it for bungie straps like the WGI has
-I dont know if it effects anything, but i did notice after rainfall the bottom lip of the camera tends to have water drops there that gather... wasnt an issue for me at least.

Overall- great camera wish they'd put a bit more thought into the mounting of it because im not buying their bracket for [...] bucks, hopefully that will come on the next model, and if they make the shutter silent it will be the perfect cam for the money! i'd Recommend this to anyone... really the click isnt that bad and ive only had 1 3-burst shot where a deer looks up from 1st shot and runs in second shot (although the deer was probably 2 ft from camera). looking forward to the one Primos sends me for the one that broke. Don't be put off by the click... Get this camera-its the only one you'll ever buy!

-Edit, Got my new one and it's working brilliantly, 2 nights resulted in 81 pics, very nice night pics and caught a squirrel on the move during the day, quick shutter speed :)
-Edit: After 2 straight weeks in the rain there's no water on the lower lip of the new camera, wondering if thats why the other one broke, either way, its still working great :)

I've been using my new TC46 and would like to comment on it.
I selected the TC46 because of it's "better than most" construction, it's 46 LED's, it's high level of features and the name Primos on front.
Pros:
- Programing is easy
- Triggering seems to working well
- I like the seal design on the TruthCam.
- Easily lockable


Con's:
- To make it function properly, I've had to use all the 46 LEDs and 5.0MP settings.
- With these settings, battery life is poor.


After placing the cam at my hunting location, the next day I was delighted to see over 60 pictures registering on the readout. While I had the sensitivity too high and got some nuisance trips, I had over 20 pictures of "blackness". That was even with the 46led setting. This is unacceptable since it should of at least picked up a tree at 5' away. I have gotten good night pics from the cam on other evenings. It looks like night pics at 50% battery are not possible because that's the reading I had in the morning. 50% battery is only a couple weeks of life, if that. I emailed Primos and I am waiting to hear their response.

This camera has worked well for me. With rechargeable batteries, I've taken 429 photos in a week and still had 50% of the battery life left. As for the external power port, I tried it, but the battery didn't last as long as the internal rechargeables did! If someone has a solar panel the external power might be a good option.

The camera is sometimes slow switching between day and night photos. At dusk the photos are sometimes too dark and at dawn they may be white(I have another brand that does the same thing). However the trigger speed is very fast capturing animal movement easily.

One thing I don't like is the limited delay choices for taking photos. There is only a 1 minute delay and 30 minute delay option between shots, none in between. Other cameras I have offer a 5 and 10 minute delay.

Overall, this is a good camera. I've used it now for 8 weeks and captured some great buck photos!! I would definitely recommend it to a friend!!

Dan R.

I own 10 of these models and absolutely love them.

Picture quality - is very good both day and night. I would say great but RECONYX cameras are great picture quality. That being said, I would pick this camera over the RECONYX due to the much more economical cost. I even like them more than my cuddebacks. I am able to see everything that I need to with this camera. I like the 5.0mp shots because they give just enough detail and zoom ability without using as much memory as the 7.0 and 10mp cameras. The night shots one the TruthCam35 are horrendous but the extra resolution on this one is just what you need.

Battery Life - I have to agree with the other reviewers that battery life using the D cells is lacking. However, if you buy the Steroid Battery Pack (or make your own) then you have greatly increased battery life and the ability to recharge. In the course of a season you actually save money so I don't even use the D cell batteries anymore.

Reliability - very few problems with these cameras when treated properly. If you put them in front of a feeder then move the camera a bit closer and turn the sensitivity down to low. When the feeder heats up in the sun, it can trigger the IR sensor if a breeze comes through. I believe this is why many get "ghost" pictures. I have never gotten a single empty shot. If my cameras are not over a feeder then I keep the sensitivity at normal. I did have one camera go bad this year but I will get to that in the customer service section. A few of my cameras took over 50,000 pictures last year and they are runnning wonderfully. One issue with these is that they do not need to be left out 12 months. I forgot one camera in the field last year and came back to get it and it is the non functioning camera. The battery plug and sd plug are at the bottom and do not give airtight seals. Condensation (im in high humidity Misssissippi) got in the camera and caused some issues over the course of the entire year. This is not a problem if you take care of your equipment like you should. It was my mistake. I only mention it because I do know some like to keep their camera's out all year.

Design - I saw a review wishing they had the bungee cords instead of the straps. I couldn't disagree more. I love the strap as it gives a very secure hold and can go around very small and very large trees. My options opened up a good bit without having to deal with bungees. The size is still larger than the small AA powered models but it's a non issue to me.

IR - This model does not have the IR shield but the deer don't seem to mind. Occasional ones get scared at first but they always come back to the food. I put out cameras 6 weeks prior to the season so the few that are bothered adjust quickly. I leave the settings on all 46 leds because I like the range. After seeing the Truthcam 35 model I do not intend to ever turn down the setttings.

Customer Service - I would give 6 stars here if I could. Primos is a wonderful company. The camera that I left out and broke is being replaced as we speak. I called Primos and told them what happened, I even told them it was NOT under warranty. They gave me a return number and said they would replace it. How awesome is that? Cameras go bad all the time and having a company take care of you regardless is very important to me. It's nice not having to worry about replacement costs.

Overall - If you are looking for a very good camera then here's your ticket. First camera purchasers or experienced ones alike will love this camera. When you can buy 2-5 of these and get almost the same quality as the top tier cameras it's a no brainer. Trail camera's give diminishing returns with price. When you can already see every detail about a deer why spend $300 more just to see those details a tad bit sharper at 20x digital zoom? Primos found the sweet spot with this model.

I have 2 Primos 60 that have been in the woods for 2 solid years and have worked flawlessly. I needed 2 more and decided to go with the 46 because I set the 60's down to 5mp. Now here is the ticket to set them up. I have the swivel mounting brackets so I can get them up about 8 foot off the ground then go on Ebay and get you some ammo pouches cost about 3 bucks a piece on Ebay and 6 volt 4.5ma or 5ma battery's cost about 12 bucks they fit perfect in the ammo pouches 2 drywall screws through the pouch into the tree and your good to go. I also have solar panels that 2 screw in the tree for mounting to keep them charged. It is a little bit of a expense but after it is done all you have to do is check your sd card no maintenance at all. and the camera being up in the air tends to not spook the deer at all since they are more worried whats on the ground. Really haven't had any deer ever even look straight at the camera after the shutter goes off on the first picture. Seems like putting it 8' up takes care of the inferred lights and the shutter click also the sticky fingers might not be looking up. These cameras have worked above my expectation. You read reviews and find people that have great luck with the product and some that got it out of the box and it's junk and they will return it and not get another one to give the product a chance. From what I have read Primos will go above and beyond to try to stand behind their product. We live in a world of Hi Tech electronics and I am sure not 1 of us has not bought a gadget that did not work or was total junk so that being said Take my word these cameras for the money are great. Hope this helped as I hardly ever write reviews but wanted to give my input in the product and my mounting.

After a lot of research I decided to purchase 2 TC46's. I purchased 2 6v battery packs with solar panels and have enjoyed the results. One camera did have a problem. The camera lens cover was shattered during a visit. No indication of anything hitting it. Still took great pictures. E-mailed primos and they quickly replied that they would happily replace it. Getting 900 to 1100 pictures a month. I'm sure that higher priced cameras take better pictures under certain conditions but I am so happy with these cameras at these prices that I just ordered a 3rd camera. Happy huntin.

I haven't been too happy with my Truth Cam 46. I did get plenty of pictures of deer and really like the way the camera records the date, time temperature, lunar phase, etc. However, the camera randomly shuts itself off. I don't want to go walking around the thicket where the deer bed down every couple of days to make sure the camera is still on.

I really liked this cam but had to send it back after trying in vane to keep it programmed, one day it would work the next it would be telling me the SD card was corrupted ( a new one )and not working ( but it worked in my other cam just fine ) sometimes it wouldn't take night photos just in the day, but the photos were clear when it took them , I'm going back too Moultrie ...

This is a good trail cam. I have two in the field and they are working great. The pics are clear just as advertised.

This camera is a piece of junk! I got it for Christmas last year and set it out. Once it rained the camera was done. It never worked correctly after. There is a small drain hole on the front (which I made sure to check was always open) and it still got rain in it. The camera is not even water resistant. The camera eats up batteries and has a loud clunk when it takes a picture. I bought a Moultrie and it is so much of a better camera it is unreal.

Mark(Pennsylvania)