Help TroubleShoot my wildlife camera malfunction?

FirstFreedom · May 21, 2006, 05:03 PM

What do you think happened here:

1. Bought el cheapo "Stealth Cam".

2. Place batteries & film in.

3. Placed on tree in woods.

4. Followed instructions; set it to go; tested it by walking in front of it; green light came on indicating that it detected movement. Set it to take 3 pictures each time it detects movement, and then wait 60 seconds before scanning again. Went home.

5. Couple months later, went to woods, couldn't tell whether it was "finished" on the roll of film or not, as there is no indicator for this on this particular camera, nor any mention in the instructions on how to tell if it's done. BUT, there IS a manual shutter release, so hit the manual, and it takes a picture, so go home - it's not full yet. Go home.

6. Couple months later, go back out. Hit the manual shutter. Nothing. It's full - great, must've gotten some game on film! Open it up, sure enough, it's rewound (or so it would seem), as if it took all the pics and rewound itself.

7. Take it to get developed. Phone call from developer. Problem here, she says - this film is completely blank. Sure enough, nothing whatsoever on ANY part of the film. No exposure to light at all.

So for those of you familiar with 35mm photgraphy and/or game cams, is this most likely (A) user error (failure to get the film properly loaded), or (B) POS defective game cam (get what you pay for)??? The fact that it at one point took a picture with the manual shutter, and then later did not, suggests strongly that it was in a different mode (not finished/rewound) in the former instance than the latter, which indicates most likely POS camera, not operator error.

Thanks.

BIGRED · May 22, 2006, 07:49 AM

My Moultrie Cam did the same thing. got 5-6 pictures out of several rolls of film, what a waste. I got tired of messing with it, so i got a Moultrie Digital Camera and in 5 months of use i have @ least 550-600 pictures taken. the cameras are @ Walmart for $95.00 and are capabale of video & stills. a 32 mb SD card will take about 240 pictures. i recently put a 256MB card (2,000 pics)in there because in 2 weeks my 32mb card would get full. ends up being alot cheaper in the long run and you get more pictures, and because they are digital you can delete all of those Raccoon pictures. SD cards are REALLY cheap and i swap them out once a month and take the used card home to view. Mine will fit in my Digitial Camera so i can view pics back at camp. if i was u i would sell that 35mm and get a digitial..

May 21, 2006, 05:03 PM	#1
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Help TroubleShoot my wildlife camera malfunction? What do you think happened here: 1. Bought el cheapo "Stealth Cam". 2. Place batteries & film in. 3. Placed on tree in woods. 4. Followed instructions; set it to go; tested it by walking in front of it; green light came on indicating that it detected movement. Set it to take 3 pictures each time it detects movement, and then wait 60 seconds before scanning again. Went home. 5. Couple months later, went to woods, couldn't tell whether it was "finished" on the roll of film or not, as there is no indicator for this on this particular camera, nor any mention in the instructions on how to tell if it's done. BUT, there IS a manual shutter release, so hit the manual, and it takes a picture, so go home - it's not full yet. Go home. 6. Couple months later, go back out. Hit the manual shutter. Nothing. It's full - great, must've gotten some game on film! Open it up, sure enough, it's rewound (or so it would seem), as if it took all the pics and rewound itself. 7. Take it to get developed. Phone call from developer. Problem here, she says - this film is completely blank. Sure enough, nothing whatsoever on ANY part of the film. No exposure to light at all. So for those of you familiar with 35mm photgraphy and/or game cams, is this most likely (A) user error (failure to get the film properly loaded), or (B) POS defective game cam (get what you pay for)??? The fact that it at one point took a picture with the manual shutter, and then later did not, suggests strongly that it was in a different mode (not finished/rewound) in the former instance than the latter, which indicates most likely POS camera, not operator error. Thanks.

May 22, 2006, 07:49 AM	#2
BIGRED Member Join Date: March 23, 2006 Location: FLORIDA Posts: 42	My Moultrie Cam did the same thing. got 5-6 pictures out of several rolls of film, what a waste. I got tired of messing with it, so i got a Moultrie Digital Camera and in 5 months of use i have @ least 550-600 pictures taken. the cameras are @ Walmart for $95.00 and are capabale of video & stills. a 32 mb SD card will take about 240 pictures. i recently put a 256MB card (2,000 pics)in there because in 2 weeks my 32mb card would get full. ends up being alot cheaper in the long run and you get more pictures, and because they are digital you can delete all of those Raccoon pictures. SD cards are REALLY cheap and i swap them out once a month and take the used card home to view. Mine will fit in my Digitial Camera so i can view pics back at camp. if i was u i would sell that 35mm and get a digitial..