Camera Trap Chooser

Great Video

Video quality has come a long way in the decade we’ve been using wildlife trail cameras. New technologies are constantly developing and improving the benchmark for all other cameras to follow. Nearly all cameras now offer some level of HD quality, but there are big differences between the same resolutions on different camera traps.

Browning and Bushnell have also released cameras that have ‘Smart’ video which use the PIR sensor to determine if an animal or human is still present and regulate video length accordingly. The maximum length is dependent on the camera.

If you’re looking for sharp and crisp video quality for your wildlife watching, take a look at these… 

Bestsellers

We’d like to think that we know our stuff, and so we often get asked about the bestselling wildlife camera traps in the industry.

Although this isn’t always the best way to choose one that suits your needs, we understand that popularity is often important.

So, we’ve collated a list of our bestselling wildlife cameras, as of Month Year. The list is updated monthly, so please keep checking back for more! (Newly released or out of stock camera traps may not show below for this reason.)

Below are our customers’ favourite camera traps…

Top Picks

We often get asked by customers what our favourite wildlife cameras are.

Its understandable - there is a lot of choice and confusing / similar looking cameras, with similar specs (on the face of it at least!)

Our extensive field experience, working with partners and large wildlife organisations, as well as almost a decade of serving public customers means we know what works well and what doesn't.  If you’re still not sure, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

So, here are NatureSpy staff's favourite wildlife cameras…

For Beginners

Although all camera traps are typically designed to be straightforward and user-friendly, some models will be better for beginners. If you’re new to camera trapping you may prefer something less expensive to start out, or if you’re not too tech-savvy you may find a wildlife camera with less options and settings easier to navigate.

With this in mind, we’ve chosen our top camera traps for beginners, based on their usability and cost-effectiveness.

Below are our top recommendations for trail camera beginners…

On a Budget

There is often a trade-off between price and quality, but unless you want the latest tech or highest specs it’s still possible to get a cost-effective camera that delivers good results.

Although there are much cheaper cameras on the market, we will never sell something we wouldn’t use in projects ourselves and so our budget options are still from the best brands like Browning and Bushnell.

We mindfully curate what we offer and our selection of lower cost trail cameras means you don’t necessarily have to compromise between cost and performance.

Shop our top recommendations for trail cameras on a budget…

For Security

Camera traps are increasingly used for remote security or monitoring for criminal activity. We have plenty of experience in this sector, including with the Police, councils, and security organisations, and we’re happy to advise clients on the best options.

Generally, the first requirement is a camera with no-glow LEDs, so the cameras can’t be spotted – but you could mount the camera out of reach if a no-glow LED option doesn’t suit your needs. Other top considerations should be great image/video quality (for identifying people) and battery life.

Below are our top recommendations for camera traps suitable for security…

Researchers

Wildlife trail cameras have become increasingly popular for ecological monitoring and research purposes and some camera trap models are better for this than others.

Below we’ve compiled our top choice camera traps for research; focusing on key features and specs like accuracy and reliability.

We’re also aware many research projects have strict budgets so we’ve included some trail cameras here for a lower cost.

We provide camera traps to large institutions and organisations such as ZSL, WWF, Fauna & Flora International, many Universities, RSPB, Wildlife Trusts etc. for uses as varied as tiger research, fox occupancy studies and rat populations on tropical islands.  We know all research projects are unique and your camera choice will depend on what your research is focused on but regardless of your research topic we’re confident one of the selections below will be the perfect fit for you.

If you would still like to discuss your planned research with us so we can recommend the best options, just get in touch. We are also experts on shipping trail cameras internationally.

Below are our top recommendations for camera traps for ecologists and research…

Great Images

Wanting a camera trap which produces the best quality images is a common request but it can often be difficult to choose a camera based solely on image quality, as the way they take pictures changes as technology develops.

Currently, many of them use image interpolation, which is the process of turning a 3 megapixel (MP) image into a 20MP photo. To do this, the camera processes the original image by adding similar coloured pixels around an original pixel to boost the resolution/size of the image. On some cameras, this works really well but others can have problems with it, with images looking grainy and distorted.

We’ve narrowed down the options for you, selecting only the cameras we know are capable of producing great images.

Take a look at our trail camera choices for best quality images…