Overview
Also known as a cellular camera, a wireless trail camera is a game camera that’s often used to monitor the property, animals, plants, or other objects.
The camera sends photos or/and videos to the phone or email over vast distances, letting you know what’s happening in the area where you left it.
The trail camera can use Wi-Fi or the same cellular networks that ensure the function of our cell phones.
If you’re striving to improve your hunting or just the wilderness around you, choose one of the following best wireless trail cameras on this list.
1. ANNKE 12MP 1080P HD Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting Camera
With a full 1080p video and a 12MP image resolution, ANNKE Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting Camera provides the top quality pictures – be it a day or a night.
Whether you’re in your backyard or wildlife setting, the camera ensures incredible shots.
This wireless trail camera has 3 image resolutions, including 5MP, 8MP, and 12MP. ANNKE Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting Camera is popular among hunters as it has an upgraded PIR sensor that helps to detect almost anybody temperature, allowing you to spot wildlife without scaring them.
ANNKE Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting Camera has a lightning-fast one-second trigger speed so there’s a little chance to miss any film’s footage.
Once an animal is detected, the camera starts recording a video automatically.
The image stamp includes time, temperature, date, and even a moon phase. The camera is ideal for both day and night vision modes due to its smart infrared-cut full automatic switch.
ANNKE Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting Camera is also noted for its IP54 feature. It’s waterproof and is able to withstand the majority of weather conditions.
The 2-inch color LCD screen allows you to view the photos and videos on the spot and delete them right away or whenever you think you won’t need them anymore.
The camera has one second to 30 minute triggering intervals and the videos are automatically saved in AVI format and the pictures are in JPEG format.
Since ANNKE Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting has a flexible photo interval setting, it’s often used for watching the life cycle of plants.
If you worry about your trail camera security, you can set a PIN code.
The camera supports up to 32GB SD memory storage, so you can take an incredible number of images.
With 8AA batteries, ANNKE Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting Camera can last more than 6 months. The camera has an extremely low standby power consumption of 0.2 mA.
2. Covert Wireless Trail Camera
Covert Wireless Trail Camera is a 4G trail camera with a 720p video resolution and a 13MP sensor that provides top quality photos and videos.
The pictures taken during the day are clear with great contrast and color.
The no-glow infrared flash has an 80-foot range. The camera has a trigger speed of .8 seconds, along with a recovery time that takes up to 40 seconds.
The perk is, Covert Wireless Trail Camera transmits videos wirelessly.
When it comes to pictures taken during the night, they’re not as clear as the daylight pictures, but still, you can easily identify what is occurring.
The videos aren’t crystal clear yet they exhibit good clarity and color on still subjects during the day.
Any movement during video leads to pixelation during both daylight and night.
Covert Wireless Trail Camera is powered by 12 AA batteries, offering an impressive lifespan. The camera offers multiple data plans and is easy to use.
3. Stealth Cam GXW Wireless 12 MP Trail Cam
Stealth Cam GXW Wireless 12 MP Trail Cam is versatile and can be used in wildlife hunting or as a home security system.
Since the camera is 3G or GSM network compatible, it transmits quality pictures and videos.
The camera offers 3 resolutions – 4MP, 8MP, and 12MP, ensuring the superb quality of the pictures and videos.
You won’t miss any footage details with 45 black infrared emitters and a 100-foot flash range the camera has.
Stealth Cam GXW Wireless 12 MP Trail Cam offers the Geo-Tag GPS tagging system and the latest updates through its wireless technology.
You can get the pictures or videos taken right from the camera to your smartphone via an app.
The camera requires a data plan and a sim card and is super easy to use. Moreover, the camera allows you to send pictures or videos to your social media account right away.
Stealth Cam GXW Wireless 12 MP Trail Cam has a 1080p video resolution and thus records top quality HD videos. The camera has a 2.0 inches color LCD screen that allows you to view your pictures taken on the spot.
It features a time-lapse function with PIR override, which captures images with interval time.
With a 0.4-second trigger speed, this trail camera can record a variety of footage.
Stealth Cam GXW Wireless 12 MP Trail Cam improves the quality of pictures by providing retina low light sensitivity and matrix advanced blur reduction.
Thanks to these features, the camera offers improved exposure in different zones of distance and angle.
The camera has its drawbacks, though. It may not handle the elements in the best way, and its battery may not last for a long time.
4. Amcrest ATC-1201 12MP Digital Game Cam Trail Camera
Apart from a camouflage case and exterior, Amcrest ATC-1201 12MP Digital Game Cam Trail Camera is known for its great features and solid build quality.
The camera has a 1080p video resolution and a 12MP high-definition image resolution. It can be used for home security, hiking, and in the wild.
Amcrest ATC-1201 12MP Digital Game Cam Trail Camera features a 36 infrared LED for recording and taking pictures at night. It has an infrared-cut filter for true color pictures and videos.
The automatic motion sensing of this trail camera provides 3 adjustable levels.
With a 100-degree PIR field of view, you get the uncut and totally complete footage and with a 0.7-second trigger speed, you won’t miss any important details.
The camera provides 3-level passive motion sensitivity, including low, medium, and high.
The pictures are automatically saved in JPEG format and videos are in AVI format. The images include the details, such as time, date, and a moon phase.
Amcrest ATC-1201 12MP Digital Game Cam Trail Camera has a 12-button remote that can work more than 9 meters away from the place where you set this trail camera.
However, the remote control battery can run out fast.
The built-in laser pointer gives you the full control and a 2-inch LCD screen lets you check out the pictures and videos the seconds you take a picture or record a video.
The storage capacity of this wireless camera is 32GB, so you don’t have to worry about taking too many pictures.
When it comes to battery, you can choose between 4AA and 8AA batteries, albeit both can last only for several months.
Thanks to the IP54 feature, the Amcrest Digital Game Trail Camera is weatherproof so it can be used on rainy days too.
5. Spartan HD GoCam
Another best wireless trail camera, Spartan HD GoCam is user-friendly and it offers high-quality pictures and video. All you need to do is activate your SIM card and set your desired picture parameters.
You can set 2 duty periods with different time-lapse settings and various trigger time intervals.
When your camera doesn’t have enough storage for new pictures or videos, it can overwrite the oldest files on your SD card.
If you don’t want your camera to capture new images all the time, choose the needed duty period.
Spartan HD GoCam is notable for its extra security in transmitting pictures and videos thanks to its encryption. The pictures can be transferred without or with AES 256 encryption, as well.
The camera’s infrared LED array offers illumination to 70 ft. or beyond for better pictures and videos taken at night. Spartan HD GoCam has 720HD for videos and an 8 MP image resolution.
Powered by 12AA batteries – lithium, Ni-MH, or alkaline, the camera can last for several months.
The cells for batteries are arranged in 2 separate bays, giving you an individual slot for every battery. Keep in mind that the batteries are not included.
Spartan HD GoCam is a standalone installation without an external power source and wires.
The camera has a great screen for quick picture and video review. It has an SD/SDHC memory card slot with the storage capacity of up to 32GB.
6. Boly Wireless Trail Camera With Invisible IR
Boly Wireless Trail Camera is noted for its fantastic build quality, support for external and solar power options, and more.
The camera requires a cellular sim card to efficiently transmit images and videos to your phone and email.
Boly Wireless Trail Camera has a 3-inch built-in colored LCD screen that allows you to check the images and videos on the spot. It has a 30 MP image resolution that guarantees excellent quality images.
With a 1080p video resolution, 90-foot invisible black infrared flash range, and a 100-foot detection range you won’t miss any footage or detail.
Boly Wireless Trail Camera offers direct communication to your phone and a storage capacity of 32GB with a slot for SD/SDHC memory card. You can also utilize game call broadcasting, which is a great feature.
The adjustable PIR sensitivity – low, medium, and high – and the no-glow IR illumination ensure top quality images while the camera’s GPRS data transmission helps to reduce communication costs.
Boly Wireless Trail Camera is powered by 8AA batteries.
You can program the black infrared to activate time intervals and motion. The 3G communications let you manage the settings of this trail camera remotely.
There’s a free mobile app available for Android, Windows, and iOS.
The camera is weather resistant, so it can be used on rainy or snowy days, withstanding even severe weather conditions.
7. Bigfoot Cellular Camera 3G
Bigfoot Cellular Camera 3G is an extremely underrated camera and it is definitely one worth considering because it truly offers all of the features needed for your home security or hunting.
Bigfoot Cellular Camera 3G offers a 12MP picture resolution, though sometimes the pictures aren’t crystal clear.
Of course, pictures taken during the day are clear enough to detect the people or animals in the photos.
The nighttime pictures aren’t quite as clear with dark edges around the frame edges. Any movement can cause visible blurring, albeit identification is still possible due to the no-glow infrared LEDs illumination.
The camera has a .4-second trigger speed and quick image recovery time. The camera records 1080p resolution videos at 30 fps.
Bigfoot Cellular Camera 3G utilizes 12 AA batteries and its lifespan is quite long.
Despite having a detection sensitivity option, the camera can capture empty pictures if something goes wrong.
The drawback is the camera’s 3G antenna, which can be very weak and might require an upgrade.
The Benefits Of Using Wireless Trail Cameras
There are many, many possible benefits of using a trail camera, enough for us to create our own article simply on that. However, we will quickly touch upon a few.
For most hunters, it is the unlimited range – the ability to see exactly what is happening out in the field from wherever you are in the world.
Additionally, many trail cameras will notify you whenever they snap a picture of something, meaning you can quickly get out into the field if that buck you have been trailing suddenly appears at your feeder.
For hunters or homeowners who want to keep an eye on their property, these are both revolutionary features.
What Shooting Range Do Most Trail Cameras Have?
The shooting range that most trail cameras have depends on the quality of the camera.
Most high-end cameras tend to have around a 100-foot flash range, while lower-field models can be around 50.
It’s important to keep in mind that there are a number of things the effect the quality of the shoot, and although the flash range is crucial these variables can have a drastic effect on your images.
These variables include exposure time, fog, moonlight exposure, the density of your tree canopy, battery levels, and more.
What Is The Difference Between A Wireless Trail Camera, Cellular Trail Camera, Etc?
A wireless trail camera is simply a trail camera that can transmit photos or videos wirelessly, and also tends to share useful information such as battery level, time of the shot, moonlight, temperature, etc.
This is opposed to a standard trail camera, which does not have any wireless data transmission capabilities – you would have to manually check the camera to get all of this information.
When people refer to a wireless trail camera, oftentimes they are using it as an umbrella term.
For example, a wifi trail camera is a wireless trail camera that uses wifi to transmit data, while a cellular trail camera is a wireless trail camera that uses cellular data to do so.
Other times, people refer to wireless trail cameras as ones that can be run on batteries, so they are wireless in the sense of being cord-free.
As you can imagine, this can become confusing very quickly for a huge variety of people.
In this article, we refer to all of the above as “wireless trail cameras” to avoid any more confusion.
Do I Need To Purchase My Own SD Card?
Yes, it is important to keep in mind while looking for a wireless trail camera that in most instances, you are going to have to provide your own SD card.
Most wireless trail cameras have a storage capacity of 16GB or 32GB, but make sure you check the instruction booklet to ensure you pick the optimal SD card.
Will I Need A Data Plan If I Want Remote Viewing?
Yes, in pretty much every instance you are going to do need to get a data plan if you want to engage in remote viewing unless your camera has wi-fi capabilities and is close enough to a consistent wi-fi source.
However, this simply isn’t going to be the case for most hunters.
In some instances, you are going to have to set up your own plan with a network before installing your hunting camera, and in other cases, you may be able to set up the cellular camera and pay as you go.
For most new trail camera owners it can be a little confusing to deal with wireless networks, so make sure you do your research ahead of time to figure out what camera and network are going to be best for you and your own needs.
What Else Will I Need To Ensure My Trail Camera Works?
The big thing that many hunters forget about is batteries.
There have probably been hundreds, if not thousands of hunters who have trekked into the great outdoors, excited about setting up their new trail camera only to realize they forgot to come with a power source.
There are some trail cameras that come with batteries included, but many don’t.
Make sure you read the instruction manual and double-check that all of your batteries are working properly before heading into the field.
Additionally, some trail cameras may work with a rechargeable solar panel, but this depends on the model and the climate you hunt in.
If you are planning on using a solar panel, make sure you thoroughly test it before setting it up with your trail camera.
Where Should I Purchase A Wireless Trail Camera?
If you do a little online digging, you will find a ton of stores online that sell wireless trail cameras and other hunting gear.
That being said, we believe the best place to do your online shopping is on Amazon.com.
Click here to go directly to the product page for what we think is the best wireless trail camera, the ANNKE Game and Wildlife Trail Hunting Camera.
Conclusion
There are many factors you should consider when choosing the best wireless trail camera.
In our opinion, the most important things are to choose the right storage capacity, image and video resolutions, and battery capacity for your own individual hunting needs.
If you are passionate about photography and hunting, check out our article on filming your own hunts.
Lover of hiking, nature, camping, bird calls, and more. I run ATO and do my best to provide interesting information for my readers to help make their outdoor adventures more fun.