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GardePro E5 Trail Camera Review
In this Gardepro E5 trail camera review I share my experiences with the trail cam over the last 3 months, good and bad.
For those who aren’t familiar with the E5 trail camera, this is the highest non-WiFi trail camera in the current Gardepro range.
This is a budget trail camera with some features that you would find on cameras costing a lot more.
GardePro E5 Accessories
- Micro USB Cable
- Nylon tree strap
- Multi language user manual
I was slightly disappointed with the amount of accessories inside the E5 box. You get a standard nylon tree strap which does the job.
A USB charge cable which you can also use to connect to a computer, plus a multi-language user manual.
I would have liked to have seen a metal swivel mount included, but these are not too expensive to make either yourself or purchase online.
Design and Features
The first thing you’ll notice is this trail camera is built like a brick, try not to drop it on your toes. The camera is quite heavy, but having said that it still has a relatively small footprint when strapped to a tree.
If you take a look at the pictures in this review of the E5, you’ll notice it blends in well with the environment. This is particularly important when placing the camera on public land.
In terms of design there’s nothing really that makes the E5 stand out, which is fine. The camera is a clamshell design which is common for trail cams these days. The seals on the camera door stand up to heavy rain without any water ingress. The E5 has an IP66 rating which is about as high as you’ll see on any trail camera.
The large single door latch does feel heavy duty despite being made from hard plastic and holds the door without any issues.
The camera settings are accessed via a 2.4 inch color LCD screen with a keypad directly below. In practice I found the screen to be easy to see and navigate through the menu settings.
E5 Camera Settings
The Photo mode allows you to set the megapixels for each photo captured up to 24MP. You can set timestamps and dates to the photos also which is an essential feature.
Video mode has two resolutions to choose from, 1296P or 1080P HD videos in 16:9 aspect ratio. I would suggest setting the camera to 1296P for best results.
Photo and Video is my most used capture mode. This mode not only records a video clip but also takes a photo when the IR sensors detect motion.
Lastly Time Lapse mode is great for covering food plots, just be sure you place the trail cam facing north to avoid sun glare.
There is a password protection feature in the menu settings which is handy for when placing the camera on public land.
All settings are adjusted using a 4 way keypad (See Picture to the right).
SD Memory Card
The E5 accepts a standard size SD card up to 256 Gigabytes. You will need to source a class 10 SD card which will store HD video.
The minimum size SD card capacity is 32GB. Personally I use 64GB cards which hold enough video and photos for at least a month’s worth of scouting.
Batteries
As with most trail cameras the E5 is powered by 8 x AA 1.5 volt batteries. The batteries are housed on the right hand side of the camera body. I had no issue inserting or replacing the AA batteries as with some trail cams.
I had the E5 operating for over a month on a set of lithium AA batteries and they still had plenty of power left. I’d suggest using lithium batteries in any trail camera as the voltage remains constant throughout the lifetime of the battery.
Detection Range Performance
We now get to the all important detection range performance. A trail camera’s reputation lives on how well it picks up deer movement within the detection zone.
On paper the E5 is very impressive. Gardepro advertises a detection range of 90 feet with a trigger speed of 0.1 seconds. 90 feet is some distance for a trail camera to detect movement, it has to be said.
I couldn’t get the E5 to quite match the 90 feet, I’d say the best the camera achieved was closer to 80 feet which is still impressive.
The trigger speed of 0.1 seconds is very fast. It’s a difficult parametre to test to exacting levels, however I had very few empty photo frame where a fast moving deer had run across the detection zone.
My only slight disappointment is with the field of view (FOV) of the camera lens. At 70 degrees FOV the lens is not the widest, especially compared to some cameras with a 120 degree FOV.
Picture Quality
Overall, the quality of the video and photos is very good, especially the daytime video clips captured during daylight hours. Night Time images are illuminated by the no glow emitters which have a range of 100 feet.
As with most trail cams the night time images were a little grainy at distance, however the H.264 video codec is a major improvement in reducing compression artifacts on low light photos and videos. This is something I’d like to see on other trail cameras.
As long as you set the camera facing north you will see some really clear sharp video clips captured during the day.
Final Thoughts
At this price point there is very little to be disappointed about with the Gardpro E5 trail camera. The camera does offer some “next generation” features that I’d like to see other more expensive trail cameras adopt. Especially the H.264 video codec.
There are a whole host of settings to adjust the performance of the camera. The menu is easily navigable with a superb 2.4 inch color screen and easy to press menu pad buttons.
If you’re looking for a budget trail camera the E5 is definately worth considering. Alternatively the next step up is something like a Browning trail camera but it will cost a lot more.
Last update on 2024-03-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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