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Mini Trail Camera Reviews
It doesn’t seem that long ago that trail cameras were almost the size of a “truck”, well not quite but it’s fair to say they have become a lot smaller in recent years.
Most modern trail cameras have small “footprint” compared to the old C cell battery monsters 10 years ago. We now have a new breed of trail camera and that’s the mini trail camera.
In this article I take a look at 3 mini trail cameras in this review to see how they perform and whether they lack performance and features due to their size.
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Last update on 2024-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Hawkray Trail Camera 20MP 1080P
Last update on 2024-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
One of the smallest trail camera at only 4.3 inches in height it’s fair to say this truly is a mini trail camera.
Being small doesn’t mean this trail camera lacks features, far from it, let’s take a look at some of the main features of this camera.
Features
The Hawkray comes as a package that includes a nylon tree strap, a metal swivel mounting bracket to attach to a wall or fence post, plus a micro USB charging cable.
This package deal also includes a 16GB micro SD card and 4 x AA batteries. The camera only accepts the micro size SD card from 8GB – 32GB and Class 6 and above.
A clam shell designed case is opened by the 2 metal latches on the right of the body. This accesses the battery compartment, the color LCD display and the control panel which has just 3 buttons and an on/off switch.
Durability wise, the housing IP65 rated which means the camera will stand up to even the heaviest of rainfall and dust environments without any ingress problems.
At the rear of the housing you’ll find a ¼-20 thread insert to attach the metal swivel bracket. Plus heavy duty plastic loops for the tree strap and also a separate set of holes for a python lock.
Settings
For such a small trail camera the Hawkray does have plenty of settings for different enviroments from food plots to game trails.
Start off by choosing between video, camera (still pictures) or video and camera modes, the last one takes video and records still pictures at the same time.
There is a burst mode for still pictures where you may select between 1,2 and 3 pictures. The resolution of the pictures can also be set from 2 megapixels right up to 20 megapixels.
The camera does have some more advanced settings too. Time lapse mode, a time of day feature where you can set the camera to only operate at certains times. There is also an interval and PIR sensitivity setting to control the trigger delay and distance.
Performance
The picture quality for both day and night is very good for such a small low cost trail camera.
Night pictures were not too bright, maybe down to the 22 Infrared emitters being 850nm which is not super bright. So this camera is ideal for closer set ups.
The video mode is full HD at 1080P. Video and photos are triggered by a fast 0.2 second trigger speed.
The detection range is around 65 feet, along with the flash range Not super long distances, but this is a mini trail camera, so it’s to be expected.
Summary
At this price point you can’t really go wrong with this camera. It’s great for capturing fast moving game animals.
Where it does exceed expectations is the static night pictures, they really are very good for a camera at this budget level.
I’d suggest using lithium batteries, in which case you’ll see several months of operation even with several dozen triggers a day.
If you’re looking for a low cost camera that is easy to hide on public land and produces decent results, the Hawkray is an option to consider.
Last update on 2024-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
VooPeak Mini Trail Camera
Last update on 2024-03-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
You may not have heard of VooPeak as a company before. They specialise in WiFi trail cameras too.
There is a growing number of trail camera models in the VooPeak range, the T20 shown here is their mini trail camera.
The clam shell design housing or case is opened by a single heavy duty plastic clip on the right facing side of the camera. In terms of dimensions the camera is 4.1 x 3.5 x 1.6 inches, so it fits in the palm of your hand. It’s that small.
Features
Like the Hawkray above, the T20 comes with a number of accessories. Straight out the box you’ll find a nylon tree strap, a metal swivel mount, plus a micro USB cable. You will need additional batteries, plus an SD card.
Unlike the Hawkray trail camera, the VooPeak does accept a standard size SD card. I prefer using standard size cards simply because they’re easier to handle and manage.
The camera is IP56 rated, which is about as low a rating for a trail camera I’d recommend. I’m not going to go into how IP ratings work in this article, have a read about IP ratings on my dedicated post on the subject if you’d like to know more.
Attaching the metal swivel mount that comes supplied is by the ¼-20 thread insert at the bottom of the camera shell case.
Settings
Inside the clam shell case directly below the 4 x AA battery compartment is the control panel. The panel has a 2” LCD color display, plus 6 small buttons to change settings in the menu.
Selecting mode in the menu allows you to choose between 3 modes. Video, Camera, plus a mode which combines the 2. Not too dissimilar to the Hawkray camera.
Video mode has 5 resolution settings from full HD 1080p right down to 320 x 240. I’d always suggest using 1080p for video mode, but its nice to be able to have the option of recording at 720p if SD card storage is a consideration.
There is a time lapse mode and a burst mode for still pictures. Plus all the usual settings you’ll find on any decent specced trail camera these days.
Performance
This trail camera has a wide field of view. The lens is 120 degrees wide, which is very wide for a wildlife camera. The VooPeak ideal for use in the backyard as a security camera or any other wide open areas that you need to cover.
Picture quality overall is pretty impressive. The black and white night shots are good quality for such a low cost camera. You’ll need to spend a lot more to get better pictures from a game camera.
Video quality during the day is sharp with good detail and not too over saturated with color. I was quite impressed with the anytime video.
In terms of detection, the camera will pick up movement up to 65 feet. This does drop a little at night.
Summary
Both the Hawkray and the VooPeak are very similar. They’re both budget mini cameras and have similar features and settings.
The VooPeak does edge it in terms of picture quality and detection range, but at the end of the day there really isn’t much to separate the 2 cameras.
Mini trail cameras don’t come much smaller than the VooPeak. If you take into consideration how well it performs, this trail cam is probably one of the best small trail game cameras on the market.
Last update on 2024-03-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Wildgame Innovations Hex Micro Cam
Last update on 2024-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This trail camera from Wildgame is a small “brick” style housing unlike the other 2 clam shell designed cameras in this review.
It’s worth noting, the camera doesn’t have a full colour LCD screen to operate the menu and view recorded images.
The menu is operated using the 4 buttons on the front of the camera next to a backlit dot matrix LCD screen. To access the video and pictures stored on the SD card you download a free app for image management on your smartphone.
Features
The Hex Micro trail camera does things differently. First off, you have a magnetic ball joint mount that screws onto the back of the camera housing. This allows you to rotate the camera in any direction.
In practice the ball mount works well. It has enough tension to stop any knocks from critters sitting on the camera misaligning the camera lens.
There is a nylon tree strap that comes supplied too, if you prefer to strap the camera to a tree in the more traditional way.
In terms of design the camera is like a small brick in shape, with dimensions of 75 x 75 x 51.7 mm. I can’t see any long term issues in regards to durability, the camera feels well made and solid construction.
Settings
There isn’t a great deal of settings here to play with. The camera does a lot of the good work with a number of auto features.
Part of these auto features include what Wildgame call Adaptive Illumination and Exposure control. This is more of a “plug and play” style trail camera. So this makes it ideal for folks less into tech and more into a quick set up to get results.
Having said that, you can use the app to manage pictures stored on the SD card or just slot the card into your computer at home instead.
Performance
Video is recorded at 720p HD and the image sensors maximum resolution is 20 megapixels.
Both day and night pictures are good quality. The still pictures are particularly sharp. It is a slight disappointment the video is only 720p resolution.
The flash range is an impressive 85 feet at night. There is a choice between the infrared LED emitters and the “Lightsout” version. “Lightsout” being Wildgames version of No glow or black flash.
The trigger speed is around 0.5 seconds which is not the quickest and you may miss a few game animals moving quickly through the camera lens field of view because of this.
Summary
This micro trail camera from Wildgame is a fairly unorthodox approach to trail cameras. Whether you like the mounting system and the dot matrix display is a personal choice.
The camera performs well, overall in terms of picture quality and the battery life is very impressive, with 6 months use from a set of 4 x AA lithium.
Overall, the Hex Micro Trail camera is a well made, solid performing camera with a lot to like. It’s up to you whether the camera’s unique style is something you can work with.
Last update on 2024-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Last update on 2024-03-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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