What type of batteries for trail camera?

[jymbee]

Wondering what type of AA batteries are best suited for trail cameras and if the more expensive ones actually perform much better (last longer) than ordinary alkalines?

 

[Industrial Toys]

There is a fantastic youtube video of a guy testing various battteries with a sophisicated tester. Don't know if I can find it. Cheapest batteries, are of little value, even for price, and the best are worth it, for certain applications only. I think, high end (like medical) equipment. For the average stuff, the middle of the road price range was the best value as I recall.

I think the user was "diode gone wild" and he has a bunch of battery tests.

 

[mikester]

Costco Kirkland brand is the best bang for your buck and end up costing between $0.30-0.40/each. Consumers reports tested a large assortment of batteries and they perform just as good as the copper top competitor at half the price. The longest lasting batteries are the energizer lithiums but get ready to dish out $3.50/battery. Ive tried a lot of batteries from cheap to expensive in my driveway alarm and am sticking with the Costco brand. I find the really cheap batteries arent worth it because they tend to last less than half the time and dont perform when the temperatures drop below zero.

 

[clemsonfor]

You can get lithium ion AA batteries that last longer they cost a good bit more but lesser chance they die on you.

If you can solder, you can modify most to run off a 6v rechargable lantern style battery. I have done that to one and it would go all season and you couldn't tell it used any battery. I just made a weather proof box, set it at the base of a tree and twisted the wires up the tree to the camera location. There also cheaper as those batteries are less than like $10.

 

[Oaktree]

You can get lithium ion AA batteries that last longer they cost a good bit more but lesser chance they die on you.

Another vote for lithiums. They're also great for regular cameras or labelers that tend to go thru batteries quickly. They're also more tolerant of cold temperatures, since the OP is from N.Y. that would be a concern too.

 

[gsganzer]

See if your camera has an option for an external battery pack. Many folks use an external battery with a solar panel charger.

 

[skipperbrown]

If you are running for a season, I would recommend a large pack of brand name batteries and replace them as necessary. If you are running your cameras year round, I'd suggest using Clemsonfor's recommendation of running a large external rechargeable or getting AA rechargeables. I use Eneloops high capacity batteries and they last a long time per charge. Some of my batteries were put in service in 2011 and are still going strong. 8 AA batteries in series is 12v and 2 6v rechargeable exit sign style in series will give you 12v (at about $5-6 a pop plus a weatherproof box, connector, and wire) will give you months of service before recharging and last years.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm a firm believer that Duracell Copper Top are the best by far. They last longer then anything else that I've tried when just sitting, like a flashlight that you don't use very often. My walking to the deer blind flashlight has sat for 10 months and it worked for me over the weekend.

I tried some of the other brands out there to save money, and they didn't last very long out in my deer camera. The Duracell will last all season without changing batteries. I put new ones in two weeks before opening day, and they where still working, but had been in there since the end of Spring, beginning of Summer.

Duracell is the Standard that the others claim to be as good as. I don't believe any of them are for the money and I will stick with what works.

 

[RNeumann]

Another vote for lithiums. They're also great for regular cameras or labelers that tend to go thru batteries quickly. They're also more tolerant of cold temperatures, since the OP is from N.Y. that would be a concern too.

Battery tests typically don’t include “outdoor” scenarios. The performance of alkaline batteries degrades quickly with temperature drop. This problem is not as bad with lithium batteries. I’ve had good luck with my lithium batteries in the trail cam.

 

[Shaneard]

I'm a firm believer that Duracell Copper Top are the best by far. They last longer then anything else that I've tried when just sitting, like a flashlight that you don't use very often. My walking to the deer blind flashlight has sat for 10 months and it worked for me over the weekend.

I tried some of the other brands out there to save money, and they didn't last very long out in my deer camera. The Duracell will last all season without changing batteries. I put new ones in two weeks before opening day, and they where still working, but had been in there since the end of Spring, beginning of Summer.

Duracell is the Standard that the others claim to be as good as. I don't believe any of them are for the money and I will stick with what works.

I agree with Eddie, I only run Duracell in our cameras and they last a long time.