For those like myself, who haven’t started Christmas shopping yet(please don’t judge), this trail camera might just be the perfect stocking stuffer for your favorite hunter or huntress. For the last month I’ve tested the Stealth Cam DS4KMAX trail camera and think that it deserves special recognition this holiday season.
Here are five reasons why this camera should be in everyone’s 2020 Christmas stocking.
Construction & Battery Life
Every so often, I’m caught by surprise when I walk up to check one of my cameras. Either a piece of rubber has finally broken off, there’s condensation on the inside of the lens housing or the mode buttons have stopped functioning. Although most trail cams start out by functioning properly, it’s easy to spot the ones that have significant construction flaws and the DS4KMAX is not one of them. The external case is rugged, beefy and does a great job of protecting the internal pieces from the cruel elements of mother nature. In the past, a point of frustration for me is how the settings screen is sealed and protected.
To access the internal screen on the DS4KMAX, you must first open the oversized latch on the side. Just by glancing at this latch, you get the impression that Stealth Cam gets how important it is to keep the weather out of your camera. From a seal perspective, I found this camera to be among the best, with a high quality thick gasket around the entire access point to the screen. There’s no question that this camera will last as long as the internal parts are running in good order.
From a battery perspective, this camera takes 12AA’s, which results in the camera being a touch heavier than some of its competition. However, this provides the added bonus of a much longer battery life, meaning more photos and less in-field maintenance. This is greatly appreciated, especially when you’re not able to get to your camera on a frequent basis.
Externally, the only suggestion that I would ask for on the next model is a leveling screw on the rear of the camera should you need to even it out on a tree. However, I use small branches all the time and they always do the trick. A nice to have, not a need to have.
Quick Setup
Now some cameras on the market take a degree in rocket science to operate, and if you’re anything like me, you don’t carry the product manual in your pocket. Fortunately, this camera is one of the easiest to set up that I’ve ever owned. Stealth Cam has preloaded this camera with 3 settings for quick use. And if those don’t suit your needs, you can program a fourth button with your own custom settings, which is a really nice feature to have at the ready.
Sometimes, I like to shift between photo and video mode and these presets allow you to quickly do so just by sliding the switch up or down by one notch. The pre-programmed quick settings are: 8MP photo with a 3 shot burst, 8MP photo with a single shot and a 30 second 1080HD video clip with audio. What I like most is that there is never any question on which setting you have the camera on because the screen will confirm the mode prior to arming. This in itself is nice for peace of mind when you’re setting out a bunch of cameras.
Reliability
Ok, now for the really important stuff. We’ve all been burned in the past by cameras that capture blanks and back half shots of deer. By now, you would think that most trail cam companies could work out this kink, but some still haven’t. The DS4KMAX has an impressive <.4 second trigger speed and although it isn’t the absolute fastest on the market, it’s still faster than most. After a month of having this camera out in the field, I’m happy to report that I captured zero, (yes 0, zilch, nada), blank shots, which is simply incredible.
The 3 burst mode with a 1 second interval was by far my favorite setting and would consistently give me over 500 photos per day, all of which were extremely clear. Want a longer delay between the interval time, you can easily change this on the custom preset to reflect 1, 3, 5 & 10 seconds. And if you think that in this mode, memory capacity will be an issue, think again because this camera accepts up to a 512GB SD card.
Night Shots
Let’s face the facts, any decent camera can take impressive daytime shots. In the end, a sunny clear day with a contrasting background will make most animals stand right out. Where cameras tend to struggle is when the sun goes down and night mode kicks in. The DS4KMAX has an impressive no-glo infrared unit that contains 42 emitters and can successfully take photos with impressive clarity up to 100ft away. I found that unlike some of its competitors, this infrared system is quite balanced, meaning that it doesn’t solely blind you with white light right in front of the camera. It does a phenomenal job of lighting up the sides of the image, which allows you to clearly identify other animals standing nearby(see the image below). This is due to both the IR unit and the wide angle lens that Stealthcam fits this camera with. This is a huge plus leg up on the competition.
Overall, this camera has impressed me enough to make it my new go to camera and that takes a lot. Between the extended battery life, a wide angle lens and crisp nighttime IR photos, the DS4KMAX checks all of the boxes that a top tier camera should.
