It’s not just hunters and nature enthusiasts who are using an outdoor trail camera these days.

If you have a backyard of just about any size, you will probably find some activity going on, especially at night time. An outdoor trail camera can catch a cheeky family of squirrels at play, a racoon roaming through garbage bins and even a human night stalker prowling the neighborhood.

My original intent was to get an outdoor trail camera with the biggest pixels and highest quality images that was available. What I ended up bringing home was a trail camera that could hook up to my phone and for a subscription fee, I could get images sent directly to me. Yikes!

I was now willing to step down in pixel size for a no-nonsense straightforward camera. Enter the Muddy outdoor trail camera that relies on the user taking the time to go to the location and switch the memory card to see what it had captured. Isn’t that half the fun?

The anticipation of what the camera captured, coupled with subtracting the additional expense, just made more sense for me personally. Take a look at some of the nature pictures I was able to capture in this video:

Simplicity and ease of use make this

outdoor trail camera a ‘must have’.

The Muddy Trail Camera delivers.

The camera was easy to set up and in no time at all I had it ready to go. It comes with a strap to wrap around a tree or fence post and requires eight AA batteries. Pay attention to how these are placed in the camera. With four slots for two batteries each you have the positive ends facing you on the outer sides and the inner two chambers with the negative ends sticking out.

This camera does NOT come with a memory card unless you purchase the bundle pack. The size of the SD memory card you want to use really comes down to how long you think you will be away before you collect it.

You can adjust how many pictures your Muddy outdoor trail camera takes by adjusting the interval between each action sequence.

I had it set short in the beginning and what I ended up with was something that felt like a still frame movie. I also tried the longer time interval and felt that I may have missed something. My trail camera isn’t too far from the house so I can easily walk out and check it every other day if need be. This is what it was like for me in the beginning.

Every morning felt like Christmas to go see what my outdoor trail camera captured.

Wildlife brought to light. Who knew there was that much wildlife, especially at night, right in our own backyard?

Mr. Squirrel checking out the camera. It was amazing how many different animals made their way through the back of our property. Besides squirrels and birds, I’ve also captured a beaver, numerous deer, a fox, a raccoon, a wild turkey, a heron by the creek and loads of other smaller animals like rabbits and lightning bugs.

The Muddy outdoor trail camera delivered some clear pictures

and then some not so discernible ones as well.

The biggest factor that contributed if the picture turned out clear or not was the weather. Some mornings the dew made the images a little cloudy.  Rainy day shots were a little diminished as well,  but for the most part I really can’t complain because I was still able to easily discern what was in the images.

In the fall I was able to shoot quality color photos. This summer I noticed that the day shots will show in black and white. The canopy from the trees has diminished the light that can get through, so every shot is made this way.

Every image the camera takes is dated, and time stamped, so you still get a sense of when the shots were taken.

Are muddy trail cameras waterproof?

Yes, in general the camera is waterproof and I had no problem with my Muddy outdoor trail camera until we got a heavy rain. In all fairness, it looked like the rain was falling sideways on this occasion. The memory card was a little wet, but I was still able to get the pictures off the camera.

The batteries were still dry, so that was good, but I couldn’t get the display to operate properly. I brought it back and they happily replaced the camera for me. It says right on the package that it is waterproof, so I stuck to my guns on that one.

The Muddy is not rated as an underwater camera like the Pentax waterproof camera we reviewed a couple of years ago. Take a look at some pretty cool underwater pictures.

What is DVR mode on trail camera?

DVR stands for digital video recording as in Wildlife in Action. I really didn’t intend to use this feature at all because I was too worried it would take up too much of my memory card space.

It was by accident that I put the setting on my trail camera to the video setting and I caught a racoon walking by on the trail. It was comical to see this guy strutting past the camera. Once again, the camera quality lived up to what it was advertised to do.

Is the Muddy trail camera the best trail camera for the money?

For what I paid for the camera, the quality and number of both pictures and videos that I collected, this camera was a steal! I am impressed with how well the Muddy camera is performing.

I would highly recommend this trail camera for standard wildlife shots. It is a great way to share the secrets of a remote location or your own backyard for when you’re not around.

The Muddy Pro-Cam 14 Bundle Game Camera is available on Amazon for only $79.95 and offers:

• 14 Megapixel
• 2 – 6 Photo Bursts
• Standard VGA (32 FPS)
• 1. 5 Second Trigger Speed
• Includes 8GB Memory Card (no batteries)

The Muddy line of accessories now contains ladder stands, tripods, ground blinds, and of course hang-no’s and harnesses.

Take a look at all the available Muddy gear!

Do you have a trail camera? Which brand and accessories do you use? Please share your own experiences with wildlife photography by leaving me a comment below.