Hunters were early adopters of surveillance camera technology, but today, thanks to their low cost and image quality, surveillance cameras are useful and fun for anyone who has wildlife near their home. Even bird watchers living in the city can use surveillance cameras to automatically capture images of feeder and bath visitors. Surveillance cameras are also useful for increasing security of the property. (Is it a bear, raccoon or someone breaking into your garbage cans in the middle of the night?)
If you’ve been thinking about adding a motion-activated camera to your cart, Amazon’s Prime Day early access sale drops the price on one of our favorite network-free surveillance cameras, the GardePro A3. On October 11 and 12, Amazon is reintroducing this offer to give members a head start on their holiday shopping.
Buy: GardePro A3 Trail Camera 24MP 1080P
The Expert: I’ve been using surveillance cameras, primarily to track animals for hunting, for about a decade and have seen the quality improve and the prices drop dramatically. Today, I use both mobile and non-mobile cameras year-round as essential scouting tools. Through my hardware articles, I’ve tested most of the major surveillance camera brands and am always curious about new offerings. As a landowner and wildlife enthusiast, I also use these cameras for security and for the pleasure of watching the animals go by when I’m not around.
I named the GardePro A3 as the best budget hiking camera in my review of the 9 best hiking cameras because it has an excellent Sony image sensor, which provides high-quality images. It also has a fast shutter speed to keep animals from sneaking in, and can handle high capacity cards so you can leave the camera for long periods of time without running out of memory. It also provides sharper nighttime images (probably thanks to the Sony sensor) than most other inexpensive hiking cameras, without being significantly more expensive. However, it struggles to focus at close range.
My major complaints with the A3 are fairly common with too many hiking cameras. The menu navigation and buttons are a bit confusing if you don’t use them frequently, and there aren’t many options for capture delay. The camera also doesn’t offer image review via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so you have to make do with physical maps. This limitation isn’t the end of the world, but some low-cost hiking cameras do offer wireless image review, which can be handy when you’re reviewing images often. Still, at this price, you can afford to buy several of these high-performance devices and use multiple cameras at once to get a more complete picture of the wildlife in your area.
What you need to know about the Prime Early Access 2022 sale
Yes, it’s true! Amazon’s Prime Day is making its return in October for two days - October 11 and 12 - with deals that will help you save big and plan your shopping better before Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale offers 48 hours of can’t-miss vacation deals. Even better: You can get great deals now, before the Early Access event, like this multi-tool (a perfect stocking stuffer gift!). To take advantage of the event, all you need is a Prime membership, which is free for the first 30 days.
