Barn Owl Cameras- AVOID

[oxn939]

Picked up a Barn owl cellular camera in November '22 to keep an eye on a hunting property. Setup was fairly easy for both the camera and solar panel. Transmitted well for a month or two. Then it died randomly. They sent me another one in April '23.

Set that one up, and things were going great for a few months... until the same thing happened. It went from a 100% battery indication to 0% in one day. Then offline for weeks. Then I manually recharged the solar panel battery. Worked for another week or two and then it died again. Then this morning, it randomly started sending pictures again with a 100% battery indication.

I asked to return it and customer support said to kick rocks. So, I've got what appears to be a paperweight, as I'm certainly not paying a subscription fee for an inoperative camera to sit on a tree with the hope it may decide to start working.

Bottom line, both Barn Owl cameras I have received were junk. Avoid unless you want a game like the one they've had me playing.

 

[ceemee63]

I would rate my experience with Barn Owl as very poor. The first set of cameras (Range) would not work reliably due to little to no AT&T cell service in the area even though I entered my location info into their site that approved use there. They replaced these cameras with a different type (Reach), they take photos all the time of nothing. No movement, no people, no vehicles as I have they system set up to do. My cell bill is now over $100.00 for 30 days. These are not cheap cameras and while support has been in communication they system rates an F for reliability.

Their website stated average cell bill should be $12.00 per camera per month.

When I reached out regarding all the photos that were being taken I was initially told by support "Looks like the photos were spaces roughly 55 minutes apart which is a classic indicator of external interference. This may be caused by local electrical sources, heavy machinery, or cell phone tower maintenance/disruptions which are surprisingly common. I'll keep an eye on these two cameras and check them later today for improved performance." No follow up happened and the cameras kept taking photos all the time.

The next time I contacted support..."Unfortunately our camera are programmed to trigger on motion regardless of what caused the trigger, and we can't prevent the camera from transmitting an image based on the image contents with your cameras. This feature is available on the EdgeCam"

I was clear in ordering these that my need was to monitor for people and vehicles.

I would not recommend these to anyone.

 

[MNElkNut]

I have 4 TactaCam Reveals that I really like and it is a flat rate of $6? $8? per month for as many pictures as it sends. I would recommend them.

 

[buckbull]

I don't have cell service, at least reliable enough to use cell enabled cameras. I do have Starlink internet at my place and installed blink cameras for my cabin and a couple overlooking food plots and I'm very satisfied with their performance. A good option if you have internet available.

 

[oxn939]

I have 4 TactaCam Reveals that I really like and it is a flat rate of $6? $8? per month for as many pictures as it sends. I would recommend them.

Might have to check that out. Thanks for the tip!