Wild Game Innovations 360° Camera

Trophy cams are great but how many times has something triggered your camera and then moved twometres out of shot to get down to whatever business it decides to participate in?

Well, the 360-degree camera from Wildgame Innovations seeks to avoid that problem, by not only having full PIR sensing around its entire circumference, but also the ability to swivel its on-board camera and IR illuminator into place and have the LED’s align for Night Vision.

The camera is 100% waterproof and is supplied with a mounting strap to fasten to a tree or post but better still, a T post mounting bracket that I used, allowing it to sit atop a ¾-inch aluminium tube, that I could plug in anywhere on the ground for initial scouting of a new location. All controls reside under a latched control panel cover that is finished in a deep camo colour with a disruptive shape, allowing it to blend in a little better to its background. By the nature of the beast, it works better when freely placed in the open and like all cameras, is prone to disruptive interference by other countryside users and this all helps, as best as possible, to minimise its ease of recognition.

In the Field

In use, I found the detection range to be around 15-metres but when translated to a full circle, that gave a large area to scan, however I did find it needed to be engaged at its own height to get the most out of this range. It triggers quickly but did still miss a few opportunities on one specific fox because, in real life, any time lag can always happen at the wrong moment. When placed out for rabbit surveillance, it tracked and scanned all night until it filled its 32GB SD card that is the maximum allowed. You can control still or video capture, image quality and consequent storage needs, as well as length of time for video clips and the required downtime pause before a new encounter can trigger it again; all this worked perfectly after a few trial runs were used to acclimatise to your environmental needs. It can be set to day or night time, as well as specific time periods, but I left it on 24-hour scan, with the PIR sensor in control. The display screen is small and no video playback is available but it’s easy enough to follow the controls and setup with rubberised buttons, just not in gloves or if you have forgotten your glasses!

Night time footage was ok but as always, incorrect background can flare out and overexpose the emitted IR light giving a slightly cloudy image. Full 720 HD video capture in daylight was very good, enabling better quarry identification and would specifically allow assessment of antler quality on deer. I found the most critical control was the trigger sensitivity, as on high, the leaves on the trees set it off if they were too close and this was a fine balance between not falsely filming a whole windy day, and getting maximum triggering range for crafty night time predators who I did find initially sceptical about the slight noise emitted by the camera, as the motors swivel it around.

View to a Kill

The Wildgame Innovations 360 Degree Camera is easy to set up and produces great image quality in daylight for the price. I like the T post mounting bracket, as it allows you to use it where there are no suitable posts or trees and it can therefore be used just about anywhere. Its discreet appearance helps with security in necessarily open locations, really helping it to blend in. It can be triggered by anything though, so can be `distracted` by foliage etc. and may sometimes be looking over its shoulder! Trigger sensitivity needs to be set carefully, so that’s worth bearing in mind. Overall, it’s a great piece of kit for initial ground assessment but perhaps not ideal for specific baiting positions, where a fixed camera is always looking in the right place.

PRICE: £219.99
CONTACT: 01556 503 587, www.scottcountry.co.uk