Two trail cameras, one manufacturer, two must-have trail cameras that will boost your fall success.
by Jace Bauserman
I’ve trusted Stealth Cam trail cameras for my scouting needs for a very long time. That’s not to say I don’t use other brands. I absolutely do! We are in the heyday of cellular and digital camera technology. However, Stealth Cam models I’ve tested and used over the years have proven reliable in a variety of terrains and environments. From the scorching August heat to the doldrums of late winter; from capturing thirsty pronghorn at stock tanks to bull elk and whitetail, Stealth Cam make excellent scouting devices.
Currently, two Stealth Cam models hold the top two places in my heart. Those are Stealth Cam’s DS4K Ultimate and Revolver Pro 3.0 360°. I’ve been testing this dynamic game-capturing duo, consisting of one standard digital camera and one cellular camera, for 75 days.
Let’s jump in.
The Revolver Pro 2.0 360°
The cellular trail camera revolution is upon us. Never before has scouting for game been so efficient and easy. I’m sure I’ll catch some flak over that “easy” statement, but in truth, cell cameras do make scouting easy. After setting them, you never have to return except to replace batteries.
No, I’m not a cell-cam curmudgeon. Quite the opposite, actually. I use cellular trail cameras from the conclusion of Colorado’s turkey season to September 28. Colorado’s cellular trail camera laws state that cell cams are illegal to use while hunting. Cell cams must be taken down 48 hours before you begin hunting. My whitetail archery season opens on October 1. To avoid any problems, I pull my cellular scouters out more than 48 hours before I begin hunting.
One cellular trail camera that I’ve installed on my deer property is the Stealth Cam Revolver Pro 2.0 360°. As cell-camera makers scramble to discover and incorporate new technologies into their devices, hunters have been the beneficiaries. The Revolver Pro 2.0 features six detection/capture zones. These zones allow users to see all activity around their trail camera. You can also select single-zone detection and 180-degree zone detection using the easy-to-use Command Pro app.
My approach when testing the Revolver Pro 2.0 was to take full advantage of its 360-degree detection/capture capabilities. For this reason, I typically mounted the Revolver Pro 2.0 to a camera stand rather than a tree. The trail camera proved perfect in a location where I usually place three. With the 2.0 360°, I could monitor a small pond, an adjacent food plot, and two travel corridors.
When the camera is in 360-degree mode, all zones trigger when an animal walks through any zone. This will help you learn a great deal about how deer utilize a particular area. I learned much about entrance and exit routes. I also discovered a trail that I needed to block to ensure deer didn’t skirt my treestand.
The cellular camera, powered by 16 standard alkaline AA batteries, is still operational at 68 percent after 72 days in the field. It has taken 567 photos, and while many images are blank due to the absence of animals in the other capture zones, I’ve only received 22 blank 6-shot thumbnail strips. That’s very good. The camera has been exposed to 108-degree heat, hail, violent wind, and buckets of rain. The lower-latch door and durable housing prevent water from entering. After more than two months, the camera still looks brand new. I love the screw-in style antenna. This is handy when you’re hauling the trail camera around the woods in a backpack or in a truck or UTV.
Another feature I like is that using the Command Pro app, users can select Live Stream. Live Stream allows users to view what is going on in front of their trail camera for up to five minutes. This will be particularly helpful for hunters residing in states where the use of cellular trail cameras is permitted during hunting seasons. Logging into your trail camera and making sure nothing is in the area before heading into your treestand or ground blind is a sure way to ensure you don’t spook deer.
The Stealth Cam Revolver 2.0 360° cell cam captures amazing 2K video and 4K HD photos, and the manufacturer’s branded trigger speed of .4 seconds is more than accurate. I tested trigger speed by running past the trail camera from 80 feet away. I did this during the day and at night, and the camera captured me in the center of both images. The four power LEDs capture deer-sized game to a tested distance of 110 feet, day or night, and deer are unaffected by the ultra-mild infrared flash.
The camera features 32GB of on-board internal memory. This memory can be managed via the app. It’s getting close to time for me to retrieve my cellular trail camerasas deer season nears In fact, I’ve already pulled down others that aren’t as good as the Revolver 2.0. This will be a cellular trail camera that I hate to see go back in the MTM ACRG18 tote, but I know it will be ready to answer the call in May of 2026 when it’s time for my cellular trail cameras to hit the woods once again.
Stealth Cam DS4K Ultimate
Digital trail cameras aren’t going anywhere. Despite the current cell camera rave, there will always be a place for digital trail cameras. In many states, cell camera laws prohibit or limit the use of cellular trail cameras. Then there are areas where you want to hang a trail camera, but no cellular service is available. Digital cameras are amazing scouting devices, and Stealth Cam’s DS4K Ultimate is one of the very best digital trail cameras you will ever use.
The camera only requires 12 standard AA alkaline batteries. Even though my DS4K Ultimate has been moved around the West since July, capturing hundreds of photos and videos, this top-tier digital scouter is still running on the same set of batteries.
I used the trail camera on a prairie pond to capture pronghorn and mule deer, in the mountains for elk, and now it has replaced a cellular trail camera on my whitetail property. At $250, this digital scouter is expensive. Still, i’s worth every single penny. Over 70 days in the field, this digital trail camera NEVER falsely triggered. The 32MP images are clean and crisp, and the 1440P video at 30FPS with audio is remarkable.
I wish the DS4K Ultimate had a 2-inch LCD viewing screen, but the thin screen with easy-to-read blue lettering, along with Menu and Enter buttons and up/down/left/right arrows, ensures an easy setup. The trail camera has many customizable functions. You can select between photo resolutions of 32, 16, 8, and 4MP, and the camera’s burst mode allows for between one and nine photos per trigger. The housing is ultra-durable, and the six 850nm power LEDs don’t spook the game.
Another super impressive feature of the camera is its ultra-rapid trigger speed. Stealth Cam notes the trigger speed at .2 seconds. However, testing using a stopwatch and a runner’s chip card showed a trigger speed slightly under .2.
Concerning capture and detection range, backyard and in-the-field testing successfully captured deer and humans at a measured distance of 135 feet. This is extremely impressive. Stealth Cam notes the DS4K Ultimate’s detection/capture range to 100 feet. I love to see a product that outperforms manufacturer testing.
This fall, my whitetail property will be equipped with Stealth Cam’s DS4K Ultimate trail cameras and standard digital cameras from another brand. Suppose you’re in the market for an excellent digital trail camera and don’t want to deal with the hassle of monthly data plans, etc. In that case, the DS4K Ultimate is an excellent addition to your scouting camera arsenal.
