Qualities & Features
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Overview
The new SpyPoint Force Pro offers excellent photo quality, good videos, unbelievable trigger speeds and lengthy battery life, all in one camera trap. The Force Pro captures very high quality 30MP images and 4K video (there is more to that though...).
Battery life, from 8x AA lithium batteries (not included), will be a long, long time under normal usage. If taking photos, you can expect well over a year’s battery life from this camera on approximately 60 photos every 24 hours. On video mode, it's slightly below average at around 2 months.
The SpyPoint Force Pro also has an extremely fast trigger speed – approx 0.05 seconds for photos and around 0.5 second for video – some of the fastest currently available on any camera trap.
The SpyPoint Force Pro also has a host of other very impressive features. The 30MP stills are excellent quality, particularly in the daytime, and the HD video is good - however, the 4K footage is at such a low frame rate that it's not enjoyable to use. The standard 1080p HD footage however is good quality.
The SpyPoint Force Pro trail camera also has a curved motion sensor which improves the detection angle and detecting distance of its five detection zones.
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Video Quality:
Max res: 4k (10fps) Max length: 90 secs
Trigger speed: about 0.5 seconds Recovery time: about 1.4 secondThe 4k video option is one of the main touted features of this camera, but there is more to it than that. As with most higher-resolution options, and especially with emerging 4k on trail cameras, this often means frame rates are lower (this is how many frames there are a second - if its 20fps or lower, video can look stuttery or appear like its skipping).
On the SpyPoint Force Pro, the 4k option is only 10fps. In all honesty, that makes it pretty much pointless and nowhere near the 4k you may be expecting. There are other 4k cameras (i.e. the Browning Recon Force Edge 4k) that are offering 4K footage at 30fps…
That said, the lower video resolution options (i.e. standard 1080p) are decent for the first time in a long while on a SpyPoint camera, and it can do 1080p at 30fps. There are other wildlife cameras we offer that do this at 60fps for a similar or lower price however.
Photo Quality:
Max res: 30MP Max photos per trigger: 6 photos
Trigger speed: about 0.05 seconds Recovery time: about 1.2 secondPhoto quality is actually pretty good on the Force Pro. As with all wildlife cameras, its using interpolation to boost the image sizes - we recommend choosing the lower resolution options as the higher interpolation can make the images a bit more grainy. That said, images have good colour and definition on the Force Pro.
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Speed and detection
Trigger speed: approx. 0.05s (photos), 0.5s (videos) Recovery speed 1.2s (photos), 1.4s (videos)
Detection range: approx. 110ft LED type: No-glow LEDsSpyPoint cameras have never been slow, and there is no change with the Force Pro - blazingly fast in photo mode, and very good video trigger speeds too.
Recovery is a touch on the slower side, it must be said, but not terrible.
The Force Pro is also one of the most sensitive cameras on the market - able to detect at really great distances consistenly.
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Build quality & batteries
Warranty: 2 years (through NatureSpy)
Batteries: 8 x AA (lithium strongly recommended)The SpyPoint cameras have always had a reputation for incredible battery life in photo mode, and the Force Pro is no different. Even taking about 70 photos a day (split between day and night), you can expect upwards of 18 months on a set of Lithium AA batteries. Pretty incredible, and great for long-term photo deployments.
Video mode is a bit more power hungry and more average - around 2.5 months based on 20 videos a day (10 during daylight, 10 at night).
The build quality is solid - although the screen is black and white only, with no playback or preview.
Every purchase funds our projects
Buy a camera, back a project.
Your purchase help fund our projects - from the Scottish Highlands to Ecuador's cloud rainforest.- Audio Recording: Yes
- Battery Life - Photos: Up to 24 Months
- Battery Life - Video: Up to 2.5 months
- Can use rechargable batteries: No
- Cellular: No
- CMOS Sensor: 2MP
- Detection range max: Up to 100ft
- Encryption option: No
- External power jack: Yes - accessory only
- FPS: 10fps
- GPS Geotag: No
- Hybrid capture: Yes
- Image data strip: Yes
- IR flash range: 80ft max
- LCD Display: Black and white text only
- Max Images per trigger: 6
- Max SD Card capacity: 32GB
- Max video resolution: 4K
- Memory overwrite: No
- Night vision flash: No-Glow
- No of batteries: AA x8
- Number of LEDs: 42
- PIR sensor: Up to 110ft
- Power supply: AA batteries
- Recovery speed: 1.3s
- Resolution: 3MP
- Solar compatible: Yes
- Start Stop Timer: Yes
- Strap included: Yes
- Timelapse: Yes
- Trigger speed - Photos: 0.5sec
- Trigger speed - Videos: 0.5sec
- Tripod mount: Yes
- Video length: Up to 60 seconds
- Warranty: 2 year
- Weatherproof: Yes
- Wireless connectivity: No
SpyPoint
SpyPoint camera traps have been around for a while now, and have developed year on year. They are a Canadian-based company, and all of their trail cameras are tested in the harsh Canadian winter before release.
There are currently several models of SpyPoint cameras, with a release of 4 cameras in summer 2019, all of which fit in at different places in the market. SpyPoint has also turned in the last few years to specialise in cellular camera traps that send photos in near-real time. This culminated with the release of the innovative Link-Micro in May 2019.
The non-wireless trail cameras are:
- Force 20 – an entry level, affordable little camera with strong features and excellent night-time video
- Force Dark – a mid-market camera trap with industry-leading trigger times (particularly for photos) and selectable low-glow or no-glow LED options
- Solar Dark – the only camera trap with a solar panel built in. Potentially unlimited battery life, especially when paired with an initial set of lithium batteries. The same trigger speeds as the Force Dark too and control over low-glow or no-glow LEDs
The wireless trail cameras, all using the Telefonica (o2, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile etc) network and locked to the SIM Card they are provided with, are:
- Link Micro – an innovative, small and affordable wireless trail camera. No frills but a great way to access an app-based, 4G wireless trail camera
- Link-Micro-S – as above but with built-in solar panel and Lithium battery pack
- Link-Dark – best suited for security applications thanks to its no-glow LEDs. 4G and fast photo transmission, with the fastest trigger speeds available.
- Link-S – Essentially a Link-Dark with a solar panel on the top – perfect if the camera needs to be left in-situ for long periods of time
The wireless cameras also come with free 28 days of initial unlimited use. If you don’t choose one of the paid plans after that point, it reverts to a free 100 photos a month plan. They are all controlled via an app available on iOS and Android, and also online via myspypoint.com.
The trigger speeds of these cameras are all really good, and battery life is great. If they’re some of the main things that you are looking for, then SpyPoint might be for you.
It also feels like there is a bit more going on in a SpyPoint camera – they feel cleverer than the average. The detection zones are broken up into 5 areas to ensure a better result, screens display countdown timers when you turn the camera on, and fast release clips help you take the camera off it’s backing quickly and conveniently.
All come with a 2 year UK warranty when bought through NatureSpy, as an official UK dealer. If you need to ask any questions at all about SpyPoint or any other camera trap we do, just get in touch.
Need some help?
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