Brand · Trail Cameras & Optics
SPYPOINT makes trail cameras, and its lineup splits into two families. FLEX cameras are cellular: they send photos to your phone through the SPYPOINT app. FORCE cameras are not: they save photos and video to an SD card you pull by hand. The short version: pick the family first, then the flash type, then how you'll power it. (Uncle Walt's method is to check his camera when he remembers. The FLEX family exists for people like Walt. He disagrees.)
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SPYPOINT makes one product type on this site: trail cameras. The grid above splits them into two families and a few sub-groups:
The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go, so I'll write about the families and what separates them on paper. Most spec values in the grid came from Amazon listings and are marked that way. Where the maker's series pages state a value, I've used the maker's number in the text. Where nobody states one, the grid shows a dash.
The maker also sells accessories, solar panels and replacement parts. This site lists the cameras.
The maker's FLEX series page lists the same core for every model: cellular with dual SIM, which it says "connects to the strongest signal," plus settings, scheduling and alerts in the SPYPOINT app. Photos and video can be customized, including video with sound and time-lapse.
Here's why that matters at a camp like ours: Hemlock Run is a long drive from my apartment in Harrisburg, and nobody wants to walk to a camera to find out a raccoon has been modeling for it all week. A cellular camera tells you from the kitchen. More on the type across brands is on the cellular trail camera page.
The FLEX-M is the entry point of the family on this site. Its listings name 28 MP photos, 720p video, an IP65 rating, and a free plan of up to 100 photos monthly. It comes as a single camera and in twin, 4-pack and SD card bundles.
The FLEX-M2 is the newer camera. The maker's series page lists 32 MP photos, 1080p video, a 0.4-second trigger, a 90-foot range and a no-glow flash. It also lists two power options: a rechargeable LIT-22 battery the maker rates at up to 12 months, or AA batteries at up to 6 months. The grid has single cameras, twin packs, a 3-pack and a solar bundle.
These are the 40 MP models. Per the maker, both list 1080p video, a 0.3-second trigger and a 100-foot range, and both offer low-glow and no-glow flash. The difference is power. The FLEX-S-DARK has a built-in solar panel and battery, per the maker. The FLEX-DARK doesn't list built-in solar.
The FLEX G-36 Twin and Flex-Plus 36MP in the grid are 36 MP cellular models, per their listings, with dual-SIM connection and a 100-foot flash range.
FORCE cameras are non-cellular. The maker's series page says they store HD photos and video on an SD card, and every FORCE model it lists has a low-glow flash. No plan, no signal needed. You walk in and pull the card. (On paper this is the simplest way to see what moved. In practice it's also the best excuse Walt has for a walk.)
The three current FORCE models on the maker's page step up like this:
On the 4K models the maker's page gives 48 MP in the product sections and 40 MP in its comparison table. I'm not going to pick one for them. The grid also lists a FORCE-PRO with 30 MP and 4K video and a Force 48, per their listings. The trail camera page covers SD card cameras across brands.
A good share of the grid is the same camera sold in a different box. The FLEX-M comes as a twin pack, a 4-pack and an SD card pack. The FLEX-M2 comes as a twin pack, a 3-pack and a solar bundle. The FORCE-24 and the FLEX-S-DARK come as 2-packs.
Read the pack listing for what's actually in it. The specs per camera are the same as the single camera's, but a bundle may add an SD card or a solar panel, and the listings say which. For cellular packs, remember the plan page: one plan per camera. A 4-pack is four cameras and four plans, even if three of them stay on the free one.
(A 4-pack also means four cameras to find again. Uncle Walt bought a twin pack of something once and still talks about "the other one" like it moved out of state.)
This is the big fork. A FLEX camera needs cell signal where you hang it and a plan for each camera. A FORCE camera needs neither, but you have to visit it. If your camera is a long drive from home, or the spot is one you don't want to walk into midweek, cellular earns its keep. If you're checking a camera on the walk to your stand anyway, an SD card camera does the job.
Check your carrier's coverage map for the exact spot before you buy a cellular camera. A ridge can have three bars and the creek bottom below it none.
My one opinion on this page: for a cellular camera, do the plan math before you compare megapixels. The maker's plan page lists a free plan of 100 photos a month and larger paid plans up to unlimited, and it says one plan per camera. Full-HD photos and videos are separate add-on packages. Here's the quick math: one busy trail can fill 100 photos in a week of rain-blown leaves. Three cameras means three plans.
FLEX and FORCE cameras list low-glow or no-glow infrared flash, and some FLEX models offer both. Browning's guide to night images explains the trade. A low-glow flash can show a faint red glow if someone is looking at it. A no-glow flash stays invisible but lights the subject less, so night photos come out grainier and blur more easily.
Think about who walks past the camera. Deer, or deer and people.
Three options show up across the lineup: batteries, a built-in solar panel, or an external solar panel bundle. The maker rates the FLEX-M2's LIT-22 rechargeable battery at up to 12 months and AA batteries at up to 6. The FLEX-S-DARK and FORCE-PRO-S 2.0 have solar built in, and the maker says extra batteries on the FORCE-PRO-S 2.0 are optional backup.
Solar needs sun. A camera under hemlocks in a north-facing hollow gets less of it than a field edge. Check the spot, not the box. Charge any lithium battery on a hard surface, away from anything that burns, and follow the maker's charging instructions.
Trigger speed is how fast the camera fires after it senses movement. On the maker's pages the lineup runs from 0.5 seconds on the FORCE-24 down to 0.2 seconds on the FORCE-PRO-S 2.0. A fast trigger matters on a trail where deer walk through. It matters less over a scrape where they stop. Detection and flash range runs from 70 feet to 110 feet across the FORCE family.
A few things that apply across the lineup:
Write down which camera is where, and when you last swapped the card. (I have a column for this. Walt names his cameras after the deer he hopes to see on them. Two of them are named Buster.)
Trail camera rules vary by state, especially for cellular cameras. Check your state wildlife agency before you hang one.
Both brands sell cellular trail cameras with their own apps and photo plans, and both turn up in the same searches. On this site the difference is in the mix. SPYPOINT's grid has both cellular FLEX cameras and SD card FORCE cameras. Tactacam's grid is its cellular REVEAL cameras plus the DEFEND 360, a security camera.
Tactacam's site lists its address in Decorah, Iowa, and offers REVEAL and DEFEND app plans. If you want an SD card camera from the same brand as your cellular ones, that's SPYPOINT's side of the grid. Compare plans, flash type and power camera for camera. The Tactacam brand page has its lineup.
The maker's warranty page lists:
It excludes batteries and other consumables, damage from accidents, liquids or misuse, modified products, cosmetic damage, and products from unauthorized online sellers. The customer pays shipping to send a product in.
This page doesn't cover a founding year, where the cameras are made or who owns the company. Ranked lists across brands are on the best trail camera page and the best cellular trail camera page.
Pick the family, do the plan math, and write the card date on a strip of tape inside the door. Your future self will read it in January.
What can be checked: the maker publishes photo resolution, video resolution, trigger speed, detection and flash range, and flash type for each model, and lists a two-year warranty on cameras. Whether one suits you depends on whether you need cellular photos, how far your camera is from the cabin, and how you'll power it. Compare those specs model to model in the grid.
FLEX cameras are cellular. The maker says they use dual SIM to connect to the strongest signal and are managed through the SPYPOINT app. FORCE cameras are non-cellular and store photos and video on an SD card. FORCE models list 2K or 4K video; the FLEX models on the maker's series page list 1080p video.
Yes. The maker's plan page lists a free plan with 100 photos per month and no commitment, plus Basic, Standard and Premium plans with larger monthly photo allowances, up to unlimited. The page says it's one plan per camera. Full-HD photos and videos are sold as separate add-on packages.
The FLEX-M is a cellular trail camera in the FLEX family. Its listings in the grid name 28 MP photos, 720p video, an IP65 rating and a free plan of up to 100 photos monthly, and several come as twin, 4-pack or SD card bundles. The newer FLEX-M2 lists 32 MP photos and 1080p video.
The maker lists two years on cameras from the purchase date, one year on accessories and 90 days on certified refurbished products. It covers purchases from SPYPOINT or an authorized dealer, in the country of purchase. You need proof of purchase and a return authorization number, and the customer pays shipping to send a product in.
The Link Micro doesn't appear among the SPYPOINT listings in this site's grid, and the maker's current series pages show FLEX and FORCE cameras. For a small cellular camera now, compare the FLEX-M and FLEX-M2 listings in the grid, or see the cellular trail camera page for other brands.
