Browning Strike Force HD PRO Review

Browning Strike Force HD PRO Review

Model # BTC-5HDP

Strike Force Pro FAQ's

Strike Force Pro Owner's Manual

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Pros

• Great picture & video quality
• Huge flash range at night
• 11.2-month battery life on 6 AA Lithium batteries
• 0.3 s. picture trigger speed
• Incredibly fast video detection

Cons

• Picture recovery time has a glitch (see comments in Detection Circuit category)
• Max of 20-second night videos

Trailcampro Analysis

Browning completely redesigned their popular Strike Force sub-micro camera and the final result has left us impressed. Nearly every category we test shows substantial improvement. These improvements have resulted in a monster comprehensive score for this camera. Let's take a look at how the Strike Force Pro got there.

Picture Quality:

Photo resolution: 18 mpxl photos (interpolated)

Video resolution: 1296x720 w/ audio

Flash Type: Red Glow IR

The Strike Force Pro shows noticeable improvement in color quality on daytime photos. In a variance of conditions and camera trap setups, picture quality is proving to be a real strength for this camera. When you view the photos in full resolution, you will notice some pixelation, but other than that, daytime pictures are great. Color, clarity, and depth are all impressive.

One note on daytime pictures, the color has a heavy yellow/green tint.

Check out this short sequence that results in 3 phenomenal pictures, snapped in rapid succession:

Night pictures have outstanding range and the new IR emitters on the Strike Force Pro have boosted the flash range substantially. The camera can adapt for up-close shots of animals, preventing the typical "white-out" seen on other models.

Overall, we are very impressed with the improvements to picture quality.

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Videos are shot at 1296x720 w/ audio. Much like the pictures, you will see an improvement in color. These day videos are really good, but not the top-notch quality you see in the Browning Recon Force & Spec Ops cameras (1920x1080 resolution cameras). Audio seems to be muffled on the videos. You can judge for yourself by turning on your audio for the below videos.

Night videos display a bright, consistent flash range.

Megapixel Ratings:

In the past, many people get confused with the megapixel rating trail camera manufacturers advertise. Companies inflate the mpxl rating to attract eyes to their products. They do this through interpolation, which digitally adds megapixels to a photo without actually improving the picture.

The best way to judge picture quality is to look at actual pictures. You will notice this the most when you zoom in on a full-size image that a camera has taken. The details of the photo will appear hazy or even digitized. This is normal, and to be expected.

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Battery Life:

Picture & Video Resting Power (on): 0.72 mW

Picture Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 2.12 Ws | 2.99 Ws

Video Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 12.54 Ws | 36.4 Ws

Battery life is insanely efficient. There is hardly any room for improvement in the Strike Force Pro's efficiency. We have never seen lower, more efficient video power draws. The video consumption is truly jaw-dropping. The improvement could be in large part to the new infrared emitter the camera utilizes.

Picture Mode

If this camera were to take 35-day and 35-night pictures every 24 hours, the Strike Force HD Pro would last 11.2 months in the field on a set of 6 AA Lithium Batteries. We consider this to be outstanding, especially considering the camera only uses 6 batteries.

Video Mode

If this camera were to take 15-day and 15-night videos (10-second videos) every 24 hours, it would last 4.5 months in the field on a set of lithium batteries. This is the best video battery life currently on the market.

Detection Circuit:

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.3 s. / 1.2 s.*

Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.44 s. / 1.8 s.

Detection Range & Angle: 100 ft. | 39.4° (42.5° F.O.V.)

Picture trigger speed is extremely fast and a big improvement over previous Strike Force models. Video trigger and recovery times are also tremendous. This is one of the fastest video cameras currently on the market. The Strike Force Pro has outstanding detection capabilities.

* Picture recovery time will take a bit of explaining. In a series of recovery tests, the Strike Force Pro has a unique pattern when constant motion is in front of the camera. The recovery time is exceptionally fast on seven consecutive triggers, but on the 8th trigger the camera takes roughly 6-7 seconds to recover. This is how it looked in one of our tests:

• 0.567 s.
• 0.267 s.
• 0.567 s.
• 0.333 s.
• 0.534 s.
• 0.266 s.
• 0.267 s.
• 6.557 s.

This happens consistently and we have made Browning aware of the issue. For the purpose of our scoring and rating system, we will continue to rate from the average, which over the course of dozens of triggered events, is 1.2 seconds.

Detection range is 100 ft. but the detection width is less than the field of view. This results in very few empty or "false" triggers, but the camera does not detect the full width of the picture. The field of view is 45 degrees and the detection width is 25-30 degrees.

Quality of Design:

Dimensions: 4.25" x 3.75" x 3.25"

Battery Type: 6 AA Batteries

External Battery Jack: 12-Volt

Case Design

The Strike Force Pro's case design has seen a radical re-design. Just like all other Strike Force models, the Pro is super small and easy to carry/conceal. The case feels really solid and durable. Browning added an adjustable metal back bracket that swivels up and down (about a 30° range of motion). The bracket allows for easy up and down adjustments without using twigs for shims. If you need more adjustability, we'd still recommend a Slate River Mount.

Browning made the SD cards easier to load and unload (much easier than other Strike Force models). The only downside we found is the battery eject button takes a bit of work to unlatch. Expect to use a sturdy fingernail.

Temperature ratings the camera records have a tendency of being unreliable and off by a significant margin.

Overall, the case design on the Strike Force Pro is outstanding. It is nearly everything you'd expect from a quality trail camera. If you need extra protection from thieves or bears, we do have a Strike Force Pro Security Case that fits perfectly.

Camera Setup

The Strike Force Pro has a small internal viewer that makes camera setup and picture/video playback extremely easy. The viewer is a huge improvement and the live-view element eliminates the guesswork to setting up for the perfect trailcam shot.

The internal setup should only take you a minute or two - at the most. Even though the internal viewing screen is small, Browning was nice enough to enlarge the words on the screen for those of us with poor eyesight!

The Strike Force Pro can accept SD cards up to 512 Gigabytes. This is more than enough storage than you could ever use.

SD Card Storage Examples

With a 16 Gig SD card and the camera taking 4 mpxl photos (this is our recommended setting as it is closest to the native resolution), the Strike Force Pro could store 9,008 pictures on the SD card.

With a 16 Gig SD card and the camera taking 1280x720 videos (called "Ultra" video quality in the settings), the Strike Force Pro could store 508 10-second videos.

From this data, you can extrapolate out storage capacities of different sized SD cards and different resolution settings. We give you a 16 Gig SD card with the purchase of this camera through us. If you need additional or larger SD cards, you can shop all SD card options here.

Durability

The only issue we have noticed is a carry-over from 2016 models as well. If you turn the Strike Force Pro off, while standing in front of the camera and with the recovery time set to the fastest setting, the Strike Force may continue to shoot dozens of pictures as long as you are being detected. We hoped to see a firmware update that fixes this, but to date, we have not. In the meantime, a quick and dirty fix for this is to place your hand over the PIR lens of the camera while shutting it off. This will keep the camera from taking pictures.

Through our 2-year warranty program on the trail cameras we sell, we are able to track warranty rates on all trailcam manufacturers. We do not publish this data but Browning trail cameras have proven to be a durable camera for us. If an issue arises in this model, we will update this Browning Strike Force Pro Review immediately.

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FAQ's: Trail Camera

Q: How do I view the pictures?

A: There are a number of ways to do this. Pictures/videos are stored on the SD card you place in the Strike Force Pro. This camera has a built-in internal viewer that you can scan photos/videos the camera has taken. Here are the other methods for viewing photos:

• View pictures on your computer. Plug the SD card in a desktop computer or laptop via the built-in SD card reader or use a USB reader if your computer doesn't have one. This method works for most tablets as well. With this method, we recommend having two SD cards per camera so you can swap them in the field.
• View pictures on your smartphone. Choose between the iOS Reader for iPhones and the Android Reader. Phone readers require an app to access the photos, you can read more about these via the previous links.
• Trail Camera Viewers. While more expensive, handheld viewers are useful if you don't have a smartphone or run multiple trail cameras.

Q: Will the Browning Strike Force Pro trigger on small animals (birds, rodents, etc.)?

A: Trail cameras detect on a combination of heat and movement, so, yes, small mammals will trigger the camera. However, if you are going after smaller warm-blooded mammals, we recommend getting the camera closer to your target. For best performance, place the camera in an area that would enable picture detection from 3 - 20 ft.

Q: Can animals see the infrared flash on the Strike Force HD PRO?

A: Yes. This is a red glow trail cameras, meaning it has a faint red glow when taking pictures or videos at night. Humans and animals can see this if looking at the camera. This does not "light up" the woods, though.

Q: Where can I purchase this camera?

A: From us! We hope to woo you with our incredible charm, two-year warranty, 90-day returns, free continental U.S. shipping, and technical expertise. If that isn't enough, we give you a 16 Gig SD card with this camera and you can call and talk our ear off anytime.

Seriously, though, we know you have plenty of options of where to spend your hard-earned money. The internet can be the wild, wild, west of too-good-to-be-true deals. If you choose to do business with us, we will go out of our way to make sure you are happy with the camera you select and the service we provide you.

We are passionate about testing and reviewing trail cameras, but most importantly, we are passionate about treating our customers the right way. We do things differently from what you have come to expect from other internet retailers and we hope you give us the opportunity to prove that to you.

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