Bushnell Trophy Cam HD Aggressor No Glow Review

Bushnell Aggressor No Glow Review

The Aggressor No Glow continues to be a top pick of the wildlife research community, hunters, and anyone needing a security camera. The camera is fast, durable, and dependable. The picture quality is frustratingly inconsistent, though. - TCP Staff

Model #11-9876C

Trophy Cam NG FAQ's

11-9876c Owner's Manual

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Pros

• When the lighting is right, pictures are flawless
• 8+ month battery life in picture mode
• Extremely fast trigger speed
• Strong, durable case design

Cons

• Inconsistent picture quality
• Max of 15-second night videos

Trailcampro Analysis

Despite its name, the Bushnell Aggressor No Glow is actually a Low Glow IR camera as the infrared emitters are barely visible. We will continue to call this model the Aggressor No Glow simply because that is what Bushnell has named the model.

Picture Quality: 83/100

Photo resolution: 20 mpxl (interpolated)

Video resolution: 1920 x 1080

Flash Type: Low Glow IR

The picture quality is highly inconsistent and varies by the amount of sunlight present. When the lighting is good, the pictures are nearly perfect. Great color, depth, focus, and clarity. It checks all the boxes. In low light conditions, the pictures are dark. In bright sunlight, the pictures overexpose. This is exactly what we have seen in previous years. Overall, the inconsistency drives us nuts.

Night pictures lack flash range but have decent clarity. The are multiple settings to control flash brightness and shutter speed, but even with flash at full range we didn't get the range we expected. We have seen white out photos, but they only appear to happen when the camera is set to the fastest recovery setting (0.6 seconds). When set to anything longer, the pictures are much better on close-up animals. There is blur on fast-moving animals, but nearly every infrared camera does that to some extent.

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Video quality is good during the day. The high-resolution HD videos offer great color, fluid motion, and exceptional clarity. Audio seems to be realistic as well.

Night videos appear to have brighter flash than the pictures. They do have a tendency of over-exposure up close when set to recover in 0.6 seconds. Outside of that, the night videos are top-notch.

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.

Battery Life: 70/100

Picture & Video Resting Power (on): 0.71 mW

Picture Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 5.11 Ws | 5.71 Ws

Video Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 25.81 Ws | 130.67 Ws

Battery draws are efficient in picture mode and when taking videos during the day. Night videos do drain the batteries quickly, though.

Picture Mode

If this camera were to take 35-day and 35-night pictures every 24 hours, the Trophy Cam HD would last 8.2 months in the field on a set of 8 AA Lithium Batteries. This is very solid battery life.

Video Mode

If this camera were to take 15-day and 15-night videos (10-second videos) every 24 hours, it would last 1.5 months in the field on a set of lithium batteries. This is due to a high battery draw on night videos.

The Aggressor does not work with rechargeable batteries (the rechargeable batteries operate too close to the cutoff voltage).

Detection Circuit: 92/100

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.15 s. / 0.93 s.

Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.72 s. / 1.8 s.

Detection Range & Angle: 80 ft. | 43.9° (35° F.O.V)

Trigger speed for both picture and video mode are outstanding. Very fast and easily captures speedy animals.

* Recovery time in picture mode is a bit quirky. When the camera is set to recover at its lowest setting (0.6 seconds), recovery times are inconsistent. Here is what a series looks like.

• 0.666 s.
• 1.200 s.
• 1.434 s.
• 0.633 s.
• 0.834 s.
• 1.167 s.
• 0.633 s.
• 1.434 s.
• 0.633 s.
• 0.666 s.

Is this a big deal? Not really. We just want to point this out to make you aware of it. We have made Bushnell aware of this and at this time, they do not have plans on correcting this.

Detection range is 80 feet. We are unsure why this Aggressor has a shorter range than the low glow.

Overall, when considering all aspects of how a camera detects motion, this detection circuit is absolutely incredible and best in class. This is a picture taking, data collecting machine.

Keep in mind, with these speeds, you will get some empty frames as the detection zone is slightly wider than the field of view. This is a small price to pay for an unbelievable detection circuit.

Quality of Design: 85/100

Dimensions: 5.75" x 4.25" x 3"

Battery Type: 8 AA Batteries

External Battery Jack: 12-Volt

Case Design

The Aggressor case design is excellent. The latch is big, strong, and works perfectly with cold fingers. The camera feels great in our hands. This is a well-thought out case design.

There is a python bracket on the back for the popular cable lock and there are two 1/4" x 20 threaded inserts, on the back and bottom, on the camera.

Camera Setup

The camera keeps the popular setting options like AM/PM/24 hr mode, adjustable flash settings, and adjustable sensitivity. Night videos are maxed at 15 seconds.

In 2017, Bushnell added quick-set modes of Feeder, Trail and Food Plot to the setting options. We have always believed preset setting modes are unnecessary.

If programming specific video length times doesn't affect you, the Bushnell Aggressor is easy to setup. Whether you are a first-time trail user or an experienced veteran, you shouldn't have an issue getting the camera up and running.

SD Card Storage Examples

With an 8 Gig SD card and the camera taking 8 mpxl photos (called HD photos in the settings), the Aggressor No Glow could store 1,711 pictures on the SD card.

With an 8 Gig SD card and the camera taking 1920x1080 videos, the Aggressor could store 571 10-second videos.

From this data, you can extrapolate out storage capacities of different sized SD cards and different resolution settings. We give you an 8 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

Bushnell trail cameras remain one of our more durable brands. As always, we will update this review if any defect becomes a trend.

Trophy Cam No Glow Review Conclusion: 82/100

The Aggressor No Glow checks nearly every box and continues to be one of our highest rated low glow trail cameras. With unmatched detection range, high definition videos, incredible speed, and good picture battery life, the Aggressor can be impressive at times. However, the inconsistent picture quality drives us crazy and deserves your consideration.

Enjoy our reviews? Please consider purchasing your next trail camera from us.

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FAQ's: Bushnell Trophy Cam HD 20 MP No Glow

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 camera.

• 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 this trail camera 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 this camera?

A: This is somewhat controversial. Humans can't see the flash as the nanometer spectrum is above what the human eye can detect. It's also much harder for an animal to see, but that could depend on the species of animal as different species see in different light spectrums.

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 an 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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