Spartan GoLive M 4G/LTE Cellular Trail Camera Review

Looking for a live video streaming trail camera? The Spartan GoLive offers live streaming video to your smartphone, has great battery life, and high-quality video & photos. The detection circuit could use improvement, but overall this is a great cellular trail camera.- TCP Staff

Model #GL-MLTEb | Spartan GoLive Owners Manual

Spartan GoLive FAQ's

Trailcampro Comprehensive Score:

88/100

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Spartan GoLive Trail Camera Review

Pros

• Photos and videos are high-quality and realistic
• Excellent battery life
• Real-time video streaming (30 fps)
• Works really well with the Spartan Solar Panel

Cons

• Below-average detection zone

 

Be Wary Of Megapixel Ratings

Megapixel ratings for trail cameras seem to increase more & more every year. In reality, the native resolution of 99% of all trail cameras is 5 megapixels or less.  Manufacturers artificially inflate megapixel ratings for advertising purposes through a process called interpolation. Interpolated photos are enhanced by software to mimic the file size of a higher megapixel photo, but seldom offer additional clarity or resolution.  The result is an exponentially larger file size photo which takes longer to load and slows down the speed of your camera.  We always program our cameras to capture photos at the image sensor's native resolution. This allows our cameras to operate as efficiently as possible and store more photos to memory.  With shorter load times,  this also allows us to review photos at a much quicker pace.  To put things in perspective, the trail camera widely considered to be the "Gold Standard" and used by more professional researchers than any other unit is just 3 megapixels.

The Spartan GoLive M 4G/LTE Cellular camera is the first trail camera that streams live video. Log in to your camera from anywhere in the world and see what is happening in near real-time (it has a 4-5 second delay). This live stream Spartan GoLive camera is flexible and uses smart network switching to keep you connected in the United States. It does not work on just one specific carrier.

Picture Quality: 91/100

Photo resolution: 8 Mpxl

Flash Type: No Glow

 

 

 

Night IR Blur Test The equipment for the test consists of a target moving along a track from left to right at a constant speed controlled by a stepper motor and a sensor to trigger the capture of a picture near the center of the field of view of a trail camera. The target is moving at 1.25 feet per second and is 10 feet from the camera at the center of field of view. The test is conducted in a dark room. Two pictures are taken, one with the target not moving and one with the target in motion. A visual comparison can now be made of the two pictures. All settings that affect the quality of night photos will be tested.

No Motion	W/ Motion

 

Battery Life: 100/100

Picture & Video Resting Power (on):0.6 mW (w/ Live off) | 6.73 mW (w/ Live on)

Picture Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption:21.8 Ws | 21.3 Ws

10 Seconds of Live Video Recording: 84.8 Ws

If this realtime video camera had Live mode turned off and it took 15-day pictures and 15-night pictures every 24 hours, it would last 9.3 months on a set of lithium batteries.

If this live feed trail camera had Live mode turned on and it took 15-day pictures and 15-night pictures every 24 hours, it would last 5.3 months on a set of lithium batteries.

Whether in Live mode or not, these are outstanding power consumption numbers. Keep in mind, the more you use the Live Video Feed the more battery life you consume.

Detection Circuit: 75/100

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.57 s. | Varies - see below

Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.32 s.

Detection Range & Angle: 70 ft. @ 35.1° detection angle (45.7° field of view)

Trigger speed is half a second, which is pretty solid for a cellular trail camera. Recovery time is wildly inconsistent and depends on a number of variables. Most cellular game cameras detect motion, capture an image, and are disabled while they transmit. The GoLive is different. It continues to take photos as long as something is moving in front of the camera while it's simultaneously sending previously captured pictures. Recovery time depends on the amount and duration of the activity. Detection Range averages 70 ft. and the detection angle is 10 degrees narrower than the field of view. Accordingly, there will be areas in the picture where the camera can't detect motion. Under normal circumstances, we would be very critical of this detection/lens angle mismatch. However, with the added cost of streaming video, the smaller detection zone could be seen as a benefit. This small zone prevents the GoLive from triggering when animals are too distant to recognize or about to wander out of the field of view. The GoLive won't trigger as often as other cameras, but when it does you'll have a better chance of logging in and viewing decent video.

Quality of Design: 86/100

Dimensions:5.25" x 6" x 3.5"

Battery Type:12 AA

External Battery Jack:12-Volt

SD Card Size: Up to 128GB

Camera Setup

Cellular Setup Instructions

1. Download The Spartan Camera Management App.
2. Click Register to create an account, or Login if you have an existing account.
3. Check your email and click the activation link. (If registering a new account)
4. Return to the app. Login, and click the + located in the upper left corner.
5. Either scan the camera's MEID/IMEI barcode by tapping the icon on the right, or manually type the MEID/IMEI numbers.
6. You will then be prompted to purchase your data service. If you already purchase your data, please click YES.
7. Follow the instructions on the screen to locate your registration code for the camera. Input the code and click Add.

 

Case Design

The camera's case design is solid and works well. The latch is big and beefy and opens/closes easily; even in cold weather. The functionality of the screen, viewer, and settings operate quickly and intuitively. We do like that the GoLive has two threaded inserts (one on the back and one on the bottom) for a Slate River Mount. The GoLive also has a python bracket on the back of the camera. The GoLive camera has an internal battery that can be charged via a 12-volt external power source. We recommend doing this before putting the camera in the field as it will give your battery life a boost. Additionally, the internal battery powers the GoLive's GPS unit allowing the camera to be located even if the AA's are removed.

Durability

 

The vast majority of consumer-grade trail cameras are inexpensive, imported devices exposed to harsh conditions 24/7/365.  Most manufacturers only offer a one-year warranty. Through our 2-year warranty program we've tracked the warranty rate for all manufacturers. We do not publish this data but durability on Spartan trail cameras is great. Spartan will have their own 2-year warranty on all their cameras.

 

All test results are achieved through the use of proprietary equipment used exclusively by Trailcampro.  Any re-publication of this data without prior written consent is strictly prohibited by law. COPYRIGHT TRAILCAMPRO, L.L.C. 2023, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

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