Wildgame Innovations Vision 12 Lightsout Trail Camera Review
The Wildgame Vision 12 Lightsout has seen noticeable improvement to night pictures, picture trigger, and case design. However, it still lags behind in detection speed, programming, and video battery life. - TCP Staff
Trailcampro Comprehensive Score:
68/100
- Very solid night photos
- 6.9-month battery life in picture mode
- Below average day photos
- 0.7-month battery life in video mode
The Wildgame Innovations Vision 12 Lightsout is an inexpensive no glow trailcam designed for wildlife or security surveillance.
Photo resolution: 12 interpolated mpxl
Video resolution: 1280 x 720
Flash Type: No glow IR
Day pictures have mediocre color and below average clarity. They do stop motion well and take consistent photos even in changing light conditions.
Night pictures are well illuminated for a no glow trailcam. There is a tendency to overexpose close objects, but the clarity, depth and contrast are all very solid. Overall, we are pleasantly surprised by the night pictures.
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Video quality mimics picture quality. Color and clarity could be better but the motion is smooth and we captured several fun videos. Night videos are really good. Flash range is strong and the contrast is well defined. Very good night videos.
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.
Picture & Video Resting Power (on): 3.69 mW
Picture Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 1.16 Ws | 4.72 Ws
Video Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 30.86 Ws | 275.37 Ws
Battery life is efficient in picture mode but extremely inefficient in video mode.
Picture Mode
If this camera were to take 35-day and 35-night pictures every 24 hours, the WGI Silent 20 Crush Lightsout would last 6.9 months in the field on a set of 8 AA Lithium Batteries. We consider this to be good battery life.
Video Mode
If this camera were to take 15-day and 15-night videos (30-second videos / this is the only length of video Wildgame allows) every 24 hours, it would last 0.7 months in the field on a set of lithium batteries. This is very poor.
Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.49 s. / 7.2 s.
Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 1.83 s. / 7.8 s.
Detection Range: 80 ft
Trigger speed in picture mode is fast, but picture recovery, video trigger, and video recovery are all slow.
Detection range is 80 ft., which is a very solid range. Overall, this detection circuit has good picture trigger speed and detection range, but slow in recovery and video detection.
Dimensions: 5.75" x 4.5" x 2.5"
Battery Type: 8 AA Batteries
External Battery Jack: None
Case Design
The outer plastic of the Vision 12 feels very thick and sturdy. The latch is small, but works flawlessly and has a very positive "snap" when closing. The latch that opens the battery tray on the bottom of the camera feels weak and flimsy but the batteries are held in the compartment solidly.
The lack of a 1/4" x 20 threaded insert is frustrating for folks like us that are fans of the Slate River Angle mounts. It does have two python lock brackets on the back of the camera, though.
Camera Setup
We aren't fans of the rubber buttons for setup. They don't feel positive and have a push button for power on/off means you never know whether it was on when you come up to the camera.
The camera's setup is simple but you better bring your reading glasses. The writing is very small, even for young eyes. This has the typical Wildgame setup options from years past - meaning it doesn't take long to setup but you have very few options as well.
We did find that the camera has a day, night or 24 setup option. Which is rare in this price point.
There is no time lapse option.
Overall, we would prefer a more modern setup view and much larger writing.
Durability
We do not sell this camera so it is impossible for us to track warranty rates. However, we have had significant warranty issues in the past with Wildgame cameras and field quite a few phone calls on issues with their cameras. Keep in mind, Wildgame sells a high volume of cameras so that could be due to the sheer number of cameras they sell, or to a QC problem.
The Wildgame Vision 12 Lightsout has seen noticeable improvement to night pictures, picture trigger, and case design. However, it still lags behind in detection speed, programming, and video battery life.
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Manufacturer Specifications
- No glow IR
- 12 mpxl pictures (interpolated)
- 720p videos
- Accepts up to 32 gig SD card
- 31.5 degree field of view
- Requires 8 AA batteries
- 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio photos
- Time, date, photo count, location and moon phase on image stamp
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