Leupold’s New RCX Trail Camera System

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

September 13th, 2011

 

YouTube Video

 

 

 

 

Click pictures for a larger version.

 

 

 

The heart of the RCX system is the RCX control unit.

 

 

Top to bottom: slot for SD card in controller, 12-volt DC port for charging controller's internal battery.

 

 

Controller comes with a belt pouch for easy field carry.

 

 

The RCX system comes with (top to bottom): 12-volt vehicle power adapter, 12-volt alligator-clip power adapter, AC power adapters for use around the world, and USB cable. Included, but not shown here, is a standard AC power adapter.

 

 

 

 

Trail cameras have been on the market for several years now, and the quality varies from good to pretty much useless. The good ones are handy to monitor game movement in specific areas, and many have a time stamp to let you know when the animals are visiting the area. It is also a good indicator of the size and quality of the animals that visit a feeder or a bait area, in locations where it is legal to hunt over bait.

Just as there are quality differences in other optics, the quality of trail cameras varies greatly. Leupold has now entered the trail camera market, and in doing so, they wanted to raise the bar, offering a camera system, instead of just a camera. With most good-quality cameras, you have to go afield and retrieve the camera’s memory chip, taking it back home to view on the computer, or else take a computer to the woods or field to view the images. Even on cameras with a screen, they often do not work when the temperature falls much below the freezing mark. The Leupold RCX Trail Camera System has a controller that is taken to the location of the camera. The controller is really a small computer, compact in size, relatively the size of a box of rifle cartridges. One RCX controller can be used with several cameras, going to the camera, connecting a USB cable, and viewing, saving, or erasing the images from each camera. Both high-resolution still pictures and video can be viewed instantly in the field using the hand-held controller. The camera and the controller use up to a 32GB SDHC card, which can contain a huge quantity of still pictures or video.

The Leupold RCX controller has a three-inch LCD display viewing screen, and the view can be instantly seen to properly and perfectly align the camera to view the area that is wanted. No guessing while trying to get the camera aligned. The RCX 1 camera has a 45 degree angle of movement detection. The RCX 2 has a selectable 10 degree or 45 degree field of detection. The RCX 1 has a 45 foot detection range, and the RCX 2 has a selectable 45 foot or 90 foot detection range. The camera lens has a 54 degree field of view. Both cameras will work in either normal or infrared mode, depending upon the lighting conditions. The trigger time for the RCX camera to activate is less than one second, and recovery time between pictures or videos is almost instantaneous.

The controller makes the RCX system very user-friendly, and greatly simplifies uploading video and still pictures to your computer. In the field, pictures can be culled or saved as desired, and every image on the camera’s card can be viewed in the field. The controller has a built-in rechargeable battery, and comes with adaptors to charge in an accessory port in a vehicle, or from most any electrical outlet in the world. It also has alligator clips to recharge or run from a 12 volt battery. The RCX is available as a RCX 1 kit, RCX 2 kit, or as individual cameras without controller. You can buy a kit with controller, and add cameras as you wish, without having to purchase additional controllers. The RCX camera can be easily customized with setting to adjust for length of video, barometric pressure, temperature, delay, and other interesting stuff, or just simply set to its default mode.

Accessories such as rechargeable battery packs and lock down plates for a security cable are available for the RCX cameras. The Leupold cameras operate silently, so as to not spook the game. The quality of the pictures and video is very good. Good enough that to demonstrate, we shot part of the video for this review using the RCX 2 camera. Sound quality is also very good. Finally, there is a trail camera worthy of the Leupold brand. The RCX system is easy to use, easy to set up, and available online or from any Leupold retailer.

Check out the RCX and other Leupold products online at www.leupold.com.

Jeff Quinn

Got something to say about this article? Want to agree (or disagree) with it? Click the following link to go to the GUNBlast Feedback Page.

 

 

Click pictures for a larger version.

 

 

 

Tree strap.

 

 

Camera USB port.

 

 

When opened, camera's bottom access door exposes AC adapter, power On/Off switch, battery pack, and USB port.

 

 

Available Lock-Down Security Plate allows camera unit to be locked down with a cable.