A Season Review: SpyPoint Link Micro Camera

I have used, abused and thoroughly tested many trail cameras in my day. Each year, I get new models and like many other writers, I write reviews on them before the season arrives so you can get one for yourself. I’ve written about the SpyPoint Link Micro cellular trail camera before, but now that my season is winding down, I thought I’d write about it in more detail. If you’re like me, you look for deals on gear after the season ends, so you can stock up for next year. There’s bound to be deals on the Link Micro and I can honestly say – you should buy some.

How do you set up a cellular trail camera?

Each manufacturer is different, but I can say that with the SpyPoint camera, following the proper setup is vital in getting it to work right. I won’t bore you with details, when you can follow the simple 90-second video off the SpyPoint website, but if you don’t do it right, it won’t work. For this camera, you need to do some setup on your computer and then add the app to your phone. I kept having issues until I went back and realized I used the wrong size Micro-SD card. Duh!

Obviously, you need to have cellular service where you place the camera. The antenna is strong, so even moderate signal strength works. I set the camera to send pictures when the camera is triggered, but you can have it set to dump images on your phone when you want. I wanted to be a glutton for punishment and have pictures sent to me so I could see all I was missing when I wasn’t hunting. It is a great way to learn in real time, how the deer are acting.

One other part of the setup is the number of images it transmits. You get 100 images a month from SpyPoint and you can subscribe for more. Yo can get 250 for as little as $4 and unlimited for as much as $15 a month. That’s a sweet deal if you ask me. And if you run out of room, the camera still functions and saves images to the Micro SD card.

How Good is the SpyPoint Link Micro Camera?

I am not going to lie – I was impressed. It takes a lot to impress me with a trail camera these days, too. It takes really good pictures during the day and good ones at night too. The night-time pictures are a big deal to me, as some cameras just can’t seem to get a decent image after dark.

One bit of advice, don’t face the camera directly south into the sun without some good cover. My first few weeks, I got a lot of pictures of the sun moving across the sky. Yes, I could have adjusted the sensitivity of the camera, but I’d rather adjust how I point the camera.

Battery life has been outstanding. It takes 8 AA batteries and I went the whole season on two sets of batteries and it still have plenty of life left. They have a solar-powered cellular camera, the SpyPoint Link-S, too, which I might add next year. It’s a bigger camera and a little more expensive, but if you’re running a camera year round, it’d be worth it.

Some Things to Love

The Link Micro is SMALL. My cellphone is bigger than the camera, size wise. It is easy to stash and hide, perfect for when you need it for security purposes, too. Durability and quality are as good as anything close to the price range, if not better. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy multiple and cover my whole hunting property.

It’s a 10-megapixel camera with an 80-foot detection range and flash range. Trigger speed is .5 seconds, making it fast for the cost. That’s the other sweet thing – this camera has an MSRP of just $149.99! And they’ve been going for less, too. This is definitely a camera you should have in your arsenal.

Derrek Sigler

Derrek Sigler has been a professional outdoor writer for more than two decades since earning his Master’s Degree in creative writing with a thesis about fishing humor. But if you ask anyone that knows him, he’s been telling fishin’ stories since he was old enough to hold a pole. He has written for Cabela’s and served as editorial director for Gun Digest books. Over the years, he has also written for Petersen’s Hunting, North American Whitetail Magazine, Wildfowl, Grand View Media, and has worked with Bass Pro Shops, Hard Core Brands and Bone Collector. Successful Farming had him write for their magazine and he has appeared on their TV show to discuss hunting and ATVs on multiple occasions. He writes about the things he loves - hunting, fishing, camping, trucks, ATVs, boating, snowmobiles and the outdoor lifestyle he enjoys with his family in their home state of Michigan and more as they adventure around North America.