Discontinued Camera
- The night flash has a tendency of overexposing close objects but the battery life, trigger speed and case design keep this no glow trailcam near the top of the list. - TCP Staff
Read our full Covert HD 60 reviews below.
Covert Extreme HD60 Review
Model # 2878 | Covert HD60 Owners Manual
Pros
- Tons of programmable options
- Good battery life
Cons
- Slow recovery time
- Blurry day pictures
Trailcampro Analysis
The HD60 is a no glow infrared trail camera from Covert. This camera will share many of the similarities with the red glow version, the HD40.
Quality of Design
Dimensions: 5.5" x 4" x 3" | Battery Type: 12 AA Batteries | External Battery Jack: 6 Volt
This case design hasn't changed at all from the Black 60 models of years past. The camera has a built in bracket for a python cable lock and a 1/4" x 20 threaded insert on the bottom for a Slate River Mount.
The Extreme HD 60 is one of the few cameras on the market that still has an internal picture viewer (2"). You can view pictures on this screen from the inside of the camera.
One of the most impressive features of this camera is the long list of programmable functions. Not only does the HD60 have overwrite function, password protection and PIR controls; this is one of a very few that has start/stop time. This means the camera can be set to turn on at custom time intervals during the day. There are only a handful of cameras that have this feature.
Programming the camera is incredibly easy and intuitive. You shouldn't have problems getting this camera up and running without looking at the manual. Here is a look at many of the popular setting options:
- 1-3 multi-shot
- 5 s. - 60 s. video clips
- Time Lapse: custom start/stop time. 5 s. - 8 hr. time intervals
- Photo Stamp: Time, date, temperature and moon phase
- Picture + Video Mode: No
- Start/Stop Time: Yes
- Password Protection: Yes
- SD Card Overwrite: Yes
- PIR Settings: Yes | High, Low
- Flash Settings: No
Detection Circuit
Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.72 s. / 5.1 s. | Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 2.15 s. / 5.7 s. | Detection Range: 60 ft.
Trigger time has improved a bit from last year, pictures are taken in 0.72 seconds but videos take 2.15 seconds. Picture recovery is 5.1 seconds and videos take just about half a second longer. These numbers are pretty average overall. Picture trigger is pretty good, everything else is middle of the pack.
Detection range is a decent 60 ft., which is capable of covering a moderately large area. The detection zone is 23° wider than the field of view, which has resulted in a large number of false triggers from the HD 60.
Picture Quality
Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.72 s. / 5.1 s. | Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 2.15 s. / 5.6 s. | Detection Range: 60 ft.
Day pictures have good color and contrast. There has been an abnormally high number of daytime blurry images. However, when the animals are still, this camera takes a very good day picture.
Night pictures can have a tendency to overexpose the images, creating "whiteout" on anything within 10-15 ft. The flash range is strong, but the whiteout is concerning. You can see this best on the mountain lion photo (in the sample photos below). There are also pictures of animals up close, that don't have the whiteout. We aren't sure what creates the difference.
In the past, many people get confused with the megapixel ratings trail camera manufacturers advertise. Don't get caught up in this. We consider 99% of megapixel ratings to be a marketing gimmick. 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 only way to judge picture quality is through the pictures a trail camera takes. For instance, the HD 60 interpolates its photos out to 12 mpxl (if you choose the highest setting). We consider interpolation completely unnecessary, however, every manufacturer employs this tactic. You will notice this the most when you zoom in on a full size image that the camera has taken. The details of the photo will appear hazy or even digitized. This is normal and to be expected.
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Videos are very solid both during the day and night. We have had some really cool video captures on the HD60, as evidenced below. The overall quality of the videos are above average.
Battery Life
Resting Power (on): 4.56 mW | Daytime Power Consumption: 2.97 Ws | Nighttime Power Consumption: 4.72 Ws
The way we are performing our battery tests this year has really raised the performance bar for all the companies. These stringent tests will lower the star rankings of all the cameras, so try not to get hung up comparing this model year to previous model years.
Resting current draw is just a touch high but everything else appears to be excellent. This camera is capable of lasting an incredibly long time in the field. These are great numbers.
The camera operates on 12 AA batteries. You will get the best performance out of your camera if you use Lithium batteries. Alkaline batteries will work, but they are very unreliable and drain faster in cold weather. The Extreme HD60 will work with Tenergy Nimh Rechargeable batteries.
If this camera were to take 35 day pictures and 35 night pictures every 24 hours, this camera could last 8.2 months in the field (with lithiums). This will be one of the better battery rankings you will see in 2015.
Covert HD 60 Reviews Conclusion
Overall, the HD60 is a solid, but not spectacular trail camera. For a camera in this price range, picture quality and recovery time need to improve in order for this camera to get a higher recommendation.
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