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Moultrie M-80 XT Review
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Bottom Line: The Moultrie M-80 XT combines the benefits of a tiny size, incredibly bright night flash (infrared), solid detection circuit and time lapse ability into maybe the best "value" camera trap on the market
Read Full Analysis
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Quick Facts
• Price:
• Trigger Time:
• Recovery Time:
• Detection Range:
• Flash Range:
• Dimensions
• Battery Type:
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$159.95
1.843 s
10 s
50 ft.
90 ft.
5" x 4" x3"
8 AA
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3.5 Stars
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Pro's
• Tiny, compact camera
• Time lapse option
• Improved 10 s recovery time
• Bright night infrared flash
• New motion freeze technology
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Con's
• 1.8 s trigger time is slow
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Trailcampro Analysis
The improvements made in the 2012 Moultrie M-80 XT are impressive. An improved detection circuit and adjustable night flash make this a great choice for a variety of camera trap situations.
Detection Circuit
 3.3 stars
The trigger speed is 1.8 seconds (50th percentile), the detection range is 50 feet, the detection zone is wide and covers plenty of square feet. The M-80 also sports an improved 10 second recovery time (30 seconds for 2011 models).
Picture Quality
 4.5 stars
The camera shoots in a 16:9 ratio (which is different than the normal 4:3) and the day pictures are clear, bright and with good color. However, we have noticed some blur during the day shots if there is significant motion.
New 2012 M80 XT's have Motion-Freeze Technology. You can set the camera to take extremely bright night flashes (with blur on motion), or you can set it to take a less bright picture but with more clarity and less blur. This merely quickens the shutter speed. The flash range, when set to max distance, is huge, even longer than the 60 foot advertised flash.
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Freeze on
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Freeze off
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Freeze on
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Freeze off
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If you prefer video to pictures, you will be pleasantly surprised to find out the M-80 has audio along with the video. An important note, the M-80 XT can only take 10 second video at night. This is the longest interval. During the day it can go longer however.
On each picture, you will see a time/date stamp, moon phase, temperature reading and a camera ID stamped on the bottom of the photo. The camera ID can be set to anything of your choice, which is a nice way of sorting through pictures if you have several cameras.
Battery Life
 2.3 stars
The battery life in the M80 XT is an improvement over the 2011 M80. It has similar day and night amperage draws as last year but the duration of the photo is now 6.5 seconds as opposed to 10 seconds in 2011.
Resting Current Draw
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Day Current Draw
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Night Current Draw
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Duration of Photo
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0.18 ma
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218 ma
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350 ma
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6.5 s
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s = seconds
ma = milliamps
The camera operates off of 8 AA batteries and is a prime example of a camera that works well with the Tenergy Nimh Rechargeable Batteries.
Ease of Use
 4 stars
The camera stands in at a tiny 5" x 4" with a black textured finish. The case design is well constructed, with no obvious flaws. Programming the M-80 is intuitive, user-friendly and quick.
The M-80 comes with an option for time-lapse mode. Time-lapse is simply taking a picture at your desired time intervals. This enables the camera to cover a huge food plot with a single camera.
Overall, you can see why we are so impressed with the Moultrie M-80 XT. Not only does it have an improved detection circuit, excellent day and night photos, but it also comes with extras like the audio with video and the time-lapse feature.
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Moultrie Accessories
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If you live in an area with cold weather, I would strongly recommend the AA NiMh rechargeable batteries and the NiMh charger. NiMh is unaffected by cold weather, unlike alkaline batteries. These batteries can also be charged 1,000 times.
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Buy a Moultrie M80 XT
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