Browning Spec Ops Advantage Review

Browning Spec Ops Advantage Review

Model #BTC-8A | Spec Ops Advantage Owner's Manual

Spec Ops Advantage FAQ's

- You can't go wrong with the Spec Ops Advantage. It checks all the marks regarding image/video quality, battery life, detection capabilities, and easy setup. It even has an internal viewer. This is an outstanding no glow IR game camera. -TCP Staff

• Impressive pictures and top-notch video quality
• 8+ months of battery life
• Fantastic detection circuit
• Great case design & internal viewer

• Max of 20-second night videos

Picture Quality:

Photo resolution: 20 mpxl

Video resolution: 1920 x 1080p

Flash Type: No Glow IR

Picture quality seemingly keeps improving each year on the Spec Ops line of Browning cameras. This year, we are seeing strikingly realistic color, very good clarity, and excellent overall daytime photos.

For a no glow Browning Spec Ops Advantage trail camera, night pictures have impressive sharpness, contrast, and illumination. Keep in mind, anytime you go to no glow the night pictures/videos will be darker and grainier than their red glow counterparts.

Video quality is unreal. 60 frames per second makes a huge difference in quality (and the amount of space it uses on an SD card!). Night videos are top-notch as well, boasting plenty of flash range and clarity. We absolutely love the videos, both day and night.

What if you purchase from us and aren't happy with the image quality?

This is a common question and we have a very simple solution. Call, email, or chat with us and we can take a look at the images and offer suggestions or immediately tell if something is wrong with the Browning Spec Ops Advantage trail camera. If so, we will warranty the camera for you (with the free 2-Year warranty you receive from us) or return the camera for a full refund (within 90 days of purchase). You have control of the process, remember, we work for you.

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.

Battery Life:

Picture & Video Resting Power (on): 0.85 mW

Picture Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 4.5 Ws | 5.3 Ws

Video Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 27.0 Ws | 65.5 Ws

Picture Mode

If this camera were to take 35-day and 35-night pictures every 24 hours, the Spec Ops Advantage would last 8.7 months in the field on a set of 8 AA Lithium Batteries. For a no glow trail camera using 8 batteries, we consider this to be really good.

Video Mode

If this camera were to take 15-day and 15-night videos (10-second videos) every 24 hours, it would last 2.5 months in the field on a set of lithium batteries. Much like picture battery life, we consider this to be pretty good for a camera using 8 batteries.

Detection Circuit:

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.42 s. / 0.7 s.

Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.46 s. / 0.7 s.

Detection Range & Angle: 90 ft. | 45.5° (40.6° F.O.V.)

It is impossible to find fault in this detection circuit. Picture and video trigger speeds are plenty quick, recovery times are outstanding, and 90 ft. of detection range is a real plus. What more could you ask for?

Quality of Design:

Dimensions: 5.5" x 4.25" x 3"

Battery Type: 8 AA Batteries

External Battery Jack: 12-Volt

Case Design

The case design of the Spec Ops Advantage is almost flawless. The camera feels sturdy and well-built. The strap and python cable bracket on the back is metal (most cameras are plastic) and the camera has a threaded slot on the bottom for a Slate River Mount. The battery compartment and SD card slot are both easily accessible.

If there is a weakness of the case design, it is the latch. It isn't as beefy as others on the market. It works just fine, but improvements could be made. One other thing to note, the battery tray is tough to get out the first couple of times. It has a "sticking point" that prevents the tray from hitting the ground when you hit eject. After removing it several times it will loosen up for future operation.

Temperature ratings the camera records have a tendency of being unreliable and off by a significant margin.

In general, this is an outstanding case design.

Camera Setup

The Spec Ops Advantage has a 2" internal viewer for picture playback, live preview, and setting adjustments. The settings respond quickly and the Advantage is very easy to set up. Whether you are a techie or not, this camera can be set up by any experience level.

The Spec Ops Advantage has nearly every setting we have become accustomed to. The two main settings it lacks are password protection and start/stop time.

The Spec Ops can accept SD cards up 512 Gigabytes. This is far more than you would ever need.

SD Card Storage Examples

With a 16 Gig SD card and the camera taking 4 mpxl photos (this is our recommended setting as it is closest to the native resolution), the Spec Ops Advantage could store 9,304 pictures on the SD card.

With a 16 Gig SD card and the camera taking 1920x1080 videos (called "Ultra" video quality in the settings), the Spec Ops could store 662 10-second videos. This can vary by the ratio of day to night videos (night videos take less space). This is just a reference guide for your convenience.

From this data, you can extrapolate out storage capacities of different sized SD cards and different resolution settings. We give you a 16 Gig SD card with the purchase of this camera through us. If you need additional or larger SD cards, you can shop all SD card options here.

Durability

Durability has been really good for the Advantage. Through our 2-year warranty program on the trail cameras we sell, we are able to track warranty rates on all trailcam manufacturers. We do not publish this data but Browning trail cameras have proven to be a durable camera for us. If an issue arises in this model, we will update this Browning Spec Ops Advantage Review immediately.

Enjoy our reviews? Please consider purchasing your next trail camera from us.

FAQ's: Browning Spec Ops Advantage Trail Camera

Q: How do I view the pictures?

A: There are a number of ways to do this. Pictures/videos are stored on the SD card you place in the camera. This camera has a built-in viewer for reviewing images and videos on the camera itself.

• View pictures on your computer. Plug the SD card in a desktop computer or laptop via the built-in SD card reader or use a USB reader if your computer doesn't have one. This method works for most tablets as well. With this method, we recommend having two SD cards per camera so you can swap them in the field.
• View pictures on your smartphone. Choose between the iOS Reader for iPhones and the Android Reader. Phone readers require an app to access the photos, you can read more about these via the previous links.
• Trail Camera Viewers. While more expensive, handheld viewers are useful if you don't have a smartphone or run multiple trail cameras.

Q: Will this trail camera trigger on small animals (birds, rodents, etc.)?

A: Trail cameras detect on a combination of heat and movement, so, yes, small mammals will trigger the camera. However, if you are going after smaller warm-blooded mammals, we recommend getting the camera closer to your target. For best performance, place the camera in an area that would enable picture detection from 3 - 20 ft.

Q: Can animals see the infrared flash on this camera?

A: This is somewhat controversial. Humans can't see the flash as the nanometer spectrum is above what the human eye can detect (that is where the 940 comes from in the Dark Ops name). It's also much harder for an animal to see, but that could depend on the species of animal as different species see in different light spectrums.

A: From us! We hope to woo you with our incredible charm, two-year warranty, 90-day returns, free continental U.S. shipping, and technical expertise. If that isn't enough, we give you an 8 Gig SD card with this camera and you can call and talk our ear off anytime.

Seriously, though, we know you have plenty of options of where to spend your hard-earned money. The internet can be the wild, wild, west of too-good-to-be-true deals. If you choose to do business with us, we will go out of our way to make sure you are happy with the camera you select and the service we provide you.

We are passionate about testing and reviewing trail cameras, but most importantly, we are passionate about treating our customers the right way. We do things differently from what you have come to expect from other internet retailers and we hope you give us the opportunity to prove that to you.

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