Moultrie M-40 Review

2017 Moultrie M-40 Review

Model # MCG-13181

M-40 FAQ's

M-40 Owner's Manual

Trailcampro Comprehensive Score:

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Pros

• Great picture quality
• Longest flash range of all 2017 trail cameras
• 7.7-Month battery life in picture mode
• 0.29 s. picture trigger speed
• Outstanding case design

Cons

• 0.8-Month battery life in video mode

Trailcampro Analysis

The Moultrie M40 is an affordable red glow game camera. The infrared flash glows red when taking a picture or video at night. This makes this camera most useful for wildlife scouting and monitoring.

Picture Quality:

Photo resolution: 16, 8, 4, 2 mpxl

Video resolution: 1920x1080 w/ audio

Flash Type: Red Glow Infrared

Day pictures display realistic color, good clarity, and great depth. The M40 seems to stop motion well during the day.

Night pictures have extraordinary range and really excel in contrast. Night images are exceptional whether in open fields or dense forests. It does blur easily on running animals and minor whiteout on close objects. This can be controlled by utilizing the "Motion Freeze" setting (which quickens the shutter speed). Overall, the M40i takes great pictures.

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Video quality mimics picture quality. The M40i can take high resolution (1920x1080) videos. Some of our examples are in 1280x720, but even they look great. Night videos have insanely good contrast. Big thumbs up here.

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): 1.14 mW

Picture Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 2.08 Ws | 8.45 Ws

Video Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 21.71 Ws | 272.46 Ws

The battery efficiency completely depends on whether you plan on using the camera in picture or video mode. In picture mode, the camera is rather efficient on power consumption. In video mode, the M40 uses an astronomical amount of power per video clip. Here are some examples.

If this camera were to take 35-day and 35-night pictures every 24 hours, the 2017 M-40 would last 7.7 months in the field on a set of 8 AA Lithium Batteries. This is an efficient camera in picture mode.

If this camera were to take 15-day and 15-night videos (10-second videos) every 24 hours, it would last 0.8 months in the field on a set of lithium batteries. This is a very inefficient video camera.

Our rating accounts for the average of both ratings. If you only use your trailcams in picture mode, the M40 gets good battery life. If you use your cameras in video mode, this is not an efficient camera.

Detection Circuit:

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.29 s. / 1.1 s.

Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 1.7 s. / 2.7 s.

Detection Range: 90 ft.

Picture detection and recovery are outstanding. The M-40 takes the first picture quickly and recovers in just over one second. Video trigger speed is average, but the recovery speed is very good.

This camera detected out to 90 ft. consistently. In our testing to date, the M-40's detection width closely matches the field of view. This is a very good detection range.

Quality of Design:

Dimensions: 5" x 3.25" x 3"

Battery Type: 8 AA Batteries

External Battery Jack: 12-Volt

M40 Case Design

The M-40 feels sturdy and well-built. The camera is small and conceals well in a wooded setting. The M40 has two python brackets for locking the camera. One on the front and one on the back. The battery tray ejects easily and the SD card slot is easy to get to.

The latch has an unorthodox mechanism, but it is easy to manipulate, even with cold fingers. We think it is more practical and durable than it may appear at first glance. There is also a 1/4" x 20 threaded insert on the bottom for a Slate River Mount.

M-40 Setup

We've struggled the last several years with Moultrie's setup process. To us, it isn't intuitive and feels clunky. You shouldn't need the owner's manual to set the camera up, but it does take some getting used to. This shouldn't deter you from purchasing the camera, though, after spending some time with the M40 it starts to feel more natural.

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 M-40 could store 20,000 pictures on the SD card. Keep in mind, day pictures (color) have larger file sizes than night pictures (black and white), so this number could go up or down.

With a 16 Gig SD Card and the camera taking 1920x1080 videos, the M-40 could store 766 10-second videos.

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

Durability

Moultrie game cameras have had some of our lowest warranty rates the last two years. We expect that to continue with the 2017 Moultrie M-40 game cameras.

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

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FAQ's: 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.

• 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: The Moultrie M-40 game camera detects 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: Yes. This is a red glow trail cameras, meaning it has a faint red glow when taking pictures or videos at night. Humans and animals can see this if looking at the camera. This does not "light up" the woods, though.

Q: Can this camera shoot through glass?

A: No. Trail cameras can't detect through glass unless placed in time-lapse mode (triggers based on preset time intervals instead of motion detection).

Q: Where can I purchase this camera?

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 16 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.

Back to Top of Page

Moultrie Game Cameras - an overview of the Moultrie game camera products we have reviewed for 2017.

Moultrie M-40i - Top-rated night pictures for a no glow trail camera.

Moultrie A-30i - This is our highest rated $100 trail camera.

Read Reviews From All the Game and Trail Cameras