Spypoint Force 11D Review

2018 Spypoint Force 11D Review

- This is the fastest trail camera on the market, regardless of price. The 11D is very efficient and can last over 11 months on a set of batteries. We like the day picture quality and can live with the night pictures. This is a killer trail camera. - TCP Staff

Model # FORCE-11D | Force 11D Owner's Manual

Pros

• Great battery life
• Fastest detection circuit we have ever tested
• Has an internal viewer to play pictures/videos
• Colorful, bright day pictures

Cons

• Lacks flash range on night videos
• No built-in python bracket
• Cannot use Nimh rechargeable batteries

Trailcampro Analysis

The Force 11D is a red glow infrared trail camera, but just barely. The flash is only visible if you are within 5-10 feet and stare directly at the camera. Most people would never notice it, but since it is visible we are labeling it as red glow for now.

Picture Quality: 73/100

Photo resolution: 11 mpxl (interpolated)

Video Resolution: 1280 x 720 w/ audio

Flash Type: Red Glow Infrared

Daytime pictures have been very impressive. Bright color, good clarity and plenty of depth whether the camera was placed in bright sunlight or heavy timber.

Night pictures have pros and cons. There is a decent amount of flash range, but the pictures do have a slight halo (more light in the center of the image - less on the edges of the photo). We also have a high number of blurry photos. The Force 11D has three modes in the settings that control night image quality:

1. IR Boost - Max flash range but higher frequency of blurry images
2. Blur Reduction - Less flash range, but better clarity on moving animals
3. Optimal - This is a compromise of the two modes above.

Our sample images are a combination of all the modes the camera allows. Overall, the night photos are a mixed bag. We consider the Force 11D's night photos to be very average.

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Day video is shot with 1280 x 720 resolution. The video quality is good, but almost all the videos we retrieved are darker than their picture counterparts.

Night videos are very dark and lack flash range, especially on the left and right side of the videos. We consider night video quality to be below average.

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: 85/100

Resting Power (on): 0.19 mW

Picture Daytime & Nighttime Power Consumption: 1.4 Ws | 1.8 Ws

Video Daytime & Nighttime Power Consumption: 12.5 Ws | 77.1 Ws

The numbers above are tiny and indicate that the Spypoint Force 11D is super efficient. The 11D operates on 6 AA batteries.

Tenergy rechargeable batteries do not fit in the battery compartment. The batteries are too thick. For that reason, we only recommend lithium batteries with this camera.

Picture Mode

If this camera were to take 35-day pictures and 35-night pictures every 24 hour period, this camera would last 21.1 months in the field on a set of lithium batteries. That is incredible.

Video Mode

If this camera were to take 15-day and 15-night videos (10-second videos) every 24 hours, it would last 2 months in the field on a set of lithium batteries. Once again, considering the camera is only using 6 batteries, 2 months is respectable video battery life.

Detection Circuit: 99/100

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.07 s. / 0.60 s.

Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.68 s. / 0.8 s.

Detection Range: 120 ft.

In over a decade of trail camera testing, this is the fastest picture trigger and recovery time we have ever seen - by a large margin. In fact, this is so impressive we tested it several times just to be sure. This is not a typo, the Force 11D has a 0.07-second picture trigger speed and is capable of taking two triggered events every second. Incredible.

When we first tested video detection, the times were really good. Spypoint took a look and said they could do better. A week later we had cameras in hand that can start a video in half a second and recovers in under a second. This is unheard of in terms of speed. Spypoint put a lot of time into their R&D for the Force 11D and it paid huge dividends.

The 120 ft. detection range is top-notch and comes from a 2018 improvement into the PIR detection. The new upgrade also eliminated dead spots in the detection zone.

Overall, this is the fastest detection circuit we have ever scored. There isn't anything left to improve upon.

Quality of Design: 86/100

Dimensions: 5" x 4.25" x 3.25"

Battery Type: 6 AA Batteries

External Battery Jack: 12-Volt

The Force 11 D is tiny and would be easy to conceal in almost any environment. The camera has a detachable bracket for mounting or removing quickly from a tree. There is not a built-in python lock bracket, but there is a 1/4" x 20 threaded insert on the bottom of the camera for a tripod or Slate River Mount. It would have been nice to have a python bracket built into the case design.

On the back of the camera, there is a cover that unscrews to reveal the battery compartment (it requires 6 AA batteries). The batteries are easy to insert/remove and are held firmly in place. There is no chance they would become dislodged on their own. The battery cover feels a bit flimsy, but it attaches in a way that removes that as a concern. It is perfectly flush with the back of the camera and is not exposed to anything that would risk damaging it.

It hasn't been an issue, but it would have been nice for Spypoint to have a bigger, beefier latch. The internal viewer quickly scrolls through any pictures or videos the camera has taken. This is an underrated feature on the Force 11D, internal viewers make setup so much easier and ensure you walk away from a camera knowing it is monitoring the terrain exactly as you want it to.

Programming is incredibly easy and intuitive. Whether this is your first camera or 21st, you will enjoy the programming options and fluid navigation. All programming is done on the internal viewer, so for those of you that do not enjoy squinting at small LCD screens, you will appreciate the bigger font on the viewer.

The Force 11D has custom start/stop time, which is useful for anyone looking at this camera for security. One interesting note, if you enter a camera ID for the "photo stamp," the name will not show up on the picture. It shows up in the picture properties.

Durability has been excellent. The Force 11D has had one of our lowest warranty rates last year.

Overall, there are a few things that could be improved or added to case design, however, the internal viewer and easy programming make this a solid category.

Spypoint Force 11D Conclusion: 86/100

The Force 11D caught us off guard with the incredible speed and battery life. The trigger and recovery times forced us to recalculate how we score detection speed. It literally created a higher class of speed that we had never seen before. For that alone, Spypoint deserves a round of applause from all of us. Adding to that, the Force 11D has an internal picture viewer, 11-month battery life, and great day pictures - making this a spectacular value.

Your opinion of this camera will come down to how you plan on using the camera. If your primary purpose is to collect trail camera videos, night video quality could worry you. If you plan on placing the camera in picture mode and collecting thousands of pictures, you will be extremely happy with the 11D.

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