HCO SG560C Full Color Scouting Camera

I also own the incandescent flash version of this camera. Which I wish I had purchased a second one of, as this camera does not take very good night time videos. Its flash range does not meet the range of the PIR. Lots of dark unusable videos. However It does take some awesome day time photos and the videos are above average during the day.Its an 8 MP photo during the day. If you put the camera back to the sun you will be happy. I used it via video for a week and now have converted it back to 3 shoot burst, I get all the info I need in this mode.Bottom line if I buy any more of these products (and I probably will) I will go with the (HCO Uway ScoutGuard SG565FV). Although thats a different review the only complaint with the 565F is the ON/OFF switch is FUBAR. The 560C has a wonderfull user interface and a solid ON/ OFF switch. Maybe the newer versions of the 565F will also be upgraded to this switch.

I've ordered two of these cameras. The first one was defective right out the box; I could never get its display to turn on. I returned it (so glad for Amazon's relatively painless return procedure) and was sent another camera. The second one seemed ok. At first. Note: I bought this camera for its color night videos, and the quality for those, although not great--it was much better for close subjects, those around six to eight feet, than at further distances--was pretty much what I expected it to be. (For day video and day still shots the quality just isn't there, though; you are much better off with a less expensive Stealthcam. There is also no audio and no information strip at the bottom, both nice features to have.) But after a day or so, when viewing the videos on the replacement camera, this began: The date would flash in yellow in the middle (too fast to read) and the video would only last for only a second or two, after which it would start over. And over. And then over again. This happened intermittently but frequently enough (eventually it happened most of the time) so I realized that the second camera was also defective. So I returned it too. For a refund. By the way, I never found a customer service for HCO but the instruction booklet included a website, and I called a number I found there. But the # wasn't to HCO; it was to a camera re-seller. Eventually I was transferred to someone in the technical section who said they sold some HCO cameras but not this model. Suggestion: HCO needs to improve both the quality of this camera and its customer service.

This is a great camera!! The advantage is the high quality NIGHT-TIME color pics and good color video too. This has been critical for my research into the habits of certain wild animals and identifying them from each other, which would be impossible with black & white pics. I like that it has multiple interval settings for both stills and video, it has two PRI settings, and it is very easy to navigate through the menu. The camera is built well and has taken thousands of photos (I got it in 2014) and the quality of images is still good. In fact, I like it so much, I was surprised to see I hadn't already reviewed it! One has to experiment a bit with the field of vision and distance so that animals aren't blurred or wash out from the camera flash being too close. I have not had any 'false trips' nor experienced 'motion sensor' problems; I thought the camera was triggered by the PRI/heat setting. It doesn't seem effected at all by wind, So, not sure why others claim this is a problem. The downside is how bright the flash is; this is NOT a stealth camera!! It lights up half the yard, and probably temporarily blinds the animals; I know some of my visiting yard animals have learned to trip it (by sneaking to the side of the field of vision) and then come eat and get water, and I also get pics of them tilting their heads down and away, knowing their picture is about to be taken. Sometimes, when they get annoyed, the smarter one will turn the camera away if I have it placed where he can get at it. But it sure is delightful, enlightening and sometimes traumatic seeing what goes on at night! (traumatic seeing foxie hunting and knowing that is probably why kitty disappeared). I have used this camera to identify culprits, and assist people needing humane solutions to wildlife problems. It is amazing how quick people are to blame certain critters, then they find out it was actually the neighbor's dog killing things - which is sadly often more difficult to resolve. This camera has many great options and is very user friendly. I like that you can run it on either four batteries, or eight, and that you don't have to turn it on to download images - just plug in the cable. I don't like that every time one changes out the batteries, you have to reset the clock, but that's a small irritation compared to all the other great features. The camera does NOT have audio with the video option. I highly recommend this camera, though I have only compared it to a few much lower quality ones that my friends have. Still, I am a graphic designer/printer and have been able to market quality night shots taken with this camera.