Top pick
This easy-to-set-up trail camera takes better images (including 4K video) and has a better warranty than all the cameras we tested.
The Bushnell Core S-4K No Glow Trail Camera delivered the most lifelike daytime and nighttime images of any camera we tested, and its build quality and two-year warranty are better than the rest.
It takes the best images of all the trail cameras we tested. After looking over hundreds of photos and videos, we consistently preferred the images from the Core S-4K to any other camera.
The images aren’t perfect, but they were the most true-to-life in terms of exposure, detail, and saturation.
This camera also took some of the best night images and video, and it has customizable settings for capturing fast motion or prioritizing long-range subjects.
It produces 4K video and has a hybrid photo-video mode. Like its photos (and similar to every other trail camera), the Core S-4K’s 4K video is interpolated. That means the camera is not capable of recording native 4K video, so its final video output is digitally enhanced and enlarged to make it 4K.
Still, during our tests, its daytime and nighttime video surpassed competitors in exposure, detail, and color. It also has a hybrid photo-video mode, which means that it takes a video clip after a burst of photos.
It’s easy to set up. Once you turn it on, its 1.5-inch color screen shows you what its camera sees, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of positioning the camera (although it’s tricky to get your head out of the shot while simultaneously looking at the live view).
On other cameras, like our runner-up, the lens and the screen are attached to the door of the camera. This means that when you open it, the screen shows you the opposite direction of where it’s going to shoot, and you might need to do some test shots to get the right angle. Not so with the Core S-4K.
It starts automatically. Each time you turn it on, it starts a 10-second countdown until it starts looking for motion and taking photos, and the red LED blinks like a digital camera’s timer.
This feature is surprisingly handy. Other cameras require you to hold or hit a button to start its countdown. This is easy to forget, as I learned during my testing.
It’s customizable. The Core S-4K’s default settings are a good start, but it has lots of granular settings, too: camera-only, video-only, and hybrid modes; three image sizes to manage card space; number of pictures it takes in a burst; flash settings for long range, fast motion, or lower-intensity; and video length of up to one minute.
It has a better warranty and feels tougher than the rest. Bushnell’s trail cameras come with a two-year warranty, which is one year longer than the warranties offered by the other cameras we tested.
Compared with several other cameras we tested, the Core S-4K’s housing feels like it’s made of thicker plastic, and the latch that secures its housing is much sturdier than the rest (with the exception of the Browning model we tested).
It also has a metal clasp to hold its strap in place, which is far less likely to fail than the plastic ones on other cameras, especially in cold weather.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
- At night, the Core S-4K only captures a maximum video length of 15 seconds when you have its flash set to “Long range illumination.” It’s a strange detail, and I inadvertently discovered this during testing, thinking it was a glitch, but it’s noted in the manual.
- Its lens isn’t as wide as those of the other cameras we tested, which typically means the images feel closer to the action than its competitors. The downside is that it captures a smaller area of the scene compared with other camera’s images at the same distance.
- The Core S-4K’s pictures have a noticeable magenta hue. But it’s less noticeable than other cameras’ image quality flaws.
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Top pick
This easy-to-set-up trail camera takes better images (including 4K video) and has a better warranty than all the cameras we tested.
The Bushnell Core S-4K No Glow Trail Camera delivered the most lifelike daytime and nighttime images of any camera we tested, and its build quality and two-year warranty are better than the rest.
It takes the best images of all the trail cameras we tested. After looking over hundreds of photos and videos, we consistently preferred the images from the Core S-4K to any other camera.
The images aren’t perfect, but they were the most true-to-life in terms of exposure, detail, and saturation.
This camera also took some of the best night images and video, and it has customizable settings for capturing fast motion or prioritizing long-range subjects.
It produces 4K video and has a hybrid photo-video mode. Like its photos (and similar to every other trail camera), the Core S-4K’s 4K video is interpolated. That means the camera is not capable of recording native 4K video, so its final video output is digitally enhanced and enlarged to make it 4K.
Still, during our tests, its daytime and nighttime video surpassed competitors in exposure, detail, and color. It also has a hybrid photo-video mode, which means that it takes a video clip after a burst of photos.
It’s easy to set up. Once you turn it on, its 1.5-inch color screen shows you what its camera sees, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of positioning the camera (although it’s tricky to get your head out of the shot while simultaneously looking at the live view).
On other cameras, like our runner-up, the lens and the screen are attached to the door of the camera. This means that when you open it, the screen shows you the opposite direction of where it’s going to shoot, and you might need to do some test shots to get the right angle. Not so with the Core S-4K.
It starts automatically. Each time you turn it on, it starts a 10-second countdown until it starts looking for motion and taking photos, and the red LED blinks like a digital camera’s timer.
This feature is surprisingly handy. Other cameras require you to hold or hit a button to start its countdown. This is easy to forget, as I learned during my testing.
It’s customizable. The Core S-4K’s default settings are a good start, but it has lots of granular settings, too: camera-only, video-only, and hybrid modes; three image sizes to manage card space; number of pictures it takes in a burst; flash settings for long range, fast motion, or lower-intensity; and video length of up to one minute.
It has a better warranty and feels tougher than the rest. Bushnell’s trail cameras come with a two-year warranty, which is one year longer than the warranties offered by the other cameras we tested.
Compared with several other cameras we tested, the Core S-4K’s housing feels like it’s made of thicker plastic, and the latch that secures its housing is much sturdier than the rest (with the exception of the Browning model we tested).
It also has a metal clasp to hold its strap in place, which is far less likely to fail than the plastic ones on other cameras, especially in cold weather.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
- At night, the Core S-4K only captures a maximum video length of 15 seconds when you have its flash set to “Long range illumination.” It’s a strange detail, and I inadvertently discovered this during testing, thinking it was a glitch, but it’s noted in the manual.
- Its lens isn’t as wide as those of the other cameras we tested, which typically means the images feel closer to the action than its competitors. The downside is that it captures a smaller area of the scene compared with other camera’s images at the same distance.
- The Core S-4K’s pictures have a noticeable magenta hue. But it’s less noticeable than other cameras’ image quality flaws.
The 3 Best Trail Cameras of 2025
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