Bushnell Natureview Cam HD

This model is at the bottom end of the Natureview camera range and it is perhaps a little overpriced in view of the fact that it has a couple of serious flaws. But the good points first.

This is a robust looking piece of kit with a military appearance which says that it means business. There are an adequate number of options with resolution, number of stills per activation (1-3) and interval times between each activation. There's a choice of widescreen or 4:3 for video, video length and again interval times between each activation. In addition LED control and sensor level are both adjustable and you can record latitude and longitude coordinates and time-lapse is available too. All this makes for a versatile piece of equipment which delivers images of excellent quality once you've figured out the instructions. Bushnell have tried with these but they are over complicated in view of what you actually need to do to set the camera up.

It probably goes without saying but I'd certainly recommended testing the camera extensively before you use it in the field and become absolutely familiar with it.

The big issue with this camera is with video. Although footage appears as an AVI file, this is not actually the case.

After undertaking some research online, I've discovered that the actual codec is H264. MPEG 4 and you may find that this will not play on your computer. If you have a Mac (as I have), you will need to download DivX in order to view your footage. This is no big deal however as the download process is easy. I can't speak for PC though, but I have tried to view footage on Quicktime and Windows Media Player, both without success, so I'm guessing that similar downloads may have to be carried out.

Viewing is one thing, but importing the footage into an editing programme (as many users will wish to do), may not be quite as straight forward if your programme does not have the correct codec. This means that you will have to convert the MPEG 4 into a real AVI or similar.

This is a major oversight by Bushnell and has been addressed by many users online.

Stills are recorded as Jpegs and should not present any problems.

Although the camera has a Replay button, it would appear that previewing images is not possible on this camera. Again after research, it appears that this function is only available on more expensive models but please correct me if you've found a way round this. If you are not able to take a laptop to the camera site to download or preview images, then certainly have a second memory card to replace the one which you will have to take away.

Also beware that if using some quick release plates with a tripod, the locking off lever may be restricted by the bottom of the camera meaning that full tightening may not be possible.

I've not owned this camera long enough to test battery life but I am led to believe that a full compliment of eight AA batteries will last for a year.

I've written this review so that potential buyers are aware of what I would consider to be important pitfalls before making their purchase of what is a very useful and quality camera. Silly oversights like this are often a problem what are otherwise first class products and they represent a downturn in value for money.