Reconyx UltraFire XR6

Reconyx UltraFire XR6 Review

- Initially, this camera jumps off the page from its price and slow trigger speeds. However, it will win you over if you like videos. The processor in this camera takes unbelievable video quality. You have to see it to believe it. - TCP Staff

Model # XR6 | Reconyx XR6 Owner's Manual

Trailcampro Comprehensive Score:

85/100

Pros

• Excellent video quality
• Excellent daytime pictures
• Incredible resting current draw (battery life)

Cons

• Slow trigger speed
• Batteries can be tricky to load

Trailcampro Analysis 

Reconyx trail cameras have been the gold standard for the trail camera industry for more than 10 years now. Reconyx manufactures their cameras on American soil and produce the quickest and most reliable cameras on the market.

How durable have Reconyx cameras been? We still have an old Reconyx RM45 on a farm in Northern Missouri that has been there over 10 years. It is still as fast and reliable as the day we unwrapped it.

Through the years, Reconyx has produced the Rapidfire Series, the Hyperfire Series and now, the long awaited Ultrafire Series. In the past, the only features Reconyx has lacked are the abilities to take videos and/or have an internal viewer. The new Reconyx XR6 can check both those items off the list. The XR6 is designed to hang its hat on the video quality. Billed as the best in the business, you can bet we were eager to find out if it was going to live up to the hype.

Picture Quality:     89/100

Photo resolution: 8, 5, 3 mpxl  |  Video Resolution: 1080 p HD w/ audio  |  Flash Type:  Low Glow Infrared

Daytime pictures offer robust color, excellent clarity, and beautiful depth. We did have a few daytime pictures that had slight blur, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The XR6 is a low glow trail camera and this usually means a sacrifice in nighttime photos. We can't really say that is the case here. The pictures are clear, offer good contrast and lack the "white noise" that you find in many other low glow trail cameras.

The flash range is pretty shallow and hovers around 50 ft., depending on ambient lighting (moon phase, street lights, etc.).

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Daytime videos are without a doubt the best we have seen. Crystal clear, incredible color, good audio - these are the best trail camera videos we have ever had.  Click play below and enjoy the XR6 trail camera videos.

Night videos are great at close range but you can see the flash range is a little shorter when the camera is in video mode. Overall, these are very good, clear night videos.  The XR6 does have stereo quality sound, so make sure you turn up your speakers when playing the videos.

Battery Life:     90/100

Resting Power (on):  0.18 mW  |  Daytime Power Consumption:  4.31 Ws |  Nighttime Power Consumption:  8.22 Ws 

The resting current draw is ridiculous.  0.18 mW is almost nothing at all.  At the time of this writing, 0.18 mW is 4X better than the next closest camera.  The day and night draws are both high, but the resting power makes the battery life incredible.

Our star rating in this category is misleading.  We judge the cameras on resting power, daytime power consumption, and nighttime power consumption.  This camera is an anomaly because the resting power is so incredibly low, that it overcomes the other two categories.  In fact, the resting power is so low that if this camera were to take 35-day pictures and 35-night pictures every 24 hours, this camera could last 11.9 months in the field (with lithiums).

The camera operates on 12 AA batteries and it is recommended you use either NiMH rechargeable or lithium batteries only.  No alkaline batteries.

The battery compartment stacks the batteries in there pretty tight and they can be tough to load.  Be sure to look at which battery post is positive and which is negative before loading as they are easy to confuse.

Detection Circuit:     70/100

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 1.08 s. / 3.40 s.  |  Video Trigger & Recovery Speed:  1.18 s. / 4.46 s.  |  Detection Range:  70 ft.

The 1.08-second picture trigger speed was not what we expected when we started the Reconyx XR6 Reviews. The camera recovers after taking a photo in 3.4 seconds, and while that is usually fast enough for most animals, that is not what we would call "Reconyx fast."

Video trigger time is 1.18 s., which is actually quite fast compared to other trail cameras.

The detection zone is very typical from what we have seen in past Reconyx models. Detection range is 60 ft. but matches the field of view very well.

Overall, the detection circuit is hampered by the slow trigger time which brings down the overall rating.

Quality of Design:     92/100

Dimensions:  4.5" x 3.5" x 3.25" |  Battery Type:  12 AA Batteries  |  External Battery Jack:  None

Case design on the XR6 is what you would expect from a Reconyx camera. The latch is flawless and easy to open with cold hands. The front face of the XR6 is actually smaller than previous Reconyx models by one-inch in both height and width. The depth of the case is a bit thicker.

There is a 1/4 x 20 threaded insert on the back of the camera for a Slate River Mount. Most cameras have a bracket for a Python Cable Lock, however, Reconyx takes it a step further and has two mounts. One of the holes locks the camera to the tree but the inside of the camera can still be opened without taking the lock off. The second hole locks both the camera to the tree and the case shut. This is a pretty handy feature that is unique to Reconyx.

After years of complaining about the on/off switch that Primos cameras use, it is only fair to point out the XR6 is using the identical system. Instead of a simple on/off toggle switch like previous Reconyx models utilize, the XR6 has an on/off button. After the camera has been running for a while, you have to turn the power button on, wait for the screen to light up, and then turn it off again.

Programming the camera is exactly what we want. The programming is as simple or complex as you like. The large, ample viewing screen makes both programming and picture review very easy. You can view both pictures and videos the camera has taken on the screen, including the audio from the videos.

In the past, our warranty rate on Reconyx cameras hovers around 0.1%, which is an insanely low number. We believe the biggest selling point for Reconyx cameras is their long-term durability. With that being said, we have encountered a few bugs with a few of the new XR6 cameras. The first encounter was a time/date glitch that Reconyx quickly fixed with a firmware update (all our firmware updates can be found here). We have also had a few compatibility issues with our standard Maxflash SD cards, which is why we are ordering Sandisk SD cards (this is the card type Reconyx recommends) to attempt to fix this issue. The memory card issue wasn't on all the cameras we tested, but it was on a few. We have also noticed when the camera is in time lapse mode, it operates continuously for 24 hours. The camera should be able to accept time parameters for time lapse (i.e. daytime only or dawn/dusk hours), but those parameters are not currently working.

All in all, we always expect to work out a few bugs on any new model, regardless of the manufacturer. With more experience using the new XR6, we should be able to offer more insight into these matters. It is our belief that these are short term bugs, and will be fixed with time and experience on our end, or minor firmware adjustments on Reconyx's end.

Reconyx XR6 Reviews Conclusion:     85/100

If Reconyx set out to build the best video trail camera on the market, they easily accomplished that. The daytime video quality is outstanding and will blow you away. However, in the process of building the ultimate video camera, it seems several other features were sacrificed. Previous Reconyx cameras have spoiled us with their lightning fast speed and the XR6 simply isn't that quick. The night pictures are good, but we think it is fair to expect more flash range from a camera this expensive (that can change with the expected new firmware).

If you want the best video trail camera on the market, you have to buy this one. It is hands-down, the best daytime video we have seen from a trail camera. However, if you want the quickest and most versatile picture taking machine on the market, we think that remains in the hands of the Reconyx HC500 or HC600

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

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