I had the same problem.Bought 2 new ones in Nov,dead batteries weekly,maybe 150 pics each time.Finally had enough and sent them back.They wanted $75 a piece to repair them.Wow nice warranty and there customer service stinks to.I'll be buying something else next time,and telling everone i know about my experience with Cuddeback .

Last season I purchased two capture IR's. Had problems with both immediately. Returned them both to cabelas, had problems with one of the new ones, and returned them both for refunds sine it was still within 90 days. With problems with 3 out of 4 in such short time, my confidence in their product dried up. how can I expect them to work two years from now if they don't hold up two months. between two other guys on my lease they also purchased three capture IR's last season. One had to be returned right away. Thr other two worked for the rest of the season. I will never buy one of their products again and don't recommend them. Also, what I don't understand. neither mine or my buddies ever took pictures of high quality like the ones you see on their websites that people sent in. I think those must be from previous years when they presumably made a better product. I have a 4 year old moultre that still works and another that's one year old that works great and takes better quality pics than the cudde. I also have a gamespy that works fine. Good luck if you buy cudde, hopefully you get a good one. Too bad they don't work better for some of us, I like the trigger speed.

UPDATE - 03-17-10:

OK, I read the latest replies and it seems that the problems with this camera may be a little more prevalent then I first thought.

Upon getting the camera back, I set it up on my back porch pointed at the back door knowing my German Shorthair is always at the door waiting for one of us to let her in the house! I set it on 5 minute delay and in about 4 weeks it took around 1,400 - 1,500 pictures, ALL on the same batteries it came back with which Non Typical said were the same ones I sent it with. But, they also said that they were sending me 'my' camera back. I'll call BS on that one because when you turn it on now the date it reads on the LED is 7-9, my camera was first turned on in late August and everyone that owns a Cuddeback knows that the initial time you turn your camera on when you get one is the date that remains on it! So, they flat out lied to me and sent me another used camera in place of my own............IMAGINE THAT!

The good news is that it seems to at least be working properly so hopefully we may go to the new lease in Sonora this coming weekend and I can get a couple feeders going and set it up. Of course I'm going to set up my trusty Moultrie 4.0 IR right next to it! LOL

I will agree with gacman that the Cuddeback's trigger speed is awesome and I do not think anyone else's comes close. I also agree with him that the picture quality is not nearly as good (day or night) as the Moultrie or the Bushnell Trophy Cam I have!

I'll post an update after the camera has had a chance to do it's thing out in the pasture!

Thanks for all of your input on this issue and all who read this thread and have one need to chime in so that all the rest of the guys out there can see both sides of this one and make as educated of a decision as they can about purchasing their own. Right now, I WOULD NOT buy another Cuddeback IR 3.0!

I just returned my recon extreme 3.0(which had terrible night time images). I am not a fan at all of IR. I had 2 cuddebacks(No flash/expert) and bought the cuddeback capture(NON- IR) in exchange for my recon. It works awesome and takes amazing pics just like my other 2 cuddebacks. It takes awesome pics at night out to prolly 40-60 feet and is real clear. Nothing beats nightime clear pics of bucks. All my cuddebacks do not have a problem and I am glad I stick with them. I would advise just to stay away from IR unless your camera is near a road or you fear someone will steal it. The pics I get are the best pics I have ever seen. Go look at my figure 6 hog trap thread in HOGS/SMALL GAME FORUM and look at those pics of my new cuddeback capture. They are crystal clear. I now wish cuddeback would come out with a 6v/12v adaption like stealth has. My batteries last 2-3 weeks, which is great in my opinion.

How many pictures does this give you with the batteries lasting 2-3 weeks?

hundreds. I have had up to 600 before in 2 weeks but usually 250-400. This summer will be the test for it because I had my recon there over my protein feeder and would get sometimes 800-1100 pics a week. But the pic quality just wasnt worth a crap a night with the recon IR camera. So during antler stage i will put my cuddeback there since all i own is cuddebacks now. Bass pro has a reconyx on clearance for 399 I wanted to buy it so bad. I mean I usually pull it every 1-2 weeks but it usually will last two times checking it, equalling about 3 weeks per set of batteries. The cheap academy brand D batteries work well with my cuddebacks.

I agree that Cudde has a great trigger and good picture quality but 600 pictures on 4 D cell batteries just isn't cutting the mustard IMO! That little Bushnell took over 3000 (probably over 4000) pics and 300-400 10 sec video clips off of 4 AA batteries when I tested it. My Moultrie cameras will get at least 10,000 pictures off of 6 D cell batteries. It is my opinion that Cuddeback takes good pictures but has other issues they need to address such as battery life, incorporating a battery meter into their camera so you know what percentage of battery life you have left, options for 2 or 3 picture burst mode would also be a nice feature that most cameras offer but they do not! All I'm saying is that Cuddeback has some serious room for improvement and upgrades that most cameras in the same price range already have!

lol well compared to those picture numbers I agree. what do you think of the moultrie cameras and the trophy cam NON IR??

I have two old Moultrie flash cameras that still work today but I loaned them out to a friend and doubt I'll ever see them again. One is about 6 or 7 years old and is the 1.0MP and the other is a 2.0. They have taken literally thousands of pictures without a single problem. I had 2 of the Moultrie 4.4 IRs but ended up taking one back to Academy that was about 9 months old. The LED screen had gone out on it. The one I have still works well except for the fact that I do not seem to get many morning pictures at all with it. I get pics all night long but from daybreak to about noon I get very, very few. I set it up at the new lease in Sonora to see what happens.

I cannot comment on the flash type trophy cam because I've never had one or even know anybody that does. I will post some pictures from my Bushnell TC IR as soon as I make it back out to the lease again. I'm hoping they are as good of quality as the ones the camera took at the house when I was testing it. If they are, I guarantee you I'll buy another!

ok cool, please do that. haha i can always return my cuddeback for it. they are the same price.

UPDATE 04-03-10

Went to the lease yesterday and it had taken 120+ pictures in two weeks and was still working. I set it up on a different feeder and left the batteries in it to see what it would do. I'm planning a trip out there in two weeks to see what happens.

Just checked my cuddeback capture. Takes awesome pics but battery only last 14 days. Check out my post in hogs, varmints for detailed pics. AWESOME PICS, night time flash doesnt bother them. I really want to check out the new Trophy cam 8 mp. any reports?

I've heard of a LOT of problems with the Capture IR & hardly any problems with the Capture flash type. I think they screwed up trying to compete with the cheaper Moultrees. They seem to be about as crappy as Moultree, but not as good at the customer service that Moultree has so much practice with!

I've had the older Cuddeback No Flash IR model for 3 years now & I get a minimum of a month and around 1000 pics from a set of 4 "D" cell batts. Cold weather a bit less..

I found that the RayOVac don't last nearly as long as the Duracell or Eveready. I wonder how the new Lithium batteries will work in game cameras.

yes I also have the old NO flash and the new capture and the cuddeback expert. The capture takes a little better pictures believe it or not. I thought I would never say that. Cuddeback pics are the best out there IMO. What batteries last the longest for you?

The Duracell seem to be a bit better, but they all go away faster when it's really cold up in the Panhandle. (05-20 degrees)

I'd like to hear some feedback from anybody using the new Lithium batteries. They may be just the ticket, if they're even able to be used in these cameras. I'll probably need to call the factory to see what they say.

The pics on quite a few other cameras, even Moultree, are a bit better than my No Flash, but I'll take the No Flash durability every time.

Would this work on yours?

well my best 3 cameras of my cuddebacks is the Expert and got it for under $200 brand new(No flash, capture, expert) I had the expert and capture out side by side and the capture lasted under 2 weeks and the expert is at 4 weeks and still going on the same set of batteries. I am going to return the capture after I confirm I get less then 1.5 weeks again. That is terrible. The pics are really good but not worth price of batteries. I will exchange it for the new BTC i believe. My expert is amazing though. Its NON IR and last 4+ weeks on 4 energizer batteries with over 600-700 pics so far and it read 50% battery left.

after posting my post, I now looked back at the title of the thread and realize I AM HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUES!!!!!! This sucks, I think I am going to return the camera to BASS PRO. This only happens with my new Capture though, not any of my old cuddebacks. I knew right away the springs/metal pieces that come in contact with the battery were not sturdy enough because you could simply press them too hard and they would totally move, therefore not maintaining complete contact with the batteris. That is the problem. Bass pro had a reconyx for $350 or $399 on clearnace I think I will just pony up and buy it even though its an older model.

CCBB, that sucks. If you buy the reconyx, make sure you start a thread on it and keep everybody posted on what you like and dislike about it. I do not want to spend $400 on a camera but if it is worth it, I WILL!

I just hope that bass Pro still has it as they only had 1 or 2 left bc they were marked down.

My Moultree IR's (2)will run 3-6 months on alkaline batterys taking 5000 to 6000 pics before i change them.I tried the lithiums in both my Cuddebacks IR's,don't know how long they ran, but they both died in a 2 week period taking about 150 pics.

they are all sold out of the reconyx cameras that were on clearnace. BUMMER!!!!! yes screw the new cuddebacks, the old ones I wouldnt trade for anything. These new ones have isses with their battery parts.

Dang, that stinks ccb! Hopefully you can find a good deal on them somewhere else. Try Amazon.com. They will usually have cameras for at least the lowest price you'll find them in any store and usually lower! I've had really good luck doing it and the only issue I had was with this Cuddeback IR.

I exchanged the cuddeback for a the stealth sniper pro(flash) and a 12v battery for the camera. I had a few pics lasdt night of some does in the area, deer still arent coming in much. Pics looked good so time will tell if this camera is worth a crap.

UPDATE 06-05-10

Went to lease this past weekend. Camera was out for 8 weeks and took about 220 pics and batteries were dead. I had left the four batteries in last time and they had about 250 or so pics on them before so I got about 500 pics on these 4 D batteries. IMO, that is Pizz poor! This Cuddeback takes really good pictures and it's trigger speed is 2nd to none but the battery life in this one is not much better then the one I sent back to Cuddeback!

I'd sure like to see more people with this camera post how their's does to see if this is indeed a common problem. It is truly a shame as everything about this camera is nice except the way it eats batteries. The other thing that Cuddeback should do is put a battery meter in the LCD so you know what percent the batteries are at. Although it is the simplest camera to set up I'd like them to have more choices of timing between photos and also the option for a multi-shot burst (2 or 3 shot).