Stealth Cam G30 Trail Camera Review

For more than a decade Stealth Cam has been producing high quality and reliable trail cameras that have made their mark in the hunting world. The Stealth Cam G30 is one of GSM Outdoors newest offerings and continues Stealth Cam’s trend of manufacturing some of the best cams in the industry at an affordable price.

The G30 is a mid-range trail camera, priced in between the budget P12, and the black flash G42NG. With the extensive variety of trail cameras available today, it can be almost impossible to decide which one to buy. The Stealth Cam lineup is no exception, and this review is designed to provide you with all the information you need to make your decision easier, by covering everything you need to know about the G30, from how easy it is to use, to its image and video quality, trigger performance, and battery life.

Technical Facts

• Image Sizes: 8 Megapixel, with 8mp/4mp/2mp options, widescreen images for increased FOV
• Video: HD, 5 to 180 seconds long plus audio.
• Trigger Speed: 0.5 second “Reflex” trigger
• Recovery Speed: 9-10 seconds
• Detection Range: 80 feet
• Flash Range: 70 feet, with 30 IR Emitters.
• Batteries: Requires 8 AA Batteries, Alkaline or Lithium Ion.
• Size: 4.0” Wide, 5.5” Tall, 2.5” Deep
• SD Card Slot – Compatible with up to 32GB cards.
• Quick Set Slider for Easy Setup Changes.
• Battery Compartment with Eject Button.
• 2 Line Backlit LCD Menu, with externally visibility.

Ease of Use

While some low cost trail cameras are cumbersome to set up and use, the Stealth Cam G30 is definitely not one of them. The G30 is so easy to setup and use that you will likely rarely have the need to consult the manual. When you do check out the manual, you’ll find straightforward directions on how to configure the camera with the ever handy Quickset options. Along with 3 presets, you also have the option of customizing your own to whatever fits your style of scouting. Just pop in a fresh set of AA’s, mount it with the strap, and put the slider to the desired setting, and you’re ready to go.  Below is a video overview of the G series Stealth Cams.

Image and Video Quality

The G30 features an 8 megapixel resolution image sensor, so pictures taken during the day are satisfyingly crisp and clear.

The G30 uses the same Retina technology as the higher end Stealth Cam’s, and uses a sensitive sensor with 30 IR emitters to capture high quality photos even in the lowest light. As a result, evening and night photos, as well as those taken in the pouring rain, are still going to have good results.

The camera also includes Matrix blur reduction, which decreases the motion blur that is all too common with other trail cams at night. On some occasions, a nighttime photo might turn out slightly blurry when the prey are moving, but it’s doubtful that any other trail cam of the same price would be able to do a better job than the G30.

This game cam also takes video clips in HD with audio, and they are just as high in quality as the still photos.

Trigger Performance

The G30 has a trigger speed that has been significantly improved over previous Stealth Cam models. It includes ½ second “Reflex™” trigger speed and a Burst mode that shoots up to 9 photos per triggering in 5 to 59 second delays. I think the trigger speed is surprisingly fast for such as affordable trail cam. Most users should find that the 5 second recovery time is completely adequate.

Battery Life

The G30 runs on 8 AA batteries (not included), and can operate for months on the same set of batteries, which is considerably longer than many other cheap trail cams. Be sure to use Alkaline or Lithium batteries, and never rechargeable in order to get the best service life. They should last more than 6 months, and when you do actually have to change the batteries, it is quite simple due to the removable battery tray.

User Feedback

In my research of this model, I read many reviews online, plus a few more on Bass Pro. The overwhelming consensus is that the G30 is a very solid camera for the price. About the only negative I read was about the mounting strap being a slip through buckle, rather than something more secure. I saw the same thing on the G42NG and P12, but it is not really a big deal. Users love the wide sensing range and 16:9 image formats. Many have commented on the crispness of photos at the 8MP setting, and the rich colors on the daytime photos.

Pros & Cons

Pros – The Stealth Cam G30 is compact, exactly the same size and possibly the same exact housing as the model above it. The only difference is the G42NG has a 10MP image sensor and a camouflage finish on it.

Setup is stupid simple, just as it is on the other models. Once you learn what each preset is, it’ll take just a minute to set it and forget until you go to check it months later.

The sub ½ second trigger speed is excellent, and day and night images are very good, especially compared to other sub-$100 game cameras.

Cons – While it boasts a fast trigger, the G30 has a merely average recovery time in the 10 second range. The G30 also requires a full pack of AA batteries, but that has pretty much become the standard for top game cameras today.