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Trail Watcher 2035 Digital Scouting SystemThe Trail Watcher 2035 is the 2007 offering from Trail Watcher who had previously brought us the 2040 and 2060 models that have and continue to perform well for us. The Trial Watcher 2035 uses a Sony DSC-W35 7.2 MP digital camera. We have given it an A for picture quality. You can see example pictures and read our explanation on the 2035 picture quality page. We tested the power up time and the 2035 is faster than all of our previous cameras except the Cuddeback. This is a real good power up time. Over the years power up time has become somewhat less important to me but faster is better than slower. The Trail Watcher 2035 operates on one 9-volt battery and the Sony camera operates on a rechargeable Sony battery pack. The battery pack has been taking 500+ pictures on a charge. The 9-volt battery lasts for several months. The Sony battery pack has proven to be a great battery which allows us to use this camera in our highest deer use areas. Like some of the prior Sony digital cameras this camera does not imprint the date and time on the pictures. This is one knock against the Sony S600, W30 and W35. Setup is done using two buttons. I’m generally not a fan of pressing buttons and changing settings on an LCD screen but the electronics in the Trail Watcher trail cameras has won me over. With my previous Trail Watcher cameras and now with the 2035 the LCD screen reacts right when you push the buttons and once you make changes a few times it becomes easy to do. One of my biggest complaints against pressing buttons and watching an LCD screen is that on many cameras they just don’t work great, but the electronics in the Trail Watcher cameras work when you press the buttons. One possible problem that can arise with the Trail Watcher 2035 is with the placement of the camera in the case. The Sony W35 has a long lens that comes out similar to the Sony W30 in the Camtrakker. If the camera isn’t in the case properly and the lens hits anything it will just go back in and the camera will not take a picture. You need to make sure the camera will take a picture before you leave it. One additional note is that the correct placement of the Sony in the Trail Watcher is easier than it is in the Camtrakker. There is an on/off switch on the outside of the case so you have to make sure you turn it on when you leave the camera. This switch is handy when setting the camera up or making changes to settings as the camera will not take pictures as long as it is off but the electronics will still be on. The settings are similar to the other Sony cameras that I own. You may need the owners manual for a little while if you want to change settings but I’ve learned that there are only a couple of settings that I change regularly and it is easy once you get the hang of it. A ratchet strap is provided with the Trail Watcher 2035 to attach it to a tree and a Python Cable Lock can be used to lock it to the tree. The Sony W35 has 56 MB of internal memory and a Memory Stick Duo can be used to record more pictures. We’ve been using 512 MB and 1 GB memory stick duo’s lately in our cameras. We’ve been happy to see the prices on all camera memory cards falling over the past couple of years. The Sony W35 has a large two-inch viewing screen to take a look at your pictures in the woods. I like these larger screens. There are eight time delays ranging from five seconds to 10 minutes. This is the best range of time delays I’ve seen to date. The time delays include 5, 10, 15 and 20 seconds and 1, 2, 5 and 10 minutes. I like this range of time delays. There are also separate delays for night and day operation which have already come in handy. You can also set the Trail Watcher 2035 to take up to 5 pictures per each motion detected from five to eight seconds apart depending on whether it is day or night. There is also an activity mode which allows the camera to take pictures every four to twelve seconds. It will shut off after 20 seconds of no motion or after one minute of constant motion. The Trail Watcher has a walk test feature that will turn itself off and allow the camera to start taking pictures after one minute. The Sony W35 can be removed from the unit and used as a personal camera. The Trail Watcher 2035 cannot be used for video footage. Like the two previous models from Trail Watcher the 2035 is also in a very small case. The whole unit is only 4 ½ x 6 inches. The 2035 is another nice digital trail camera from Trail Watcher and we've given it an A as an overall grade. The pictures are great, battery life is good, the selection of time delays is the best we've seen so far, it is easy to setup and use and it is a very dependable trail camera. About a year after we started using the 2035 a wire came loose inside the camera. The fellow that makes these cameras offered to fix the camera but I thought that we could do it ourselves so he sent us a new three wire connector and we soldered it to the board. The customer service from Trail Watcher has been excellent. Currently Trail Watcher is offering a free 10 score trial version of TrophyScore software with the purchase of each Trail Watcher 2035. Learn more about and purchase the Trail Watcher 2035
here.
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