The first thing you notice about the new Leupold RCX-2 Trail Camera system is that this is one well-built, rugged camera.  The camera body and remote controller are lightweight yet tough with typical Leupold attention to detail.  I have used this camera for a couple of months on our hunting lease and now have enough field experience with it to offer an honest evaluation.  The RCX-2 includes more advanced features than the entry-level RCX-1.

The RCX series utilizes a remote controller to configure the camera via USB cable, download images to an onboard SD card, or to view images on a clear and bright 3″ display.  I found using the controller to be intuitive – although it is a bit different from the typical trail camera set up.  The controller uses a rechargeable lithium battery.  The camera itself uses 8 AA batteries.

As to battery life, I loaded the camera with lithium batteries and left it in the field until the batteries were dead.  In total, the camera took almost 4,000 photos on one set of batteries – the vast majority of which were at night powering the 48 infrared LEDs.

The camera sports a very fast trigger speed.

Although you can download images from the camera to the remote controller, I found it quicker and easier to simply swap the cards.  However, it is important to note that one controller can interface to multiple cameras.  For example, you could have three cameras covering different trails, make the rounds, and download all three image files to the controller for viewing later.

The RCX-2 includes a lock down security plate (for a python-type cable lock) and the bottom plate accepts a small padlock to secure the SD card.  A hinged plate on the bottom of the unit protects the camera ports, switch, and battery compartment.  The door is held in place with a brass screw and rubber moisture gasket.  Also included are hex stand-off mounting studs, mounting straps, USB cable, and charger.

Tactical Gun Review’s mission is to test products in the field – not the lab.  To that end, the Leupold RCX-2 passes with flying colors:

Long battery life.

Ability to hot swap cards (view recent photos in the deer stand).

Very few false images.  I would say that 99% of the images actually included a deer.  That can’t be said for some of the other cameras I own.

High quality photos.

The highest recommendation I can give is that the camera helped me take this year’s trophy whitetail.

by Mike Coker

 

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Publisher of Tactical Gun Review and Texas Outdoors Network. I love hunting for Texas whitetail deer, wild hogs, and high-volume Argentina dove. When not hunting you can find me fishing along the Texas Coast or on a wild Colorado river.

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