Which Cuddeback is best for you?

Hunters have different guns for different game. We have a similar philosophy for cameras, where each of our cameras is designed for a specific use. The compact size of the Ambush makes it great on trails, rublines, and scrapes. The full size performance of the Attack makes it ideal for use over feeders and food plots where extended illumination range and battery life are beneficial. If you plan on using multiple cameras, we recommend getting each model so you can optimize the camera to the location.

	Ambush IR	Attack IR	Attack
Trigger Speed	1/4-second or less
Centered Subject Technology	Yes
Illumination Type	27 LEDs with 2 watts of power	36 LEDs with 7 watts of power	Xenon Flash
Illumination Range	25 Feet	50 Feet
Nighttime Images	5 MP - Correctly Exposed IR Black/White		5 MP - Color
Daytime Images	5 MP Color with Smart Color Technology
Camera Delays	5 Seconds - 3 Minutes	5 Seconds - 30 Minutes	51 Seconds - 30 Minutes
Video Length	10 Seconds	10, 20, 30 Seconds
Battery Power	8-AA Batteries	4-D-Cell Batteries
Battery Life2	Up to 6 months	Up to 12 months
Super Simple Setup	Yes
SD Support	Up to 32 GB
USB Support	No	Yes3
Internal Memory	120 MB
Test Mode	Yes
Adjustable Video Length	No	Yes
Guard Duty Mode4	No	Yes
Time-Lapse Mode5	No	Yes
Set Operating Time	No	Yes
Genius Mount	Yes
Lockable/Genius Mount	No	Yes
Lockable/CuddeSafe	Yes
Use for Trails & Rublines	Best6
Use for Scrapes	Best6
Use for Feeders	Good	Best
Use for Fields & Food Plots	Good	Best
Use for Surveillance	Yes		No
Use for Time-Lapse Photography	No	Yes

1. At night, additional time is required for the flash to charge, therefore minimum camera delay for the Attack at night is 30 seconds. Minimum daytime camera delay is 5 seconds. Attack sets this automatically if delay is set to 30 seconds or less.
2. Battery life is dependent upon battery quality, temperature, images & videos taken, and operating duration. Your results may be different.
3. USB support requires Cuddeback USB Flash Drive (not included).
4. In Guard Duty mode images are taken every 12 seconds during daylight, and via motion sensing at night.
5. Time-Lapse mode is different than Guard Duty mode. Time interval is programmable from 1 minute to 24 hours. Motion sensing is disabled when operating in time lapse mode.
6. This table does not take into account the advantage of lower price and smaller size. We believe the Ambush is the better choice for Trails, Rublines, and Scrapes; while Attack is the better choice for feed sites and fields.

Trigger Speed

Why trigger speed is so important.

Trigger speed is the amount of time it takes the camera to both detect an animal and take a picture. We believe that if a camera doesn’t trigger within 1/2 second, the camera is likely to miss animals moving past (resulting in a blank image). We consider trigger speed to be analogous to the accuracy of a gun. What good is a scouting camera that misses deer? No better than a gun that misses deer.

All Cuddebacks trigger very quickly, within 3/4 of a second. This means fewer noses, fewer tails, fewer blank images and more of what you use a scouting camera for – pictures of game.

IR or Flash?

IR night illumination (invisible infrared) or Flash (visible strobe) is a personal preference based upon whether or not you believe the flash has a negative effect on deer. Some think the flash chases deer while others think the flash does not. Each technology has its advantages:

Super Simple Set Up

Giving you what you need, not gimmicks

Cuddeback’s Super Simple Setup makes using the Cuddeback Attack series cameras a snap. Install batteries and rotate the knob. You will quickly discover the basic operation is intuitive. Setting the date and time is as simple as an alarm clock. Arming the Attack is as simple as rotating a knob. One of the biggest benefits of Super Simple Setup is how easy it is to set Attack’s camera delay; just rotate the knob to the desired setting. A side benefit of this system is that you will be able to verify camera delay at a glance. Some other cameras require that you walk through a menu to check camera delay.

Motion Sensors

What's better, narrow-view or wide-view motion sensors?

Cuddeback cameras use a narrow-view motion/heat sensor, while almost all other manufacturers use a wide-view motion/heat sensor. Our competition would like you to believe that a narrow-view system will miss deer that sneak along the side of the viewing area. But it is our experience – and we have 25 years of experience – that this is not an issue.

At Cuddeback, we chose to engineer fast trigger speed into our first generation of digital cameras. It wasn’t easy but we prevailed and our first generation digital cameras triggered in less than one second. With a fast trigger speed we were able to maintain narrow-view sensing, which we prefer because it results in far more centered subjects and fewer blank images. We believe it is better to capture the deer in the center of the image, where you can see the entire deer, and not just a nose or tail.

Website Reviews and Forums

The ugly truth behind "unbiased" website reviews

Our attorneys have uncovered elaborate funding arrangements whereby certain website owners themselves or companies owned or controlled by them, receive payments. We strongly recommend you take great caution when interpreting the information presented on websites, regardless of which brand of camera you are considering.

SD Cards

What kind of SD card to choose and how to use it?

We make every attempt to design Cuddeback cameras to operate with all brands, sizes, and speed of SD cards. However, there is such a variety of SD cards available it is impossible to assure that all cards will function properly (just like all products, there is best, good, ok, and junk quality SD cards on the market). We assure our cameras work with the most popular brands and sizes. Read the tech brief for an explanation of what kind of SD card to choose and how to use it.

Viewing Images

View your scouting camera images in the field

Cuddeback cameras do not have a built-in image viewer. On-board viewers are difficult or impossible to view in daylight (you'll maybe notice this with your cellphone). Not being able to see the display makes it very difficult to program or use the camera, especially when the camera is strapped to a tree. Cuddeback uses a daylight viewable LCD for programming and recommends the CuddeView or other device for field viewing. CuddeView allows you to move into a shaded area or shield the viewer with your jacket. Also, CuddeView’s card-to-card copy mode allows you to transfer images from all your cameras to one SD card.

CuddeView X2 Features:
• Two SD card slots (allows transfer of images)
• Works as card reader
• Zoom or pan on images
• Delete unwanted images
• Works with most digital scouting cameras

Genius Mount System

It's never been easier to mount your Cuddeback to a tree

All Attack and Ambush cameras feature Cuddeback's revolutionary Genius Mounting System, which makes attaching and using your Cuddeback easier than ever.

Trophy Room

View and organize your Cuddeback images with Trophy Room™ Image Management Software

The all-new Trophy Room Image Management Software includes enhanced options plus instant product updating.