I bought four of these cameras after last season on clearance and have been running them since April 1. I paid between $39 and $49 depending on where I found them. They are available today for $69 from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Moultrie-A-20-Mini-Game-Camera/dp/B01BE8JE4Y



Pros:
AA Batteries
battery life
quick shutter
good picture clarity
price

Cons:
no temperature or barometric pressure recorded

Here are a few example pictures from my most recent card pull. This camera has been out since April 1 in weather conditions ranging from snow to 90 degrees. It has taken 6000 pictures on one set of AAs and still has 97% battery life according to the indicator.

An average daylight picture:



Shutter speed and sharp motion capture on the robin:



Low light evening photo



Full dark photo



For cameras that can be pretty easily found 2 for a benjamin, I am very satisfied with these and recommend them.

Thanks for the report.
My Primos TC 35s are on their last legs and probably need to upgrade asap.
I set out a Stealth Cam P12 this morning I got on camofire, it's a refurb but for $35 it's worth giving a go.
I may have pick up a couple of these.

I've got two of these. Been good cameras.

Are any of the affordable trail cams reliably lasting more than 2-3yrs before crapping out?

I'd love to get some new trail cams but can't justify buying more when I'm lucky if 20% of them last more than a couple seasons

Sometimes.

I have a hard time getting more than 3 years out of camera that's out in the hill country 24/7-365.

If you're only running a camera during the fall or around hunting season, take it out of the field and put it inside. It will stretch it another couple of years, maybe.

My Cuddebacks (6-7 years old) won't go another season. I just ordered 3 of the A20s. I've been looking for a deal.
Thanks, AgChem!

I have four. Can confirm they work well. They can be (at least mine are) kind of picky about sd cards. It sometimes takes two to three extract/insert/power up cycles to recognize a cheaper card.

I don't know how well they will hold up under the heat in regards to battery life. I fired one up last week to see how it will fare.

TAMUallen said:

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Are any of the affordable trail cams reliably lasting more than 2-3yrs before crapping out?

I'd love to get some new trail cams but can't justify buying more when I'm lucky if 20% of them last more than a couple seasons

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Technology changes so fast it might be better to go the cheaper route every couple of years than buy a more expensive one that gets outperformed anyway in a couple of years.