Tactacam Batteries & Power

Which Tactacam battery fits your camera

Tactacam changed its power system with the 4.0 generation, and the two families do not cross over. Buying the wrong one is the most common return we see on these, so start here.

Tactacam lists the Lithium Cartridge as compatible with Reveal X, X-Pro, X 2.0, X 3.0, Pro 3.0, X SK, XB and Ultra. It is not compatible with Gen 1 Reveal cameras, and it does not fit the 4.0 series. The FlexPack R5 and R10 are built for the 4.0 series only.

Tactacam lithium battery or FlexPack rechargeable battery pack

The difference is where the battery sits. The Lithium Cartridge is an internal part. It drops into the same slot as the twelve-AA tray that came with the camera, and it charges over the included USB cable or off a Reveal solar panel. A built-in indicator light tells you the level without pulling it out.

The FlexPack is external. It clips to the body of a 4.0 camera with no cable running down the trunk, which means you swap power without opening the housing and without unstrapping anything. Tactacam rates the R5 at 5,000 mAh, or up to 1,000 disposable AAs, and the R10 at 10,000 mAh, or up to 2,000.

If you run more than one camera, the 2-packs are the better buy. The R5 2-Pack is $99.99 and the R10 2-Pack is $179.99, each about twenty dollars under two singles. One stays on the charger, one stays in the woods, and you stop timing your checks around a battery level.

What a Tactacam Reveal battery pack actually gets you

A Reveal holds twelve AA batteries. Three cameras through two seasons is seventy-two cells, and that is before the set you burned on a camera that turned out to be pointed at a fence line. The cartridge and the FlexPack both retire that cost.

Runtime is not a fixed number, and any shop quoting one is guessing. Cellular cameras spend most of their power transmitting, not photographing, so a camera on one bar of signal will drain a pack that a camera on four bars would stretch across a season. Photo count, video length and daily upload schedule all move it too. Our trail camera battery life guide works through what each setting costs you, and how cellular trail cameras work explains why signal strength is the line item that matters most.

The Battery Belt, for cameras you would rather not visit

The Reveal Battery Belt holds 14,700 mAh, which Tactacam puts at three times its own lithium cartridge. It wraps a limb or a trunk rather than hanging off the camera, so it reads as part of the tree from ten yards out. That matters on public ground. It carries an IPX66 waterproof rating, charges over USB-C, and can be topped off in the field by the Solar Panel R5, the Folding Solar Panel or the older V2 panel.

This is the one for a camera at the back of a property, a food plot you only want to touch twice a year, or any spot where the walk in is long enough that you would rather not make it twice.

Charging, battery trays and cold weather

Lithium holds its voltage in freezing temperatures far better than alkaline does, and December is when that gap starts costing you pictures. If you run alkalines through a Missouri winter, expect the camera to report a dead pack while the cells still read fine indoors.

The tray that shipped in your camera is a separate part from the battery. It holds twelve AA cells and lives in the same bay the Lithium Cartridge occupies, so you can run either one and keep the other in the truck. Pair any battery here with a panel from our Tactacam solar panels and the camera tops itself off between checks, which is as close to leaving it alone as this gets.

Tactacam battery questions

What batteries does a Tactacam Reveal take?

Twelve AA batteries in the supplied tray, or a rechargeable pack in place of it. On Reveal Ultra, X 3.0, Pro 3.0, X-Pro, X 2.0, X, XB and SK that pack is the Reveal Lithium Cartridge. On Reveal Pro 4.0 and X 4.0 it is the FlexPack R5 or R10.

How many AA batteries does a Tactacam Reveal hold?

Twelve. Tactacam specifies twelve AA cells for the Reveal line, and the replacement battery tray is built to hold twelve.

Will a FlexPack work on my Reveal X 3.0?

No. Tactacam designed the FlexPack R5 and R10 for the 4.0 series only. A Reveal X 3.0 takes the Reveal Lithium Cartridge, the AA tray, or an external source such as the Battery Belt.

What is the difference between the FlexPack R5 and R10?

Capacity. The R5 is 5,000 mAh and rated to replace up to 1,000 disposable AAs. The R10 is 10,000 mAh and rated to replace up to 2,000. Both fit the same 4.0 cameras and install the same way. Take the R10 on any camera that is a long walk from the truck.

Can I charge a Tactacam battery with a solar panel?

Yes. The Lithium Cartridge charges off a Reveal solar panel, and the Battery Belt can be charged in the field by the Solar Panel R5, the Folding Solar Panel or the V2 panel. On 4.0 cameras the Solar Panel R5 carries its own 5,000 mAh backup cell as well.

Is the Defend battery the same as a Reveal battery?

No. The Defend Cam Rechargeable Battery is specific to the Defend and Defend 360 cameras. Reveal packs do not fit them, and Defend packs do not fit a Reveal.

Are lithium batteries worth it over alkaline?

In cold weather, comfortably. Lithium keeps its voltage as temperatures drop, where alkaline sags and the camera starts reporting low power well before the cells are actually spent. Over two seasons the rechargeable packs also cost less than the AAs they replace.