I’m thinking of buying a color underwater camera. It will primarily be used for ice fishing. I would appreciate hearing from those who own one what you like and dislike about your particular units.
Hey Kent, I can’t give you too much info I’ve only used mine 3 times, so far I like it but it’s a hassle. I have the
Aqua-Vu 715c. super nice unit, fold down 7in. screen, video output, a nice carrying bag. the hassle is, you still have
to unwind and wind it up. other then that pretty nice.
Kent, I have the Marcum Recon5, it’s one of the cheaper models and it works fine. I really like it some days, when the water is clear enough that you can see over 5 feet I love it, but it’s field of view is smaller than I wish it was, the screen is smaller than I wish it was and I haven’t taken a TV monitor with me yet for realtime viewing, but it is possible… It also has a camera on a cord that has to be lowered down the hole which can be a pain, I have added a spool and a panner so it works well, but takes time to set up… Some days it’s really worth doing, but if I was fishing for big fish, I would not want that cord down the hole for the fish to wrap around, because they will do it. When I’m fishing perch it’s really nice to see when the fish suck in your bait, many times it doesn’t even register on a rod tip or bobber and they have taken your bait… There are times when a fishfinder is too shallow to work and the camera is a game changer, as well as the light biters, I wouldn’t go without it anymore, but I don’t always use it, sort of like my fish finder… it’s a very useful tool, but it has it’s place… I have friends that have cameras that are better with sharper colors and larger fields of view and all, but are they worth twice the price? I’m not sure they are, this one shows you what is going on, the same as the expensive one, it may not make good youtube videos, but for fishing it does what you need… I’ve been happy with mine and it’s in a handy pack to take it with you. Battery life is only 6 hours so you may need to add more power for the long days, but that is the biggest issue I’ve had… Good luck… Jeff
I should have mentioned in my original post that I still own (I haven’t used it in several years) one of the original Aqua-Vu underwater cameras. It is black and white (Interestingly, they said at the time that color cameras would never work well for underwater cameras, and obviously they were wrong.) and the screen is at the bottom of a sun shield that one must put their face near to see the screen.
Kent, the new fancy expensive ones are supposedly bright enough to view outside of a shelter, but my Marcum is much better inside the shade of a shelter… in fact I won’t use it without my tent… Later J
I don’t have one, but if I was to buy one I’d look at Eoyo, they’re not expensive, but have heard good things about them.
Hey Kent I have the vexilar fish scout combo it works great takes a few minutes to get set up and a planner is very helpful. My buddy has the Marcum Recon 5 it’s a little smaller compact fits in your pocket. The cord can be a tangler but it’s definitely a ni e advantage over a fish fi der.
I found a good deal on a one-season old ASHATA 360 Rotation Underwater Fishing Camera Fish Finder System Kit with 9 Inch Monitor 700TVL Video Camera.
Sounds good Kent, that 9" should be really nice… Good luck with it… J