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entry level underwater camera


Chode2235

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Wanting a camera, not wanting to drop hundreds of bucks. $699 for the Marcum color units....

uses:

Looking to get something to find the spot on the spot and increase my inventory of those GPS coorinates.

I basically want to look at bottom composition, weed types and color and stuff like that, more so than using it to replace my flasher and using it to do the "catching."

What entry level models are worth the money, and is getting an entry level camera more trouble than it is worth?

I dont want junk, but I dont want to spend a fortune.

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If you are looking for an entry level camera that is cheap but not junk I would consider the Cabelas Camera. They are made by Marcum and work great for an entry level. You can get the 7inch for under $200. Unless you want to spend $500+ any camera out there won't have color and won't work when it starts getting dark. You can always upgrade that camera when you want with Cabelas.

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I got one for the same reason,almost?? I was tryin to find a deep spot where long ago we caught lots of large eyes,out in the middle of the lake,thought I could find it by seeing the fish,I did with a 99 dollar unit I bought from Menards last year,its black & white but served my purpose!

It now just sits I have little use for it,My sonar works for me,The camera was kinda a play thing to try and see how they work and if I wanted a top line model.With sonar and GPS the camera is just a hassle to use for me.It was fun at first!

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I got a B&W Marcum up north about 2 years ago - $129 up at a certain sports place in Walker.

I don't have a flasher - this gets the job done for me, though. The LED's on the camera work great, and I can spot stripes, etc. going pretty deep with it.

I checked and the $99 one at Cabela's is the one I have. It works great for me.

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I got one for the same reason,almost?? I was tryin to find a deep spot where long ago we caught lots of large eyes,out in the middle of the lake,thought I could find it by seeing the fish,I did with a 99 dollar unit I bought from Menards last year,its black & white but served my purpose!

It now just sits I have little use for it,My sonar works for me,The camera was kinda a play thing to try and see how they work and if I wanted a top line model.With sonar and GPS the camera is just a hassle to use for me.It was fun at first!

Same here Sparce, kind of a hassle so I don't use it a lot. I got one for $90 at Harbor Freight. Does the job, but nothing fancy.

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Originally Posted By: sparcebag
I got one for the same reason,almost?? I was tryin to find a deep spot where long ago we caught lots of large eyes,out in the middle of the lake,thought I could find it by seeing the fish,I did with a 99 dollar unit I bought from Menards last year,its black & white but served my purpose!

It now just sits I have little use for it,My sonar works for me,The camera was kinda a play thing to try and see how they work and if I wanted a top line model.With sonar and GPS the camera is just a hassle to use for me.It was fun at first!

Why is it a hassle? Can you go into that? Is it just handling the camera and trying to fish?

Same here Sparce, kind of a hassle so I don't use it a lot. I got one for $90 at Harbor Freight. Does the job, but nothing fancy.

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I had a scout two by aqua view. I couldn't see much if it was sunny as the screen was really bad with the glare. But for the small amount of time it worked it was OK. The most annoying was that I had to get three of them before I found one that actually worked out of the box. the first one the camera was shattered the second the camera was not sealed and when I dropped it down the hole it filled with water and died the third after one season of use the connection to the chord came loose and I kept losing the picture. So I am now done with nature vision.

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I have some underwater cameras and viewing systems on my HSOforum. I don't sell the cheapo entry-level cameras, the ones I have are reliable mid-level and higher cameras. You pretty much get what you pay for when it comes to performance, dependability, and longevity with these things. If you want to check them out you can see them HERE

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PJ,

In what ways are the cameras that you sell better than the low end ones, like the Cabelas specifically?

What criteria are you using to decide what to stock and what not to, and why dont these low end models make the cut?

I dont want to buy junk, but money is tight.

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I'm not an engineer so I can't give you techy specific answers. But ......Atlantis cameras and the private label knock-off cameras sold by some of the big box stores have a reputation for not working very well or lasting very long. The monitors and the cameras are both prone to going bad. I used to work at a place where we sold knock-off underwater cameras under our own brand name and the returns on them were terrible. I field-tested 3 of those cameras that we sold and had problems with 2 of them in their first year. I also just got done helping a friend replace the camera part of her husband's setup, it was a private label knock-off sold by one of the big box stores and he got less than 2 years out of it before it just quit working.

So I made a business decision that I did not want to be associated with that level of quality. That's why I decided to only deal in intermediate-level and higher cameras by Marcum and Aqua-Vu, because I don't want to risk having unhappy customers.

There are certainly many people out there that have the inexpensive cameras and have been very happy with them ...... but many others have had problems. If you decide to go with one of those cameras, I would be sure to get one with a good warranty, and buy it from a place that will stand behind it if you have problems.

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Quote:
Anyone have experience with FishTV, they look cheap to me?

Fished with a buddy last week that had a FishTV, it seemed decent for the price, but was hard to see outside of the house (even with the blinders around it). Inside the house, we could pick up everything we were looking for (weeds, bottom comp, sunken logs, fish and our jigs.), seemed like a good unit for the price.

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I posted the other day I got a refurbished Aqua Vu Scout marked down from $199 to $99, and Scheels honored the $20 off coupon that Cabelas sends out in the mail, so I got it for $79.99. Scheels tests all the refurbed cameras that come in and make sure they work before they sell them.

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