Having some fun with the Marcum VS 380

[DTro]

[boatfixer]

Nice post Darren! I've had VS 380 on the radar screen myself for a little while. Thanks!

[minnbowhunter]

nice job, thanks

[LMITOUT]

If you need some lakes where the fish won't bother you so much when you're doing a demo let me know.

[DTro]

I apologize for the glare. I had my video camera set up at a bad angle I guess. You can see how clear the picture is at about 2:45.

I guess I know for next time I make a video.

[Tom7227]

Thanks for the tips. I got my 820 a week ago and I'm just starting to get the hang of it. I found it tough to figure out how far away things are as well as the differences in water clarity on different lakes.

[MikeH55343]

Nice video. I think it is going on my "next thing" list.

What distance is the camera lense from your jig?

[walleyemaniac]

Nice video I need to get one of those compasses thats my problem. Do you drop the camera down, get it pointed in the right direction, then lock it in? Or is there a way to set the direction before you start?

[DTro]

The camera was approx 3-4ft from my jig.

What I did to orientate was use my flasher to drop it to the same level as my jig, then "locked it in". With the camera at the same level it is then just a matter of rotating the compass until I see my jig.

Another thing you can do, is attach a depth bomb to your jig or hook initially to make a bigger profile so it's easier to see.

[muc33]

Great stuff Darren! I just got the Marcum VS380. I am going to give it a workout next Saturday... I am even going to use it to film some underwater reaction to our Deep Freeze Dip we are doing in Worthington to raise money for WWII Veterans. There will be a crew of people jumping in the lake through a large hole and I am going to see what we get for facial reactions underwater.

[gunning]

I have a VS380 and put it to use yesterday. I got it primarily to use it to find good cover mainly good weeds during the ice fishing season. Even when you use the sun shield and orientate it away from the sun you still get a lot of glare and it’s hard to see the screen. You can still make out what’s down there but its kind of a pain. I would love to have the flat screen black and white but I guess I just cant justify the extra 200$ just for the flat screen. I was hoping to use it in the summertime to ID structure when I mark something but I don't see it happening on a sunny day that’s for sure. It will work good in a house but that’s not the main reason I got it.

[tchow]

Nice Vid on the 380 ! I get to cheat and have the older VS560 with the Pan. I did notice that you let alot of lite in while filming in your Flipover. Wondering if that helps to not get the " bar(s)" when using a Camcorder to film ?

I'm stil trying to locate a Camcorder to hook up to the 560 and convert Analog to Digital. Hard to find anything here in Canada without going to Studio quality Cams. Lots in US but they don't ship to Canada ???

You have any suggestions ?

Thanks

[DTro]

yeah the way I did it wasn't the best way. A direct hookup would be much better. I just took a simple video of it with a Flip Video camera. The camera and monitor run at different frequencies, so that is why you get the black lines.

A small digital video camera with direct input would work great.

[Tom7227]

The Marcum camera compass is a neat deal. Being cheap I think one could be fashioned fairly easily out of a lid from a 5 gallon pail. Cut a slot in it, put 4 strips of tin to hold the cord and you're good to go.

[elkrivermn]

I just purchased the VS 380 last weekend and have not used it yet. I am thinking of purchasing the aqua vu tripod or else making my own. A few people have mentioned that the compass is kind of a pain because your allways having to bend down to adjust. That is where the tripod would come in maybe you could adjust the cable a couple of feet from the ice?

[Dave]

The tripod is only about a foot high. Plus, with the compass, it covers the hole so walking around is easier and things don't fall into the hole.

[DTro]

Just having a little more fun with the Marcum, this was in about 25-30 FOW in low light conditions. Pretty good considering the conditions.

[Sonicrunch]

oh yeah. total photoshop.

and I could see the strings too.

[HNTNBUX]

Watching all those fish would kill me. I have never fished for catfish do they not bite very well in the winter?