Underwater Camera Suggestions

[Bushwacker]

I have a gift certificate burning a whole in my pocket and I am thinking of going with an underwater camera. I already have a Vex Fl-18 so I think the camera is the next "essential." Aqua-Vu, which model has the most value-or-Marcum? Or any other good cameras out there. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Guest]

BW, I have the prototype of the small AquaVu. I bought it right after they showed them at the St Paul ice fishing show a few years back. They are really a kick as an "extra" as long as you have a flasher style unit to find structure/fish. I like to punch holes till I mark fish, then leave the FL8 in the hole, and drop down the camera till it meets up with the mark, rotate the camera, and see what I,m sittin on! I can't tell ya how many times I would have set up on top of a school of Sheepshead when I was out looking for Panfish!!! ROFLAMO

[wishing for walleyes]

i bought a vista cam last spring.a buddy of mine has an aqua view cam.we did a side by side test of them. no difference between them...only thing i didnt like about the aqua view was looking down into it,where my vista cam has a 9 inch screen

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Dan

[Bushwacker]

Any more suggestions?

[Guest]

I picked up the Infared AquaVu this December at Gander. I went for the pricier model due to a friend's experience with the lower end unit--the infared works better in dingier water and lower light periods.

I have yet to see any that work in the dark, but I've had more fun this year (and success) using the AquaVu. I've been able to make slight adjustments to location prior to prime-bite times for 'Eyes than previous years.

I dropped the camera down on the edge of a point I had GPS'd in from summer, and was watching active Walleyes smashing our Jigging Raps at 2:00 in the afternoon! These fish were off the top of the point in 28ft. staging for the night bite, which was the best ever.

Without the camera, I would have begun fishing in the wrong spot...

I have zero experience with other products, so I went with the AquaVu by suggestion.

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Chells

[rmh2o]

Check out the OVS camera it is very compact and comes in a softpac I have a 300 model that works great but the newer models have more features

[Deitz Dittrich]

I went with the Aqua-Vu MC2X... Aqua-vu has a sealed camera, its a projection screen. So its screen may not be as nice as the rest of the units using monitors. However, you must be carefull not to get a montitor wet. T.V. mons and water dont mix. I went with the Aqua-Vu and have never been disapointed!

[Fish On]

i own the mcx2 unit also and have no complaints great unit! heres a tip for all you camera users take off all the weights and the fin and zip tie the cord to the back of the camera so it looks down makes it real easy to go hole to hole and see what you have for a bottom or what species your marking on your vex

[S.D. Ice Angular]

I have an OVS 500 it is a bit on the high side as far as price goes but I love the power stearing option. It kicks the dump out of the Atlantas versions.

S.D.

[Guest]

I'd go with aqua-vu. The picture seems clearer to me over the OVS. I've used both, and I think the aqua-vu is better... The motorized steering on the OVS is okay, but it really drains your battery.. I use a clamp on a piece of wood and rotate between holes, works fine.

The lights are junk on all of these from what I've seen. I got the fancy one with the colored lights and it is useless. Another thing that makes them useless is they scare the fish away. I've turned it on while fish are in the area and they vanish quickly... I'll likely never use the light feature again.

[iffwalleyes]

Has anyone used any of these cameras at Lake of The Woods. That is were I do most of my fishing and I don't want to buy on if it isn't going to work very well up there. I saw a deal on a AquaVu JR. at Cabela's for $200 is that a good price for that unit or not? Has anyone used a AquaVu Jr how do they work they don't have any of the IR lights.

[BLACKJACK]

How do you guys solve the 'steering the camera' problem? A couple of times I've been with guys that are using them and its really a pain in the $ss trying to spin the camera around to see your jig. That plus the fact that you can't see at night with them has convinced me that the underwater camera is a non-essential piece of equipment.

[Guest]

Iff,

I used my AquaVu on LOW last month and it worked as well as can be expected in the stained water--just don't expect any camera to work when it's dark. On LOW I used it in 9 to 27 feet and I could see appx. 10ft in any direction.

As for controlling the lens, I'm planning on getting the $30.00 Tripod set-up because spinning the lens around by the cable is a pain!

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Chells

[Deitz Dittrich]

The tripod is totally the way to go... VERY SLICK!!! keeps the camera pointing in the direction you want it to and makes it easy to move also... ALTHO, DO NOT SPEND $30.. they had them at the St.Paul sport show for $13... so I would expect other stores would have them for just slightly more $15 ish?

[Guest]

I just use a 2"x2" piece of wood about 14" long with a clip screwed on to it to hold the cable... Once you find your baits, you know what position it needs to be in for each bait and you can move it back and forth to look at multiple baits...

[Guest]

iffWalleyes,
that Jr. would probably do fine... the main upgrade over the last couple years seems to have been to the lights and they are useless in my opinion anyway.

[iffwalleyes]

Thanks for the help. I ordered it this morning.

[iffwalleyes]

I found one of the tripod camera holders at
http://www.reedssports.com for $14.99 not to bad of deal as far as I am concerned.

[Guest]

Thanks for the tip, Iff!

I had seen the one on Outdoor News advertised at $30.00

I'll call Mr. Arnold and have him send me one!

Get "Jiggy" withit!

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Chells

[Guest]

I compared the OVS and the Aquaview at the iceshow and I almost bought the OVS. That is until I saw the fantastic picture quality of the Atlantis military style "green screen". The others with spinning tripods were not even close to the new panning camera by Atlantis. I know $600 is a lot of money but you have the ability to rotate the camera inside the bell housing without spooking the fish with external movement. You can adjust volume, brightness, contrast, choose between two cameras or IR or colored lights or no lights, and set the screen for day or night viewing. This unit comes with a case that would retail for $135 and the cable is 100 feet. The only problem I have is the cable connectors do not stay put in the monitor. I solved this by running my cables as in line with the back of the unit as possible. There is a backlog on these units so I doubt you will be able to see one of these anytime soon unless we meet up on the ice sometime. Again, $600 is a major investment but the Aquaview DT is $550.

[JP Z]

As far as Aqua-Vu's go I'm a fan of the ZT. It's true the MC lights don't help all that much at night. But hey, they double what you are seeing with IR. The ZT is nice, as it has IR lights and temp. Which is nice and helpful.

[Guest]

My vote is for the Aqua-Vu SV, all the smart features and rigged to be easy to use.

The thing that sold me was the absolute (magnetic) mode that will displays the compass direction the camera is facing. In addition to compass direction, the compass bearing also appears on the screen. The absolute mode makes it easier to find specific pieces of structure previously viewed.

Temp is nice to have too, many times temp will show you where to look next.

Sometimes dramatic water temperature differences occur in the vicinities of feeder streams and springs. Depth, water clarity, and even variations in bottom content may cause water temperature contrasts. The resulting temperature zones may facilitate or discourage the hatching of certain aquatic bugs, establishing food chains in some places while shutting them down in others. An invisible in-rush from an underwater spring may create a high-oxygen plume, creating a comfortable sanctuary for fish in mid-summer. Wind-caused currents and wave action also impact water temperature and help determine fish location and activity.

With Temp-Tech and an Aqua-Vu camera's real-life view of bottom and fish in the same unit, you can explore the influences of these physical factors on water temperature and fish location. Fish in any season more or less seek preferred temperature zones.

The Aqua-Vu DT adds the depth feature to the display. This may be very handy for targeting fish quickly for trolling or slip float applications on open water.

I am pretty darn happy with the SV at this point, I may upgrade to the DT down the line.

Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

[This message has been edited by Backwater Eddy (edited 01-23-2003).]