Vexilar Fishphone

[FishinFools]

First gen iPad? I was not able to load the fishphone app on mine...what iOS are you running on your iPad?

thx

[sckoolman]

I was mistaken - I was using an iPad 2. We have two iPads and I thought I was using the older one. You are right, the fish phone app does not work with versions before IOS 6. iPad 1 only supports up to IOS 5. Sorry!

[DTro]

I see Vexilar has updated their page to reflect the 6.0 thing, but most all other retailers haven't. It still reads 4.3 or higher.

[trebormorgan]

A very very cool machine. Here is a video of the Fishphone being used on the ice - http://youtu.be/_nK6cwte1Ks

[Big A]

Wow... This has my hamster wheel turning in full motion at high speed.. Is there a thread for the sonarphone also?

Thanks for all the info guys. Excellent thread.

[jeepguy]

I got one of these units for Chirstmas. They were sold out locally, but my dad found it at Glen's Army Navy in Grand Rapids and a friend of the family happened to be in Grand Rapids and picked it up.

I have only been out once with it and so far here is my review of the product.

Pros:

Small and lightweight

High Quality Camera that works well in low light conditions.

Cons:

Kills and Iphone battery quickly, I am going out tomorrow and am going to try 2 different things....Battery booster on Iphone and using the Ipad.

So far I am sold on this product, I think some adjustments need to be made on the iPhone to preserve battery life, maybe the Ipad will last longer.

[Chad Holst]

Jeepguy,

I purchased a mophie for my iphone and it is amazing. Basically it does 3 things, and one of them is important to what you are looking to do.

First, if you have mini usb (standard non Iphone) chargers, it uses that instead of the iphone plug to charge phones, No need to buy expensive iphone chargers. ( i had a million regular chargers when i got my iphone, and this saved me the cost of the mophie alone.

It is a protective case, which you also want for you phone. I have dropped mine several times and although i can see it on the case, the phone looks brand new 1+ year later.

Finally and most importantly, it has a built in battery. When you charge your phone, it also charges the cases battery at the same time. You can turn the battery off or on, so if you see the phone getting low, you can flip the switch and it charges the phone back up off the battery in the case. I will add about 2.5-3 x the run time.

The cost is $80 but thats alot less than a case + iphone charges that would need to be purchased for vehicles/home etc... (if you had non iphone chargers laying around.

Cons: it weighs a bit, but i have never noticed it, as i have always had my phone in the case and my last phone (non iphone) was about the same weight as the iphone and the case together.

[walleye44]

Marcum (great performance and products) the vs825 is around $699.00

JUST black and white marcum is $350

Aqua View AV760 is $599 and the micro and lite models are $300I think you can still pick up the low end black and white for $190 at fleet.

The Fish phone: $180 plus the price of the "viewing device". So lets say you didnt get to use the viewing device for anything except this use(which is silly, but lets just say) You can pick up a 7 inch high res tablet for $75. It wont be a great tablet for playing games, etc...but for $75 you can find one that will run this application with zero issues. You get full color, you can record on your device, and you can share with everyone else with a smart phone, ipad, tablet, laptop, smart TV...

Why in the world would someone not go with this product over a $599 unit?

For $600 i could buy a Fish phone, A tablet for each of my 3 fishing partners and myself, an extra $20 battery for EACH of their tablets and still have enough left over to buy 40 bucks worth of adult beverages.

I dont like my fishing partners that much, so lets look at it this way...I can buy a fish phone, a 32" LED for the perm, 1 tablet with extra battery and an inverter to charge that extra battery and STILL be cheaper than the other companies offerings.

Game..changer.

Are you trying to say this Vexilar fishphone is as good as the Aqua View AV760 or Marcums vs825?

The AV760 camera is awesome. Wish I had it!!! So why is Vexilar not scraping their other cameras for this model only?

I do not like taking my phone out of my pocket much out ice fishing. Something that can drop down the hole with no safety strap. Risky!!!

I have Aqua Micro plus unit & love it. I can put on the wrist strap so I not dropping it down the hole. Battery life is great & fits in my pocket to go home.

[fisherman-andy]

Marcum (great performance and products) the vs825 is around $699.00

JUST black and white marcum is $350

Aqua View AV760 is $599 and the micro and lite models are $300I think you can still pick up the low end black and white for $190 at fleet.

The Fish phone: $180 plus the price of the "viewing device". So lets say you didnt get to use the viewing device for anything except this use(which is silly, but lets just say) You can pick up a 7 inch high res tablet for $75. It wont be a great tablet for playing games, etc...but for $75 you can find one that will run this application with zero issues. You get full color, you can record on your device, and you can share with everyone else with a smart phone, ipad, tablet, laptop, smart TV...

Why in the world would someone not go with this product over a $599 unit?

For $600 i could buy a Fish phone, A tablet for each of my 3 fishing partners and myself, an extra $20 battery for EACH of their tablets and still have enough left over to buy 40 bucks worth of adult beverages.

I dont like my fishing partners that much, so lets look at it this way...I can buy a fish phone, a 32" LED for the perm, 1 tablet with extra battery and an inverter to charge that extra battery and STILL be cheaper than the other companies offerings.

Game..changer.

[Chad Holst]

Walleye44, you realize this is a pretty different product than the Aqua View and or Marcum you are talking about, right?

There are benifits to both units. But for alot of people this new product really fits the bill well.

First, the price, the cost of this compaired to a regular cam is a HUGE factor. Next is the ability to share the picture with anyone in your area, without everyone having to use the same little screen. Alot of people find their own device to have a much better screen/quality video than the Aqua view/marcum cams.

You made a comment about the company still selling the other style cameras... im not sure how that means this is not a good product, its just different. XYZ company sells a good truck, but that doesnt mean they shouldnt sell other models or sell cars too. How many models and types of portables does Clam sell? How many flasher models does marcum have?

I did find it a bit curious that the only negative about the Fish Cam was the chance to drop your phone down the hole, but then you turn around and say how you have to use a strap so you dont drop the micro down the hole. I think just about every big box store in the world sells straps for a phone. Also, they have wrist holders that you can put your phone in, so it can be hands free viewing. (joggers use them)

Battery life is an issue, but NOT for the camera...its an issue for your phone/ipad. But this is a great point you make. Battery life could be an issue. but for $400 saved, i can afford a few extra batteries.

I dont mean to sound snarky, but all this has been hashed over about 10 times in this thread.

yes, we know the battery in a phone can run low fast. yes we know we could drop the phone down the hole. Both of these are very easy fixes that will cost alot less than the extra money one of the other units will cost. BUT, its not for everyone in every situation. I'd be hard pressed to hear an argument why this wouldnt be used vs an old style camera, for a person in a perm house.

BTW, a fish novelty it may be, but its one that works just as well or even better in some situation for HUNDREDS less than the other novelty items it replaces.

[walleye44]

Sirlips I took it from your post that you thought this camera would be as good as Marcum & Aqua Vu top cameras. That is what I was questioning. I never said a bad thing about this fishphone. I said I would not use it for fear of losing my $600 phone down the hole. How do you put a wrist strap on a cell phone? That would be nice for ice fishing.

[amateurfishing]

there are cell phone Velcro arm bands available on the market

[FishinFools]

Attention first gen iPad users!!

Vex just posted an update on the fish phone app: now compatible with iOS 5 and up.

Excellent.

[FishinFools]

newest iOS app does not work on first gen ipad (iOS 5.0). I sent a note to Vexilar. Will post what I hear back.

[FishinFools]

update: still no response from Vexilar on why the latest version of the fishphone app for iOS does not work with iOS5....

[TLH713]

I got one also and love it, but had the same concern with phone battery life. I cured that issue by using the battery & bracket I had installed for my lights. I bought a clam tray and removed the "leg" on it and installed it on a couple of aluminum rails and then put bolts through the ends of the rails and then dropped these through holes I drilled in the sled. I mounted a 2 socket 12 volt outlet on this and use a regular phone charger for the phone. It works GREAT, doesn't hardly draw on the battery, always have a charged ph

one and am able to use the camera all the time!

[FishinFools]

Update: Fishphone app for iOS...vesion 1.0.0.1 "fixes: to work with older devices."

Has anyone else tried this on their 1st gen iPad? it still does not work on mine.

[FishinFools]

fix for the "auto-on" feature on the T-box:

Like others, I have had the tbox power button activated accidentally because the button is proud of the bezel. Here is a simple fix...

Get a j-box romex connector at the hardware store, cutoff the end and super glue it over the bezel.

Done.

[trebormorgan]

http://youtu.be/_nK6cwte1Ks

[Fishnblood]

Just wanted to give my review on the Vexilar FishPhone......

Picked up this unit a few weeks after Christmas. I have used it about 5 times. It works great both with iPhone 4 and Android (Moto X).

Pros: Picture quality on both devices was excellent. Setup is easy and connecting to the WIFI was simple. No lag time for me with either device. Provides hours of interrupted entertainment. Taking pics and videos is such an awesome feature!, the led lights are very bright and being able to adjust on your phone is cool.

Cons: Drains your battery fairly quickly on your mobile device, more quickly when using in a portable (weather conditions affect battery life) , Too big especially while using in a portable with other electronics, Very distracting, getting the camera focused on the bait was very time consuming, the LED lights are great but never had any fish hit the bait while the lights were on (some were curious though) so after dark I just put it away. Sporadic disconnects with the iPhone 4 (none with the droid though).

One thing the instructions don't say (that I didn't notice anyway) was that the primary device that is initially setup is the only one that can control the lights.

Overall it is a great tool to add to the arsenal, especially for the price. I certainly see this taking away from sales around the sonar technology in the future. Sonar is great and nothing will be able to come close to the reliability but folks love videos

I certainly am a fan of this device....