Aquavu

[Ragnar]

I'm looking into making a purchase. I've narrowed it down to the Scout or the next one up, the "XT" I believe. Has anyone out there used both? The only real difference is that the XT has night lighting and the Scout has Infrared.

Some insight would be helpful to make a informed decision.

Ragnar

[Hookmaster]

I have not used the Scout. I bought an Aqua-Vu ZT camera last winter. It took me three units to get one with a camera that didn't leak. I think switching to the fish cameras was the issue, a learning curve to manufacture it. I have been very happy with its performance. I liked the larger monitor on the Scout. The reason I went with the ZT is it is waterproof, while the Scout is water resistant. It may depend on how you plan to use it, but I know there are times when mine will get wet so I went with the ZT. As far as the lighting, the water needs to have very little particulate matter for the light to work well. I got a lot of reflection even with the Spectral Response Lighting.

[Ragnar]

Hey thanks Hookmaster!

You've brought up a significant issue to consider. Waterproof vs Water resistance. I'm generally very carefull with my equipment, but the fact of the matter is that stuff gets wet, Waves or Rain. Has anyone else used the ZT vs the Scout? Thanks for your help.

Ragnar

[GenzisGod]

I used my Scout on Memorial Weekend in Alexandria area. It was 10 PM and I dropped my camera under the dock. With the infrared lights I could clearly make out a pop can on the bottom. I measured it the next day, and it was 8 feet away. I was impressed with that.

[fishermn]

I have been extremely impressed with the scout especially considering the low price. I have used mine many times since I purchased it this winter, and have no real complaints at all. I had it out on Winnie over the opener, and it worked very well in open water. It was really cool to be able to spot the fish on the camera and then see them with the depthfinder at almost the same time. I have also used it on a couple canadian lakes to aid in finding the areas where the flat gravel bottom transitions into rock or other structure. It really gives you a lot of insight into where the fish are hanging out and why they are there...

The screen can be a bit difficult to see in really bright sunny conditions, but I dont know if there are any other units that would be any better... Its just a matter of reducing the glare enuf to see the screen clearly.

[BIG DS]

For the money, there is no other choice but the scout. I have had the opportunity to use the scout, the Marcum 480, and an ZT. The scout was the only one with the infared lighting. It did not seem to spook the fish like the other two did. The IR lighting is invisible and works good. The monitor is a 5" diagonal screen with a video output so that it can be hooke to a bigger monitor if desired.