Underwater Cameras Viewing Distances?

[Tightline]

I have always wanted a underwater camera. I have done a lot of research on them. I am under the belief that I can only afford to buy something once so I normally buy the best. I understand the fact that water clarity has a huge role in viewing distances. Can anyone give me an idea of what kind of viewing distances I can expect under 'normal' still water conditions. And who makes the 'best.'

[Matt Johnson]

You hit the nail right on the head. Viewing distance is going to be determined mostly by water clarity. Most cameras are going to give you the same viewing distance. Some cameras have lights that help in some situations, which will give you the upper-hand at times. But overall, I'd say a good majority of the cameras are going to give you equal viewing distance in most conditions.

As far as which camera to choose... it all depends on what type of features you want in a camera. The more features, the higher the price tag, so it comes down to a situation of "you get what you pay for."

The MarCum VS560 is top-dawg in the MarCum family. It has on-screen camera direction, water temp, as well as camera depth. It also has a push-button rotational feature allowing you to pan the camera 360 degrees without touching the camera. The camera rotates inside its housing under the water, a very cool freature to have and saves on frustration when trying to look in different directions. It also has a remote so you can lay back and pan the camera too The VS560 also comes equipped with a set of lights designed to help eliminate particle reflection which will help with viewing clarity and distance. A nice unit packed with great features.

Another option would be the Aqua Vu DT Series or the Scout SRT. The SRT also has lights to help with clarity and distance, as well as some on-screen features telling you the temp. The DT will tell you the camera direction and temp, it also has the lights that aid with viewing clarity and distance.

The are a lot of cameras to choose from, and camera quality is comparable in most of them when viewing during the day, it just comes down to what type of freatures you'd like in your camera. Having a camera with some sort of lighting will help too...

[Dave]

Well, researching for the best is good, so, you don't have to upgrade often. Matt already laid out the features of some nice cameras but, for me, I'll choose the Marcum 560. Not only because of all the features. This will be the 3rd hard water season with mine and I really like the panning mode, both auto and manual. Nothing like sitting back and letting the camera do the work.

Even while testing out the Marcum VS350 last year, while the camera worked great, I was always frustrated since I had to turn the camera by hand to view surrounding areas. I could've tried the Ice Arm to hold the camera and used the steering clips but, that's still a manual operation to turn the camera, and manually turned cameras drift back and forth until they settle down into one position.

So, I'm sticking with my vote for the Marcum 560 for the best underwater camera. If you wanted to save some cash, not have all the features but have the panning feature, look at the Marcum 460.

[Deitz Dittrich]

The top 2 posts gave great advice... I have the Scout XL and love it.. I dont use mine much at night.. if I were to buy another camera I would probably get the Scout SRT.

As far as viewing distance.. as a rule of thumb if you put on a lure and drop it down the hole, the distance in which you can no longer see the lure is the distance you can also see with the camera.. so if you drop the lure down the hole and it disapears at 5 feet.. that is about how far you can see with the camera.

[Snake River King]

Ya I was also woundering the same thing, Im looking at getting the aqua vu scoutII and the dvr thing that lets you record, what does every one think about this item is it good or should I get the 360 aqua vu or what?

[Deitz Dittrich]

SRK- I have the Scout XL and the handheld DVR recorder and love them... I like to use my camera in the summer as much as I do in the winter.. maybe even more. For me the 360 just insn't my cup of tea. But for some, I know they love em.

[CatManLee]

I just picked up an Aqua Vu Scout a few weeks ago and like it so far. It was under $200 and the camera quality is just fine. I have only had a couple chances to try it, but could see a good 4ft+ in the river in town here wich is pretty clear, but definetly not totally clear. I was very pleased with what I could see.

If I had the extra money to throw around, I would have probably bought something with a panning mode, just because it would be easier to work with, but I definetly don't need a camera with that feature. As far as remotes and all that, I think it's overkill, but thats just me. I by all means am not an underwater camera expert, this is my first one. I was questioning the screen size, and looked at the XL model, but decided it didn't matter that much to me...besides all the expensive models have the smaller screens too?

I bought the Aqua-Vu for two reasons:

#1. Price - Under $200

#2. Name - They have been around the longest!

Can't wait for ice fishing, to try it more.

[JohnMickish]

On lakes like Mille Lacs and WBL a person can see 15+ feet, during the brightest part of the day. The two biggest factors are water clarity and ambient light. The lights on the cameras I have used (both Aqua Vu and Marcum) are a joke 99% of the time. All the little stuff you can't see in the water gets lit up real well at night. Most of the time it looks like a blizzard at night.

Back to the distance thing. 15 foot of clarity does no good without light, and with a camera you can really tell how a lake is affected by the suns angle, especially when you are deep. So, how far can you see really depends on how much light and how clear the water is.

Mille Lacs and WBL, far enough to really make it fun.

LOW, about 6 inches in 18 feet of water.

Bone, you can't make out the bottom in 18 FOW, and you lose it at about 1 foot down the hole.

[Tightline]

Thanks gentlemen. I think I have a better idea now. I just did not want to go into a major investment with false expectation.

[JohnMickish]

If you decide to get one it will be one of the funnest "tools" you will ever have.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Tightline- Just an FYI- I'll be working the Cabelas store in Rogers Nov 18-19 selling Aqua-Vu's... if you have any more questions, I would love to do my best to answer them.

[Duffman]

Mnfishinguy hit the nail on the head, some lakes I'm amazed how far you can see, other lakes I don't even bring it along.

The only thing that I find useful about the lights, is when I've used it to find turns/holes in the weedlines or other structure in the pre-dawn hours when getting set up to ice some trout.

My camera is at the shop right now, some fish/hook combo put a slice in the cable last winter. They are very entertaining, it's like sight fishing without the cricked neck.