Underwater Camera LCD monitor upgrade?

[Johnsonator]

I was looking around on hsolist today and found that you can buy a small 5"-7" LCD monitor for under $50. It got me thinking that it might be pretty simple to replace the standard monitor on any underwater camera with a LCD. Anybody else thought of this or have any input? It may sound like a stupid idea but if it worked it would be much cheaper than upgrading to one the new and very expensive LCD cameras. I also saw on hsolist that you can buy just the underwater camera with out the monitor and hook it up to any monitor that accepts the A/V inputs. Looks like it would be great for a big permenant that already had a tv on the wall. Anybody ever do this or thought about it?

[cRaPpiEMaN8265]

well it wouldnt be too hard i suppose... you could just get the cable for the aqua vu for the output since they say you can just hook it up to a bigger tv in ur perm... you just may have to have a separate case for the nex screen or find some way to mount it in front of the old on or replace the old one with the new one... im sure you could fisgure it out its just how portable will it be when its all said and done?

[Johnsonator]

I would think it would be more portable because you could get rid of the clunky tv screen and mount the lighter LCD in its place. I am pretty sure it would fit in the same carrying case.

[Scott K]

The only problem is lcd's dont like really cold weather, so if its below freezing you may run into problems!

[jigeye]

I rigged up my own underwater camera system using one of my portable lcd's used in the car and a camera I bought off hsolist. The lcd does not like cold temps but works fine in the house. The camera is color which is nice to tell the difference between green and brown weeds but the lights on the camera stay on all the time and reflect off particles in the water making it more difficult to see. I am going to try and disable the lights to see if that helps. Make sure you leave the option to go back to the tv if the lcd doesn't work out like you hoped.

Jigeye

[Johnsonator]

Is the clarity much better with your lcd setup? Will it work outside at all due to the cold?

[jigeye]

The clarity is not better than my friend's Aquaview. The screen is very hard to see in any sunlight and it will not work out in the cold. It might just be the cheap camera I bought but it sure looks exactly like the ones sold with new Marcum's. This one is just a color version. I think it's made by Sony. I have 60 bucks invested in the whole setup since I already had the battery and monitor.

Jigeye