Marcum Technologies - VS820 - First Impressions

[Hotspotter]

I've done some initial testing of the VS820 (B&W) Underwater Viewing System from Marcum, and can honestly say it has been well worth the wait.

It's been out a few times with me, but I saved the best test for last before posting about it. Yesterday I had the chance to use it to locate some structure I'd loosely marked this summer. To confound matters, this lake is well known for its poor clarity, even in the winter due to moving water and excessive algal blooms during the summer. We drilled plenty of holes, and I was absolutely amazed at what I found. Sugar sand with mixed boulders, stick-ups, the occasional small rock pile, and eventually, a massive whole-tree that rose at least 6-8 feet off of bottom.

The 8" screen, coupled with the clarity of the optics made it easy to initially locate this structure, and even easier to fish it. As you can imagine, it's difficult to try and place holes for fishing near such a network of branches and snarled root mass. This camera made it easy.

My initial thoughts are:

Pros

• Screen Size - Being able to see the structure in more detail than ever before really made a difference in helping us set-up. I don't think I could go back to a smaller screen.
• Clarity of picture - The fish you see below was ID'd as a smallmouth within seconds of seeing him on the camera. I was astounded how well you could see the bronze barring on his sides and back underwater.
• Compactness/Ruggedness - The "lunchbox" style and size of the unit when packed up made it easy to store and drag around the lake as it stacked well with other gear and fit into the rack on my ATV with ease.
• On-screen Menu - Great feature that always lets you check where you're at in terms of brightness and contrast, and easily allows you to fine tune your picture with changing light and viewing conditions.
• Camera Head Design - Weighting and balance of the camera head are superb. It doesn't fly down the hole, spooking every fish it encounters, yet it still goes down without much waiting. Furthermore, if you accidentally drop it into bottom, the lens is situated a bit higher on the housing, allowing you to see a bit better through your mistake. The fish below did not spook from the camera being dropped or moved slightly for positioning.

Cons

• Cable Twisting - Call me spoiled, but going from the VS560 which has a rotating camera head within the camera housing, it took me awhile to get used to twisting the camera. After finally being smart enough to use the Camera Compas in conjunction with the 820, I was much more pleased with the results. It's incredibly inexpensive, durable, and easy to use. Dave has a great post about it here.
• Knobs - Be careful in loosening them too much, if you're careless like I was, you can lose one. Just make sure to tighten after you have your camera screen tilted where you want it.
• Charging Clips - It's probably a pro rather than a con when you're so pleased with the Digital Charging System (DCS) on your LX-5, that you're dissappointed when it's not on the 820! The clips work fine, charge the battery well, and I haven't had a problem, but again, call me spoiled!

All in all, I'm sold. If fishing clearer lakes, I would've opted for the VS825 for all the extra information color gives you. That said, I think the design is overall incredibly solid, and most importantly, the picture is large, crisp, and bright. I wouldn't expect any less.

He hit a sunfish neon glow rattlin' varmint, 1/8 oz, with a Little Atom wedgie tail tipped on one treble.

Joel

[blueroof]

Joel, does this mean that they are finally available for purchase?? thanks, LB

[harvey lee]

MarCum has some of the 820's left but they are out of the 825's at this time. From the reports I have heard, they look to be the camera to purchase.

[Hotspotter]

Blueroof:

Yes, both the 825c and 820 are available for purchase. The VS825c might be a bit harder to find as folks have really gobbled them up, but check with Thorne Brothers first. If they don't have the color units, make some calls. They're out there!

Joel