Underwater cameras

[Eagle Trapper]

What's your favorite? Any particular brand or model to stay away from? I imagine you can buy some high end ones for big coin, i'm just after a decent one at a decent price point.

[huntsfurfish]

I am a Marcum fan. Have Marcum LX9, vs825sd, 820 and a PanCam.

Also Vexilar FishPhone,

Aqua vu scout and a mini.

All are ok but I prefer the Marcums=better.:)

[EZM]

I also run the Marcum vs825sd and it provides the clearest picture, best contrast and sharpest resolution on the market without a doubt.

Unfortunately they are pricey ...... so take advantage of sales .....

I have been very pleased with it and have had no issues.

[Brandon5555]

Any body know if they fixed the problems they had with the pancam?

[SamSteele]

I just bought a Marcum VS485c at Wholesale. Compared it to the Aqua-Vu 715c and liked the case and sensor better. I had a cheap Cabelas one that crapped out last winter after limited use.

SS

[Zip-in-Z]

Marcum is my choice .... don't overlook Kijiji, there's 3 on there now and you always see more closer to the new year.

.

[Battery]

Had an excellent season with the Fish Phone last winter. I have a 10 inch Samsung Galaxy tablet as a screen, which is fairly big and provides a nice clear picture. I just prop it up on a sheet music stand so its almost eye height.

http://i.imgur.com/t2gegF5.jpg
(not the clearest picture due to my phone at the time)

[Mackinaw]

Marcum is #1

Mack

[Brandon5555]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/16/c8b8ed5ea67525e7584fccdb2bbbdbab.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/16/86f5545d8b1cad6202e4cebccf19e63a.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/16/5a23ac5f77f38c65d9e1f56d99dcf402.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/16/dff22503d12fa3ebbc7868bbae2fae2d.jpg

Pics from my Fishphone, saves directly to device along with videos. Video feature is great. 1st 3 are from gull, last is travers. 2nd and 3rd are mucky from a big ol pike chasing the perch around. Pretty neat to watch on the cam.

[SamSteele]

I am usually fishing with kids, so any unit that had a small screen that could fit down a hole was out for me. The Aqua-vu micro systems look compact and convenient, but I could see my kids (or myself even) dropping it down the hole at some point. Same thing for the ones that connect to your phone. Maybe I'm just paranoid...


SS

[Battery]

I am usually fishing with kids, so any unit that had a small screen that could fit down a hole was out for me. The Aqua-vu micro systems look compact and convenient, but I could see my kids (or myself even) dropping it down the hole at some point. Same thing for the ones that connect to your phone. Maybe I'm just paranoid...


SS

If you get something like the fish phone and pick up a cheap 10+ inch tablet and throw some Velcro on the back to stick it to a stand, you wont be knocking it down the hole.

[PerchBuster]

I too have the Marcum 825 for what will be the 4th season coming up and overall have been pretty satisfied with the performance. The large 7" display is a huge benefit over the early 5" Aquavu models. Big difference on the eyes at the End of the day. But I will say this, my buddy picked up the Aquavu 715 last year and at almost half the price I must say its worth every nickel (....no more pennies eh...:happy0034::) He just wishes he had depth readout, temp and camera direction like I do. They are all more expensive this year because of exchange rate which sucks so you're buying at a premium. 9 amp battery is a must, I have same battery I started with from new and have never found the bottom of it yet but only fish 8 hrs max at any one time. Can't go wrong with any of them but my suggestion is go with biggest screen you can get which definitely adds some validity to the fish phone with tablet suggestion and no matter what you decide get the Marcum Panner as well. New for this year is a cordless model available on Cabelas USA but not sure if they are in Canada yet but that's next on my wish list.

[SamSteele]

... no matter what you decide get the Marcum Panner as well. New for this year is a cordless model available on Cabelas USA but not sure if they are in Canada yet but that's next on my wish list.


I have the Aqua-Vu Mo-Pod 2 which works the same as the Marcum panner and is wireless as well. I believe the Marcum runs on 2 C batteries whereas the Mo-Pod runs on 2 AA batteries. I always have AA batteries around but rarely Cs. Had it for 3 years and it still works great.


SS

[PerchBuster]

I have the Aqua-Vu Mo-Pod 2 which works the same as the Marcum panner and is wireless as well. I believe the Marcum runs on 2 C batteries whereas the Mo-Pod runs on 2 AA batteries. I always have AA batteries around but rarely Cs. Had it for 3 years and it still works great.


SS

Yes I have the marcum one which runs on C's already but the cable is an irritation. The new one I'm talking about runs on rechargeable lithium battery and no cable. I have used the MoPod before and didn't like it much compared to the Marcum.

[huntsfurfish]

Yes I have the marcum one which runs on C's already but the cable is an irritation. The new one I'm talking about runs on rechargeable lithium battery and no cable. I have used the MoPod before and didn't like it much compared to the Marcum.

Sold all the marcum panners to help pay for the fleet of mopods. MoPod was better just because of being wireless alone. Have not had any issues with the MoPods.

[jkind]

Sold all the marcum panners to help pay for the fleet of mopods. MoPod was better just because of being wireless alone. Have not had any issues with the MoPods.

I had the exact opposite experience with the MoPod's...I went through 4 of them the first week and gave up on exchanging them so I hardwired a couple of switches to one and it lasted a couple of seasons before the gears stripped and I upgraded to Marcum and haven't had an issue since.

[huntsfurfish]

I had the exact opposite experience with the MoPod's...I went through 4 of them the first week and gave up on exchanging them so I hardwired a couple of switches to one and it lasted a couple of seasons before the gears stripped and I upgraded to Marcum and haven't had an issue since.

Wow, gotta be the worst luck ever. lol

Have had zero issues.

[kcward]

Any body know if they fixed the problems they had with the pancam?

I got mine replaced a few weeks ago, motor seems stronger, but I haven't been out yet of course. Can't wait to try it...I had a bad camera (taking on moisture - went through 2 of them) the fishin' hole customer service was great!

This is the reply I got from Chris Hansen with Marcum this past August:

Hi Ken,
There will be improvements to the Pancam for the upcoming ice season. These improvements include a larger, stronger motor. It will be a couple of months before we have the new motors, don’t worry about warranty issues for this ice season, we have you covered.

Thanks and good luck,
Chris Hansen
Customer Service
Marcum Technology
3943 Quebec Ave N
New Hope, MN 55427
763-512-3987

[SamSteele]

I know there were issues with the plastic hooks on the original Mo-Pod. Mine is a Mo-Pod 2 which has a metal hook which seems better. So far it's been trouble free. If it did crap out I would probably look at the new Marcum since it collapses smaller and the rechargeable feature would be nice too.

SS