Underwater camera help

[Remps17]

Looking for opinions on two cameras. The Aqua vu revolution 5 pro and the marcum pursuit. The marcum has very few reviews on it as it’s newer. Hoping for some hands on opinions on these two.

Cheers

[AlbertanGP]

I think you're going to be disappointed trying to use an underwater camera in Alberta. Our pothole lakes are usually too cloudy to see much. And by the time the algae dies off, the ice is too thick to allow much light to penetrate. YMMV.

[liar]

Cant offer advice on either one but i have marcum camera and sounder and they have been very reliable . I personally would go with a marcum product .
Also , visibility is not great on a lot of lakes but i have never regretted getting a camera , especially if you have younger anglers around and you get into a school of perch .

[Remps17]

Looking for something small and portable. I have heard bad things about the marcum recon but the pursuit looks like the ticket. Just pricy.

[Remps17]

I think you're going to be disappointed trying to use an underwater camera in Alberta. Our pothole lakes are usually too cloudy to see much. And by the time the algae dies off, the ice is too thick to allow much light to penetrate. YMMV.

Biggest reason is seeing bottom composition and weed lines. Not going to be searching for fish as much with it as looking at bottom. Lakes I fish are relatively clear too

[litwin]

Just bought a Marcum pursuit last week , should be here any day and will let you know how it goes.

[Remps17]

Just bought a Marcum pursuit last week , should be here any day and will let you know how it goes.

Appreciated.

[Binati]

Have an aqua vu. Fine during day in my shack. Tougher to see on the ice in the open. Useless after dark looks like a snow storm. Haven't really been in more than 10 feet of water.

[Remps17]

Have an aqua vu. Fine during day in my shack. Tougher to see on the ice in the open. Useless after dark looks like a snow storm. Haven't really been in more than 10 feet of water.

Which Aqua vu do you have?

[AlbertanGP]

Have an aqua vu. Fine during day in my shack. Tougher to see on the ice in the open. Useless after dark looks like a snow storm. Haven't really been in more than 10 feet of water.

That's been about my experience with my Marcum. I also have an AquaVu M.A.V. wired into my Carbon 16 on my boat, and it's more or less useless around here.

Remps17 I have a Marcum VS385C or VS485C (have to check) sitting on a shelf at my shop at the lake I'd sell cheap if you want to try one without investing too much money. Shoot me a PM if interested.

[Talking moose]

Love fishing with a camera. 10x more interesting.
Not all lakes or times of the year are suited for cameras. But the ones that are make it more enjoyable.
Great for watching fish interact with your bait. Every year that camera teaches me a little more on fish behaviour.

[Remps17]

Love fishing with a camera. 10x more interesting.
Not all lakes or times of the year are suited for cameras. But the ones that are make it more enjoyable.
Great for watching fish interact with your bait. Every year that camera teaches me a little more on fish behaviour.

Thanks for the input. What camera do you run?

[Talking moose]

Thanks for the input. What camera do you run?

Marcum 485c

[Yogibear]

I run the Aquavu Micro Revolution Pro 5.0. Its awesome. Check out some of my footage on instagram if you like @gillisjustin

No complaints. I run a spare battery pack to keep it juiced up all day. very portable and stick it in your coat pocket. Only complaint is the sun washes out the LCD outside a tent. just got to get creative on sunny days.

[huntsfurfish]

Agree with Talking Moose! And I wouldnt go ice fishing without at least one of my cameras. They are fun to watch and educational. Have 7 will usually take 2-3 for my self. And will have one available to take for 1 or 2 that dont have one to take when we go. As said dont always work, but are priceless when they do.
Very useful addition to your ice fishing kit.

And because they dont always work, they will not replace a fishfinder/sonar unit.

4 are Marcums
2 Aqua Vu
1 Vexilar

All work well.

[Remps17]

Agree with Talking Moose! And I wouldnt go ice fishing without at least one of my cameras. They are fun to watch and educational. Have 7 will usually take 2-3 for my self. And will have one available to take for 1 or 2 that dont have one to take when we go. As said dont always work, but are priceless when they do.
Very useful addition to your ice fishing kit.

And because they dont always work, they will not replace a fishfinder/sonar unit.

4 are Marcums
2 Aqua Vu
1 Vexilar

All work well.

Thanks for the insight. Any experience with the small cameras like the revolution or the pursuit?

I will be attaching it to my helix and use it that way in the shack then take it out to scout holes.

Aqua vu has a sale on right now and that is the way I am leaning.

[SamSteele]

I've posted this before. This is a Marcum 485C on Pigeon Lake in 10-12 feet of water.

https://youtu.be/b8dMkZvXvfw

Hope it helps.

SS

[huntsfurfish]

I have one of the original aqua vu minis. Its ok for a little run and gun but I prefer large camera and screens. Found the mini handy around home- finding things under dresser, behind heavy objects etc:).

Have older aqua vu scout that I have 100' cable for (good for deep water-lake trout)

Depends on what you want it for? If you like to find a spot and fish it, full size camera is nice. If you have to carry all your gear then for sure a mini might be better for you.

Both my agua vu's are older and am happy with them, but I personally prefer Marcum.

[Binati]

Want to say mines 745 or whatever.

[Poppa]

I've got the AV 715c and it's incredible. I refuse to fish without it ever again. Honestly, it's more important to me than the other electronics. Yes, we need the sonar for checking depth, but the camera tells me so much more. Bottom composition is HUGE, and then actually seeing the fish "biology" (why they do things) is invaluable.

Never fish without the camera again...

[mlee]

Honestly....for what it's worth....my $150 eyoyo is every bit as good as my buddies aqua view side by side. Going on 4 years and not one issue. My battery even lasts longer than his.
These pics are not from any kind of a clear water lake either....just a typical north central alberta pothole lake that's full of algae every summer.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201126/cc381cfec018891d7aeed9cbf6d7f36b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201126/4aa86eaddd6e59ca8cf4bc07eb0ae5e3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201126/bb5a812d0ea995549935428a1c807cb2.jpg

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[litwin]

Here is a photo capture from the MarCum Pursuit , will upload the video later.

https://ibb.co/ZJJjMgS

The unit very compact, the screen is small but has the option for adding an additional screen. Absolute excellent camera and so far the battery life is amazing for it being so small. Captured about 2 hours of video and the battery still shows almost full charge.

The annoying thing is that the video files are split up into 3 minute individual files.

[Remps17]

Here is a photo capture from the MarCum Pursuit , will upload the video later.

https://ibb.co/ZJJjMgS

The unit very compact, the screen is small but has the option for adding an additional screen. Absolute excellent camera and so far the battery life is amazing for it being so small. Captured about 2 hours of video and the battery still shows almost full charge.

The annoying thing is that the video files are split up into 3 minute individual files.

Much appreciated. Surprised their isn’t much out there for reviews. Specially reviews that aren’t by people sponsored by marcum. I am leaning this way. Was hoping to see some sales on Black Friday but none to be found.

Thanks for sharing.

[litwin]

Much appreciated. Surprised their isn’t much out there for reviews. Specially reviews that aren’t by people sponsored by marcum. I am leaning this way. Was hoping to see some sales on Black Friday but none to be found.

Thanks for sharing.


Funny you mentioned reviews, I am setting up a channel to start reviewing the gear I have bought this year. For now I have uploaded a couple temporary videos from the MarCum Pursuit camera.

I turned off the video overlay options for depth and temp. These videos are in 12 to 16 feet with 6 inch clear ice on a partly cloudy day.


https://youtu.be/52yjCwQczRM
https://youtu.be/6u5K_d-xKfQ

[StringTheory]

I was inspired to get some underwater footage from my Marcum VS485C camera. I bought a video capture card and used the video out jack on the camera to record some footage.

This was Wabamun on the weekend. Overcast day, a couple inches of snow on the ice but the water was fairly clear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXZCOHdoQKo&ab_channel=StringTheoryAngling

If you watch the video through you can see the colour change quite often to adapt to the light conditions. I found it a bit distracting but the camera software is just trying to optimize the image.

My lure is about 4 feet away and I think you can see 12-15 ft in the distance and make out whats going on.

[Remps17]

I was inspired to get some underwater footage from my Marcum VS485C camera. I bought a video capture card and used the video out jack on the camera to record some footage.

This was Wabamun on the weekend. Overcast day, a couple inches of snow on the ice but the water was fairly clear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXZCOHdoQKo&ab_channel=StringTheoryAngling

If you watch the video through you can see the colour change quite often to adapt to the light conditions. I found it a bit distracting but the camera software is just trying to optimize the image.

My lure is about 4 feet away and I think you can see 12-15 ft in the distance and make out whats going on.

Thanks for the video.

I ended up purchasing a marcum pursuit. Found it for a bit cheaper because of Black Friday and pulled the trigger. The AV revolution was considerably cheaper with their promo but the specs goes to the pursuit.

[skain11]

I picked up the AV 715c and mopod with remote last year on sale and really like it. Having never used any electronics before it sure beats staring at an 8 inch hole hoping that is the 8 inches in the entire lake that may have a fish near it. The opportunity to study fish behavior is intoxicating. Now I need to get a video capture card and figure out how to record. I landed a nice trout on the weekend when not paying attention and the whole shebang was over in about 15 seconds and would have liked to watch it again to see exactly how it happened.

[AlbertanGP]

I was inspired to get some underwater footage from my Marcum VS485C camera. I bought a video capture card and used the video out jack on the camera to record some footage.

This was Wabamun on the weekend. Overcast day, a couple inches of snow on the ice but the water was fairly clear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXZCOHdoQKo&ab_channel=StringTheoryAngling

If you watch the video through you can see the colour change quite often to adapt to the light conditions. I found it a bit distracting but the camera software is just trying to optimize the image.

My lure is about 4 feet away and I think you can see 12-15 ft in the distance and make out whats going on.

Tough crowd there on that video. You bounced that crank right off that pike's back and he hardly flinched. I wish you had edited the last minute off, because I was gonna say that lipless crankbait is too aggressive for those fish and suggest a flutter spoon. Tingler is my favorite too. 20% off site-wide on rapala.ca today. ;)

With the topic at hand, that's about as good as I see on mine. In a dark tent under ideal conditions, you can learn something from it. Outside? Good luck. Apples to oranges price-wise, but I'd save my money for Panoptix. I didn't see any behavior there I couldn't decipher on my LiveScope. And Panoptix will reach out 50'+ reliably inside or out, and look backwards as well. YMMV. :)

[Remps17]

Tough crowd there on that video. You bounced that crank right off that pike's back and he hardly flinched. I wish you had edited the last minute off, because I was gonna say that lipless crankbait is too aggressive for those fish and suggest a flutter spoon. Tingler is my favorite too. 20% off site-wide on rapala.ca today. ;)

With the topic at hand, that's about as good as I see on mine. In a dark tent under ideal conditions, you can learn something from it. Outside? Good luck. Apples to oranges price-wise, but I'd save my money for Panoptix. I didn't see any behavior there I couldn't decipher on my LiveScope. And Panoptix will reach out 50'+ reliably inside or out, and look backwards as well. YMMV. :)

$650 vs $4000. lol. Little price difference there.

That said I will own one in my life..... once day

[Poppa]

$650 vs $4000. lol. Little price difference there.

That said I will own one in my life..... once day

Ya that Garmin stuff is insanely priced. Eventually there will be multiple companies with that tech and the price will come down. Lowrance and Bird are already close...

[ssyd]

Hate to hijack but I have an old Aqua Vu Micro II that I lost the charger cable for. The thing still has a charge 3 years after its last charge which is amazing - but maybe one of you guys has upgraded recently and might be willing to part with the old cable (or unit) for a price?

[Remps17]

Hate to hijack but I have an old Aqua Vu Micro II that I lost the charger cable for. The thing still has a charge 3 years after its last charge which is amazing - but maybe one of you guys has upgraded recently and might be willing to part with the old cable (or unit) for a price?

https://www.aquavu.com/Av-Micro-replacement-Charger_3

Looks like they still carry the old chargers on the website.

[ssyd]

https://www.aquavu.com/Av-Micro-replacement-Charger_3

Looks like they still carry the old chargers on the website.

Out of stock :(

[AlbertanGP]

$650 vs $4000. lol. Little price difference there.

That said I will own one in my life..... once day

Panoptix isn't $4,000. Livescope? That's a different story.

[Remps17]

Panoptix isn't $4,000. Livescope? That's a different story.

You referred to livescope in previous message. Either way it’s apples and elephants at that point. Haha

[AlbertanGP]

You referred to livescope in previous message. Either way it’s apples and elephants at that point. Haha

In more ways than one. ;)

[StringTheory]

Tough crowd there on that video. You bounced that crank right off that pike's back and he hardly flinched. I wish you had edited the last minute off, because I was gonna say that lipless crankbait is too aggressive for those fish and suggest a flutter spoon. Tingler is my favorite too. 20% off site-wide on rapala.ca today. ;)

With the topic at hand, that's about as good as I see on mine. In a dark tent under ideal conditions, you can learn something from it. Outside? Good luck. Apples to oranges price-wise, but I'd save my money for Panoptix. I didn't see any behavior there I couldn't decipher on my LiveScope. And Panoptix will reach out 50'+ reliably inside or out, and look backwards as well. YMMV. :)

It was a tough crowd! I was messing with lipless cranks as well as flutter spoons, tingler and buckshot with no commitments from the walters! Gave up and switched to the ole jig and minnow and then I had some fun. Its hard to beat the classics...

The future is live sonar, theres no arguing that. I will get one eventually but that price is pretty far out of my comfort zone! The camera, on the other hand, is a great learning tool and pretty entertaining. Being on sale for $350 at the Fishin hole sealed the deal.

Humminbird Live Sonar will be my next electronics purchase for sure!

[Remps17]

Here is a photo capture from the MarCum Pursuit , will upload the video later.

https://ibb.co/ZJJjMgS

The unit very compact, the screen is small but has the option for adding an additional screen. Absolute excellent camera and so far the battery life is amazing for it being so small. Captured about 2 hours of video and the battery still shows almost full charge.

The annoying thing is that the video files are split up into 3 minute individual files.

Hey there Litwin,

My Marcum Pursuit arrived today, I just wanted to give you a heads up that you can change the video length up to 15 minutes I believe. It is under video setting.

Have not got the camera out on the ice yet bet should be getting out this weekend. I attached it so it sits directly above my helix. Should be a good 1,2 punch for hole hoping and scouting.