Flasher vs portable fish finder??Same thing??

[GummyMonster]

I seem to be full of questions lately, thanx for all the good answers.
I am not an electronic's kind of guy.Usually not interested.
But here I go.Looking through the fishin' hole winter catalog. page 8. they have the vexilar flasher units for over $600. Same page - humminbird piranamax 150 portable sonar for $150.Looks from the picture like the humminbird unit shows bottom contour, and even has little fish symbols!How great is that!
Not looking to start a brand war, just want to know why one is better than the other, or am I comparing apples and oranges??
I do know you get what you pay for, but more expensive isn't always better either.
Appreciate the info guy's!!
Ken

[AlbertaAngler]

If you do a search this has been discussed a few times already.

In a nut shell... No they are not the same.

Will the 150 work? Yes. I personally use a portable very similar to the 150. It is not designed for winter, I have to duct tape the transducer to hang level and the screen does not handle extreme cold very well. It is very handy for finding depth (I can measure depth through the ice without drilling a hole if the ice is good). It also shows my lure and any fish that move up to take it.

The flashers use a different display and are designed for ice. They handle the cold well, they have a transducer designed for ice and have better target separation.

[GummyMonster]

Thanx.
I have had trouble searching topics in the past, so I sort of gave up on it.
Worked good this time though.
Good info, though still not certain which way to go.
Ken