Pixels on a fish finder, how many pixels - General Discussion Forum - General Discussion Forum

Derek

Funny thing… when I read the title of this post, those EXACT same words ran through my mind as the post loaded!

Derek is right, quality will vary from one manufacturer to another as the technology and components used have a lot to do with the performance of one finder brand vs. another, but all things being equal, more pixels = better resolution.

For example, and I will simplify the example a bit to streamline things, if you have a finder with 100 vertical pixels and you’re fishing in 100′ of water, each pixel is forced to represent 1′ of the water column. Your maximum target seperation is 1’… which leaves a lot to be desired. Basically, the largest walleye ever spawned could hide w/o the faintest possibility of detection.

As we increase vertical pixels, still fishing in 100′ of water, we get better detail and target seperation. Say we have a top of the line 400 pixel jobbie…. now each pixel represents 3″ and it is conceivable that a walleye hovering this small distance above the bottom could be displayed as a “return” or symbol or mark displayed on this graph.

So more pixels is better. But when is too much over-kill?

How often do you fish really deep water in southern MN? No often. So what’s the performance gain between a 300 vertical pixel unit when fished in 20′ of water vs. a 400 vertical pixel unit? A 300 pixel unit is displaying 0.8 inches of water column with each vertical pixel… pretty darn good. A 400 vertical pixel unit displays 0.6 inches of water column with each vertical pixel. Are the extra pixels a huge benefit to you justifying blowing an extra half-month’s grocery money to buy the darn thing? Not in my book. Not based on the extra vertical pixels alone anyway.

My suggestion, for the application you stated, is to look for a finder in the 240 vertical pixel range. Check out the garmin 240. I owned one. Liked it. Lowrance has a ton of models to choose from. Personally, I have a love for pin-point fish finders for their ability to filter through debris (important on a river, especially in the spring) and to display fish in shallow water…

Happy shopping. Let us know which finder you go with and how well you like your choice a couple months down the road. Oh yeah, one of the most important factors in satisfaction with ANY finder at any price range is PRECISE transducer placement and learning the functionality of your particular machine so you can manipulate sensitivity, scroll speed and grey line settings, etc., to match your particular situation.

And conditions do change requiring adjustments at times. For instance, on the river, in the spring, I’m usually forced to reduce my sensitivity settings quite a bit to compensate for the incredible quantities of suspended material in the water column. Running the settings I’d use now, at the end of the winter when visibilities are very high and the water is running clean, would result in a nearly complete “black screen” as the max-ed out sensitivity would display all this garbage as a nearly solid return. On mille lacs I’ve noticed similar issues…. out in the basin, away from shore, I can crank my sensitivity… but if I run in-shore and fish a reef that’s been getting hit with wind for some time, debris such as algae, etc., will accumulate in the area and require sensitivity adjustments. To keep an already long explaination from turning into a novel, learn your unit, do not be afraid to tweak settings often, check transducer placement EACH AND EVERY day… before you launch.