Underwater Cameras

Okay, I’ve got a 4-5 year old Aqua Vu and it works fine during the day, hook it up to the regular TV for big screen viewing … no problems.

My question is this: Is there a model out there now that actually works in low light or at night? I’m only on Mille Lacs, so that’s the territory I’m working. I’d love something to work at night. The Vu people told us previously they had models that worked – not so much after checking ’em out. Not sure if the latest and great from them worked better or not.

The MarCum folks at the show gave me the “guarantee” that theirs would work at night and give me 6-8 feet of view in pitch black. Can anybody else drop some knowledge on me here? I’d greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,
Nate aka Dogg

From everything I hear, the MarCum VS 560 is the cat’s meow. Some of the ice gang here can give you more details.

Nate,

I was working the MarCum booth. You may have talked to me.
I had many people ask about being able to see at night. The truth is no camera performs nearly as well as it can during the day.
MarCum has set up their 460 and 560 with a special lighting system utilizing what they call “Dark water technology”. On the 460 and 560 models the lighting system is significantly superior in the fact that the LED lighting is placed on top of the camera. Doing this reduces the particles you see by 90%. That is significant. By having the lighitng on top of the camera your light is projected downward onto the objects you’re trying to see instead of looking directly parallel with the light. Your camera has the lights around the actual camera lens. This is like driving in a snowstorm with your brights on. Hence the reason 90% of the particles aren’t picked up on the 460 and 560 models.
Your ability to see with your camera is only as good as the water you’re looking in. Mille Lacs is a relatively clear lake so being able to see 5 to 8 feet in the dark is not out of the question with a MarCum 460 or 560. During the day you may be able to see 16 to 18 feet. With the lighting systems of the 460 and 560, I do gurantee you will see more clearly than any aqua view, However no camera will “see” nearly as well as it will during the day.
I have a 560 I’d be willing to demo to anyone.

The lighting system on the MarCum OVS 560 and 460 is second to none. The LED lights work similar to fog lights on a car. Think of standard lighting as using your high beams in a snow storm and the MarCum 460/560 liighting as low beams. The lights shine a LED beam of light out above the camera thus not illuminating all the particulate matter suspended in the water.

Any camera system that has light surrounding the camera or built into the camera will work minimally in very low light conditions. I have used/tried/tested many different cameras and the MarCum 560/460 has the best lighting system hands down.

With that all said, if you have big expectations for viewing at night, you may be dissapointed. When I use my 560 at night on Mille Lacs, I get more walleye that look like deer in the headlights, before I can actually tell what fish they are. The LED’s light up the “eyes” from a long way away.

I purchased a 560 this past spring, it is much better than my friends aqua-view quad for picture quality at night. We compared them on 2 occasions side by side at night out of his boat on lake francis in southern MN. Cant wait to use it on the ice.

Thanks for the info, guys. Much appreciated.

I’m not looking for or expecting something to work miracles and be as good at night as it is during the day or anything like that. I’m just looking for something that works AT ALL at night or around dusk, etc. My Vu’s got nothing … at all. If I can get something that’d even show me an outline of a fish from 6-8 feet I’d be thrilled.

I was basically trying to find out if the MarCum models actually worked as they said they would. I spoke with a guy with a beard I believe, but saw you at the booth. If they do work at all at night and can give me improvement, I’d definitely look into getting one in the near future!

That was Ray,…He’s actually one of the two engineers that owns MarCum Tech.

So, if theoretically I was going to buy said VS 560 (wink, wink) where would one go to get the best possible deal? Is there any way to get anything taken off that ghastly $599 price tag???

Also, should I do this, I’d be selling my Aqua Vu. It works perfectly well for what it’s used for, but I’m interestedin the 360 cam and better lighting. I’ll post it in the classifieds section.

Right Here!

You aren’t going to find anyone who’s going to beat their service. No Shipping or Sales Tax either.