Panoptic or Garmin

I dont ever plan to use FFS in my boat. Too much of a PITA. I have mine permanently mounted to a shuttle and since it requires a black box Id have to disconnect the whole works and rig in my boat and reverse the process for ice fishing OR leave it on the shuttle which would be dumb.
The touch screen is a big issue for me. I am really disappointed my Bird isnt a touch screen that really sucks, but all my Lowrance units have been touch screens for like nearly 10 years. My first ones I didnt like all that much because there were few buttons now they have some buttons that make it quicker when using touch and buttons in tandem and you can set fast keys and such which I know I can set that up on the bird too which I already did.

All great discussion. – no right and no wrong and looking forward to more videos of people actually using.

I think part of the discussion is how you want use ffs. On open water, are you looking to be able to drop a lure on nose of a fish? – if so, not for you? Or, are you a couple times a month guy who would use it to help locate a school of fish – in addition to ‘regular’ other electronics that may be on boat? If so, seems this could be for you.

For ice, as mention above, seems like will assist in scouting the water – maybe just not as refined or efficient.

I have to keep myself from trying to directly compare the capabilities to true ffs units. This is not that, but as all seem to agree, does have a place for right person if they fish a certain way.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I dont ever plan to use FFS in my boat. Too much of a PITA. I have mine permanently mounted to a shuttle and since it requires a black box Id have to disconnect the whole works and rig in my boat and reverse the process for ice fishing OR leave it on the shuttle which would be dumb.

I’m finding myself using FFS less in the boat and more from my dock during the summer months. I find Forward view way too frustrating keeping my lure in the beam angle, big part of that is I use a pole system and can’t easily steer the pole while reeling in, so that’s my choice..
but
I find Downview very helpful and fun when Walleye fishing vertically in the boat…alternatively it will always be a staple for me when ice fishing, its a game changer imo…

Joe from the dock would be fantastic!

Those videos you posted Joe are what I was trying to get at earlier. The beam or cone of live sonar isn’t as much as livescope or active target. But for a fraction of the price, I wouldn’t expect it to be either.

I don’t think this specific kit is designed to cater to the die hard tournament angler though. Its designed for people who may want to “give it a try” or are more casual recreational anglers (which would be me). For 1000 bucks, if you don’t like it, you’re only out that as opposed to how much a more upgraded modern version is.

But again, staring at a screen for hours on end while I’m fishing? Not really wanting to do that.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Joe from the dock would be fantastic!

it’s awesome! I have a RAM ball mounted to the front so I just use the Summit Pole RAM Boat mount… The hard part is I can’t cast a 1/8 oz jighead far enough to reach the big crappie schools on the hunt in deeper water early in the evening until they move upto shallower as it gets dark (and then the Mosquitoes go nuts on you)

gimruis wrote:

Those videos you posted Joe are what I was trying to get at earlier. The beam or cone of live sonar isn’t as much as livescope or active target. But for a fraction of the price, I wouldn’t expect it to be either.

and that’s what i’ve been trying to get at with all of my posts, I think a vast majority of folks who buy something like Eagle Eye will be disappointed after they actually use it and see how limited it is and wished they saved up more for the full Livescope…this is just from a FFS perspective though…the other features are great for that price point…

Tom – I thought I had posted a reply but looks like I messed up somehow.

The guy at Scheels claimed the beam was up to 40 degrees as did not have stitching that eats up some view in traditional unit. Of course, this depends on depth for down view and other factors, and he said this more out of opinion than fact.

Although this discussion has drifted a bit from original question, I do think this is great discussion for us all to gain information to consider.

I do think a key point to consider is that not all use FFS equally. This will not be a unit if you are a very avid angler and want to be able to cast to specific fish in the open water in forward mode and really be precise or have a ‘full’ scan of the water.

But if you are a couple times a month guy that would like to have some forward-facing capabilities to help locate a school of fish in conjunction with other traditional electronics you may already have – just to know where they are so that can cast into the area, this seems like a great unit – plus has the mapping, traditional sonar, and down facing.

For ice fishing, seems like more of a slam dunk for the price — with a bit more moving and maneuvering, can still scout the water in forward and have a good reasonably wide view in down.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out and if it does work well for those it is designed for, will be interesting to see how quickly others follow – am guessing others have something in the stable that they are working on and will be interesting to see if Vexilar every comes to this party.

for FFS, cone size is everything, go turn an adjustable flashlight on in the dark, zoom all the way in to the narrowest beam size and see what you can see, then zoom out all the way, which view do you prefer to look around with? Down view while ice fishing is about the only application where the cone size isn’t as important as you can’t get your lure far out the the sides anyways (unless fishing with a darting/glide lure)

I have a LiveScope shuttle with a pole system and use it ice fishing and in the boat. Summit pole for winter and Brew City for the boat, works great. Here’s a pic of the shuttle sitting next to the Humminbird. I can move it anywhere in the boat on the SportTrak.

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Garmin came out with a new Panoptix transducer (PS-22 IF). Other than not needing a pole, are there any improvements over the original PS-22? The new ducer is $1,000.

Jay Johnson wrote:

Garmin came out with a new Panoptix transducer (PS-22 IF). Other than not needing a pole, are there any improvements over the original PS-22? The new ducer is $1,000.

it has a “lens” accessory that zooms in the transducer view…you’re way better off buying a LVS-32 instead…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

it has a “lens” accessory that zooms in the transducer view…you’re way better off buying a LVS-32 instead…

I only have an EchoMap 73DV. It’s not compatible with the liveScope transducers.

Jay Johnson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>

it has a “lens” accessory that zooms in the transducer view…you’re way better off buying a LVS-32 instead…

I only have an EchoMap 73DV. It’s not compatible with the liveScope transducers.

if BassPro/Cabelas does their 106sv black friday sale again, you’ll likely see a flood of used 93UHD’s hit the market…