Need help fast…underwater camera decisions

I should have asked earlier about this as I am buying a underwater camera TODAY at 7-8 o’clock pm. I’m headed up to northwest manitoba and want to try it up there. My question is….Does anybody have any suggestions of what to get or what NOT to get? I’m willing to spend 4-5-6 hundred if they are worth that much extra over the $300 ones. I want to use it on the river as well, as much as I can with the dirty water we have anyway. So anybody have any suggestions? I will also be going to gander mountain I think in the cities, if that restricts my options. Help? Thanks.

i have a vista cam which i have not used a lot yet – but i have gotten very good pictures from it on leech and mille lacs. one feature that i guess is out there on some of the new cameras is a direction indicator – i highly recommend getting that if you can – otherwise is is really hard to tell exactly where you are looking.

I received an Aqua-view from the folks for Christmas. Used this summer on clear water lakes, Mille Lacs, Gull, and its an awesome tool. Mark the fish, drop the cam and see whats down there. I have seen the ones with direction as well, and for anchored or thru the ice would be awesome. Otherwise direction of boat travel will dictate the direction of cam. My aqua is the cheapest one, but works well.

Steve, Waterfowler on this site works at the Gander in Minnetonka. You may want to try to get ahold of him…
Tuck
PS I have had good luck with the Aqua View as well.

Steve… I have a AquaVu and have had good luck with it. It’s helped me figure out what is lying on the bottom and if the readout on my graph is questionable I’ll check with the camera.

i don’t personaly own one but i have fished with one down on the river before. they are cool to start with but the coolness wears off pretty quickly. it hard to see very far and it’s hard to tell what kind off fish you’re viewing somtimes.

my suggestion would be to take that 4-5-6 hundred $$$$$$ and buy a top of the line depth/fish finder. heck, with that much you can almost afford another trip up to canada.

Steve,

I had Otto Lehrer, who is a fishing product specialist at the Cabela’s Retail Store here in Owatonna, on my fishing TV show last year. Otto is an expert in underwater cameras and has sold them all… He would be of great value to you…

BUT…I just called to check if he is available to speak to you… he is on vacation! The most knowledgeable man there today on cameras is Bob Kadlec. The # is 507.451.4545

Bob K. says the Aquaview is way ahead in many aspects…

it has:

MC2x (red and green infarred lights) that lets you see twice as far in the darkness

Temp. built in

Compass built in (great for ice fishing)

Comes complete… balast, keel, etc. with nothing left to buy

It is the most compact

These features set it ahead of Atlantas and OVS, he says.

Hope this helps… give Bob a call if you wish. He is there till 5:00pm and then Scott Robins is the one to talk with.

On another note… Another good reason to buy a “big ticket” item from Cabela’s is the “walk back in and exchange it” policy they have on product warranty and exchange if you are not satisfied.

Have fun fishing…

Hawger

hey Steve,
I was the se mn sells rep for vista cam. One thing i did learn after talking to other companies and product reviews. All the cameras use the same optical eye. The only diferences are in the tv and the lighting. they are great for ice fishing but in open water they are harder to use. For open water I would lean towards the aqua view, only because it has a built in compass on the screen to show you where the eye is pointed. But for viewing I would go with Vista cam or one with a bigger screen; so that you don’t have to move around the boat holding the cable in one hand and the moniter in the other and then try to steer.
Good luck

Hi Steve,

I own a Aqua view Jr. Have tried the Vista cam and the newer Aqua view with green and red lighting.
The vista cam is your best bet if strictly ice fishing, nice monitor/TV.
The new Aqua view has very poor illumination with the lights on in some waters where air bubbles or murkiness are present.
Picks up and reflects off everything in the water. Sales gimmick if you ask me.
The older cheaper Aqua view Jr. seems to be the most Economically priced and does what the rest do for being a bare bones outfit.
You will max see 8 ft. in clear calm water with 4 ft. the norm.
The new Aqua view would be worth looking at with all the bells and whistles, but is a investment into something with limited applications. Weather and clarity make for limited use.
My two cents worth!!!

Do any of these show anything in the river pools environment?

Thanks for all the replys guys. I read most of them before I purchased my camera. I bought the Aqua Vu 2x…???abc xyz thing. It seemed to work good, but you do spend more time trying to steady the camera than actually watch things. I didn’t really use it that much in Canada, but when I did, it was cool. Even though all I saw is what I expected to see…lol. Anyway, I had a great trip to the Rat River in Northwest Manitoba. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my girlfriend caught the biggest fish of anybody up there. I’ll never hear the end of it. Anybody else ever been up that way? I would be interested to chat about it. Give me a holler. Thanks again for the input in the camera stuff!