Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Opinions on the new Down Scanning Depthfinders?

I have always thought the Side Scanning depthfinders from Hummingbird and Lowrance looked really cool. They cost way too much for what I would use them for which would be to fish in my ponds (20 acres and 8 acres). Both Hummingbird and Lowrance have come out with new depthfinders that have Down Scanning without the side scanning and they are in the realm of affordability. They both have greyscale units for $299 and color units for $549. I currently use an Eagle depthfinder that does a good job, but many times is hard to tell exactly what type of cover is below you. I would think that the Down Scanning technology would be much easier to interpret and apparently, it does a better job of separating fish echos from cover echos.

Does anyone have any experience with these types of depthfinders? It seems from the research that I have done that most people think that Hummingbird's customer service is better and their products are built better. I am probably wasting my money buying a new depthfinder, but I do love the electronics.

Hey Bill I mounted my first "fish finder" one of the old Humminbird Super Sixty flashers on my first boat, an 8ft polystyrene Bass Hunter in '75 and I've been hooked ever since. Anyway I have owned many units over the years including several more Lowrances and some HB's, and even a Garmin or two. I don't know where or what or how you fish for them. I don't want to get into this long tutorial on DP's so here are the short answers in order.
#1 Yes $299 is affordable...less $ than you spent on that new Curado 200e7 & matching Cumara rod!
#2 Clarity and ease of interpretation..the first time you ease over a brushpile in 10 ft of water you WILL get goosebumps and the s**t eating grin I don't care how jaded you are!
#3 I have been using the Lowrance Mark 5x dsi since 11/10 and I'm very happy with it.
#4 It is true that Lowrance changed hands a while back and customer service has suffered but I have not seen a decline in quality.
#5 I just Picked the Lowrance because raw power was more important to me than a few more vertical pixels and primarily because Lowrances Down Scanning ability is hardware driven and HB's is software "interpretations" of the same data.
Hope this helps if you have any questions or need more detail let me know. Ken S

Thanks for the reply 3F. One more question for you, if you had to purchase your Mark 5x dsi again, would you spring for the extra $150 to get the color version? I have a buddy who has a color depthfinder and it is really nice to look at compared to my Eagle greyscale unit. Seems to me that the color units make fish standout more clearly. Maybe it's my imagination. My use of the depthfinder is mostly in my 20 acre pond in North Ms. About 60% of the lake is 10 feet deep or deeper. The lake was built in the 1960s so most of the flooded timber, stumps, etc are under water and not visible without a depthfinder.

One other question, I am not sure I understand your statement about the Lowrance being hardware driven and the HB being software driven. Could you elaborate?

Thanks, Bill

Bill did you mean xtra 250.? anyway I have friends with color units and they are fun to look at, and might be a tad easier to view in direct sunlight. I can read and interpret what my greyscale unit is telling me just as well as my "colored" friends plus it's just what I'm used too.
As far as the differences between HW & SW go I am not a technophile...but maybe this analogy will help..the computer I'm on right now has a 250GB hard drive...there is NOTHING humanly possible I can do to change that except install another drive(hardware). In the sonar world its like this...current owners of HBIRD units can go online and download updates and upgrades (software). Lowrance owners use hardware only upgrades..example...current HDS-5 owners that want side scanning capabilities must purchase the LSS-1 module etc> At face value that would appear to favor HBIRD. IMHO thats not true and I'm not alone. Lots and lots of articulate, intelligent and well-educated fisherman fall on both sides of this debate. It boils down to personal preference and your own opinion. You really can't go wrong either way as long as your happy

Thanks for your input. I think I will wait until I can mess around with the Hummingbird unit at my local BPS and then make up my mind. By the way, I did mean an extra $250 for the color. One thing that I have found out is that the Hummingbird units have Switch Fire which allows not only the down scan images, but also the regular 2d views. You can even have them both running at the same time. I could not see that much difference with the color unit on the Lowrance. I do think that the regular 2d color units are much easier to read.