Lowrance or Humminbird

[gpfishingdude]

I nearly bought the Lowrance Elite 5 when it was on sale but there were some things in the reviews that made me wait. Although with the Lowrance you can change the colors that you see on the screen somebody said that all you will see at one time is two colors. In my book that is no better than the Monochrome that shows everything in shades of black and grey. Maybe I am just used to the blue-green-yellow-orange-red colors on the Humminbird screen that show the degrees of hardness of the objects in the echos. So with that said I am now waiting for the price of the Humminbird to come down to where I can afford one. I figure it would be a waste of warranty time if I bought one in the winter anyway.

 

[Charlie in TX]

Re: Lowrance or Humminbird

I don't have a Lowrance, but it is al the buddies use. It is definitely a color display. The only images that are monochrome are the structure scan images. I do have a Humminbird 997. It is monochrome in side image or down image mode.

 

[JB]

Re: Lowrance or Humminbird

I had both in my time, several years back, and I always found the Lowrance (or Eagle) a better, more reliable unit. Times have changed so I don't know if that comparison is still valid.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Lowrance or Humminbird

I think the person who wrote the review that I read must have been looking at a down scan or side scan Lowrance. I saw some in the store yesterday and I got a chance to compare some Lowrance and the Humminbirds. One thing I did find out was that the Humminbirds have both the sonar view and the down imaging in some models where it looked like the Lowarance was either one or the other. You know JB I think the only fishfinder that I have had that, I know, really showed the fish was an old eagle flasher unit. It showed some blips for bottom and if there was anything swimming in between it would blip for that too. It didn't do much but it did show if there was a fish down there.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: Lowrance or Humminbird

I have the Humminbird side/down scan. Very nice and required in the great gulf of Mexico desert. Here in SW Fla structure is where its at. there may be miles and miles of sand. Like a big wet desert. Then a little structure pops up. Could be a natural rock pile, ledge or crap someone dumped. Regardless, thats where the fish are. If your not using side scan your blind. Standard FF echos are useless. They will tell you when your ON the spot but they cant tell you if your 300 feet off. Side-scan can. Monochrome... hell I'd use braille instead of a standard FF if it worked

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Lowrance or Humminbird

I have the Humminbird side/down scan. Very nice and required in the great gulf of Mexico desert. Here in SW Fla structure is where its at. there may be miles and miles of sand. Like a big wet desert. Then a little structure pops up. Could be a natural rock pile, ledge or crap someone dumped. Regardless, thats where the fish are. If your not using side scan your blind. Standard FF echos are useless. They will tell you when your ON the spot but they cant tell you if your 300 feet off. Side-scan can. Monochrome... hell I'd use braille instead of a standard FF if it worked

Wow! I would like to see a unit like that in action. But it would probably be a little out of my league to own one.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Lowrance or Humminbird

I am starting to see that the side/down scan give a better view of what is really down there but do they show the thermocline or do I need the 2D color feature for that? I have seen demos of the 2D color that show baitfish and the thermocline but I don't remember seeing the thermocline in the down imaging.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Lowrance or Humminbird

I have an elite 5 combo. Although I use it only for GPS (I have a monochrome 480x480 with "16 levels of grayscale" and prefer the grayscale) the sonar has a number of options and it is a lot more than just two colors. Whoever that reviewer was apparently never took the time to learn how to use the thing. If you like color sonar it is a good sonar!

Anyway, as far as all those colors: who needs 'em anyway?? On my fishmark 480 if it shows an arch on the graph display screen it's a fish. And it will show some pretty small fish (5" perch) fairly well too. It can show the thermocline when cranked up- but I like to tone it down just a little as it shows less clutter and useless junk without so much gain and works super as for sonar performance.

Nevertheless, at the $600 price point you can't do better for a combo than the Lowrance Elite 5 imho.

If however, you are simply in need of a sonar that is dependable and performs well, the Mark5x is the currently available equivalent to my older Fishmark 480 and is only about $150. Color wows people but it can't and doesn't show you anything that a B&W a.k.a. monochrome won't show you. Plus if the backlight dies it is still readable whereas color displays are nearly useless without a backlight.

The unit covered here shows 5 colors displayed so the two color thing is plain wrong right out of the gate.

 

[will simonetti]

I need to purchase a power cable for a Hummingbird LCR4 and transom and suction cup transducer mounts

 

[JASinIL2006]

Will, if you have a question, you'd be better off starting a new thread/topic, rather than tagging on to a thread that's been dead for almost two years. Oh, and welcome to iboats! Lots of helpful folks here. Jim

 

[GA_Boater]

I need to purchase a power cable for a Hummingbird LCR4 and transom and suction cup transducer mounts

Humminbird.com

Old topic - Closed.