selous Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Hi all I'm tossing up which sounder to put in my new boat and will take advantage of the cheaper prices in the USA to purchase over there while on holidays in April. I really like the side imaging capabilities of the Humminbirds and am leaning towards them. The other contender is the new Lowrance HDS system which is Hi def conventional sounder. However, Lowrance have leaked ahead of the official announcement that they will have an add on module available later this year that will add side imaging capabilities to their HDS units. I'm guessing the Lowrance units will have better deep water capabilities, but on the downside, the "later in 2009" eta could be 31 December and the quality of their side imaging technology is unknown. Any opinions? A screenshot of the Lowrance SI: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelrdoyle@gmail.com Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Dude - what am I looking at in this picture? I'm finding it hard to interpret. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micksfishn Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) side view i would stick to lowrance just my opinion mick Edited March 12, 2009 by breamhntr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 There are quite a few sounders reviewed on the link below: Sounders They MAY help you make a decision mate. Good luck, and happy shopping! Cheers Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selous Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 Dude - what am I looking at in this picture? I'm finding it hard to interpret. Mike I know what you mean! I thought the same until I started to read up on them and look at some screenshots with explainations. A good place to start is www.sideimaging.com Perhaps the easiest way to explain how to interpret a side imaging screenshot is shown in the following photos. The photo is folded to show what is beneath the boat and what is to the sides. All the images available on the internet are taken using the Humminbird models because the Lowrance doesn't exist as yet. The first photo shows the flat image. The dark band down the centre is the water column directly under the boat. I think the specks in the water column are fish. By folding the paper it becomes more obvious what is under the boat and what is to the sides. I hope this makes it a little clearer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaune Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 That is amazing stuff. I imagine once you learn how to interpret the pictures it would be a very powerful tool. The fish won't have anywhere to hide. By the looks of it you can use it in conventional sounder mode anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selous Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 side view i would stick to lowrance just my opinion mick Any particular reason or just personal preference? Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Hi Selous, as mentioned when we talked, the Humminbird SI units I have played with in the water are unbelievable in what they show you. As mentioned it takes a little time to "relearn" what you are looking at but for the type of fishing you are going to do with that style of boat I would fit the Humminbird. I had a look at the Lowrance site and it does look the same as the Humminbird, but at what cost for the add on feature of SI and as you mentioned who knows when it will be here in OZ. As you said for the cost of what you are getting quoted OS, buy a 1100 series for the console and a 700 series for the bow and you willhave the best. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big-Banana Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Unless your fishing snags, they aren't the useful IMO. Stick with a Furuno for all your inshore and bluewater fishing. 585 or 620, depending on how deep you want to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelrdoyle@gmail.com Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Unless your fishing snags, they aren't the useful IMO. Stick with a Furuno for all your inshore and bluewater fishing. 585 or 620, depending on how deep you want to go. whilst we're on the topic - why are furuno so good? All the pros reckon the others just don't come near. They are significantly more expensive. So why are they so good? I can't find anything on the web that compares them.... Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogtooth Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Unless your fishing snags, they aren't the useful IMO. Stick with a Furuno for all your inshore and bluewater fishing. 585 or 620, depending on how deep you want to go. I will also recomend the furuno 585 or 620 as mentioned above . I am currently running the 620 and it has made the difference between catching fish or going home fishless...... Both these sounders are digital As for side imaging it does not work over 40 metres of water . Cheers Dogtooth...... John..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selous Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Unless your fishing snags, they aren't the useful IMO. Stick with a Furuno for all your inshore and bluewater fishing. 585 or 620, depending on how deep you want to go. Another raider from Kellyville! Howdy neighbour. I would have thought the side imaging would be quite useful - apart from snags, reef and other structure I have seen images showing baitballs and larger fish in midwater. As another poster has asked, what is it about Furuno that makes them so good? I know you said they're digital, but so are Raymarine and the Lowrance HDS sounders. Cheers Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogtooth Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 As another poster has asked, what is it about Furuno that makes them so good? I know you said they're digital, but so are Raymarine and the Lowrance HDS sounders. Cheers Rob Hi Rob , The furuno also has a fish size ID which will tell you how big the fish are ...Best feature when jigging.. And is quite accurate unless your over bait balls and it reads a bit false . But for targetting kings i just drive around till i see them on the screen . Also it has auto mode that any person can use just turn the sounder on. You can go to manual and adjust the settings yourself but i have never had to do this as it reads so well...... Cheers Dogtooth...... John.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerg Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 From what I have seen, the Humminbird side imaging is awesome. Given the style of fishing I do, it would open up a whole new world. when I have the $$, there will be one on my boat. Cheers, Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big-Banana Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I could go on and on about my 620, but I won't They are simply the best for your average trailer boat and I'm just amazed every time I use the thing at the quality. Lowrance units are something that look very fancy, but don't give you half the amount of detail that a Furuno can. Once you use one on a regular basis and get familiar with how it works,. you'll never go back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csg Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 just my opinion and observation side imaging you probably wont use it i know plenty of guys in the bream comps with them and they dont use them we all want the latest and greatest very hard to keep flicking btween screens think hard about how you use your sounder i use lowrance love the simplicity details great no good having something you need a degree to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregL Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I use to be a Lowrange man then went to a Humminbird SI model, great for breaming, crap for hooking fish tho! I spent to much time looking at the screen and not enough focus on the line watching for bites! Couldn't belive how many fish I dropped during that period.... You can have it in split screen so you can have standard sounder one side and SI mode on the other. Next boat I went back to Lowrance with a LCX110 and a LCX26 in the front. Now I run Furuno 585 on the current boat. Never seen bottom at 40kn and definately never seen bait schools at 30! Truely amazing bit of technology! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WANNAFISH Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Have a look at this sounder. Forward imaging. http://www.interphase-tech.com/iScanV90.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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