LX-9 vs Double Vision, a side by side comparison

[Fishin_Chip]

I am in the fortunate position of being able to fish with both a Marcum LX-9 and a Vexilar Double Vision (FL-22HD/Fish Scout 1000).  Some information is readily available for these units, and some things are much harder to find out. 

As of today, my LX-9 is sitting, ready to go, on my desk.  It is brand new, freshly upgraded to 1.29, and still a virgin. 

The "double vision" is currently 2 units, each with its separate battery and case.  The double vision case has been ordered (about 2 weeks ago, but living in Northern Sask, we are used to things taking their sweet time in transit.)  I have been using the FL-22HD/Fish Scout 1000 combo for all of my fishing so far this season.  I will add the physical Vexilar specs once I have assembled the Double Vision package.

I upgraded to the Marcum for a couple of reasons: a newer, better camera (so I sure hope the LX-9 is superior in that respect!) and the built in DVR.

So, to get this topic started, I thought I should give you some of the physical specifications for the Marcum LX-9.

This is a big flasher.  The complete package, including the camera panner, weighs 14.6 lbs.  If you leave the camera, cable and panner behind, you are down to 10.6 lbs.  The unit in its case is approximately 14" X 10" X 10", but if you wiggle the camera pack a bit, it fits in a milk carton quite nicely.













Stay tuned to this thread over the next little while, I will do my best to give an unbiased, thorough comparison.  If anyone has a particular feature that they would like to see, please let me know.

[hamms]

This is going to be a great comparison. That new technology in the 9 is pretty cool.

[Townie]

Looking forward to your review; tho' I wouldn't classify the LX-9 as a "flasher" 

[bigbuckmiddaugh]

dvr would be very cool!  i wish my 625 had dvr

[flatnose]

it seems that vexilar is getting left in the dust need to come out with something new i would think

[hamms]

Looking forward to you review; tho' I wouldn't classify the LX-9 as a "flasher" 

the 6,7, and 9 are flashers on steroids! 

[Fishin_Chip]

Canada Post says my Double Vision pack is 250 miles away, so it should be here this week.  In the meantime, I thought it would be worthwhile to give some basic specs on my Vexilar tandem.

I was a little surprised to see that the FL-22HD pro pack (with soft pack, but no tackle box) weighs 10.8 lbs, slightly more than the LX-9.  I would not have guessed that.  My impression was that the Marcum was a bigger, heavier unit.  Not so. 

The FS1000 camera weighs 11.8 lbs, with a Mopod, but without its softpack.  The softpack is included with the FS1000, but I am not happy with it.  The front flap rolls up and fastens with velcro, but it doesn't roll far enough to be out of normal field of view.  I have removed the camera from its case and use an old soft-sided cooler for protection while travelling.  The Double Vision case appears to be a much better system, in that regard.

As two separate pieces, the Vexilar is definitely heavier and more bulky, but I expect very little difference once they are combined into one unit with only one battery.  (Not sure if battery life will be a concern with the combo unit, we'll keep an eye on that.)









Now, if light weight was the primary objective, this would be closer to the ideal combo unit!  AquaView Micro and Genz Pack, with a home built sun shield.  To be truly the lightest system possible, the finder should be a Showdown.  That would make about a 3 pound finder/camera combo.  Wow!



Its plenty cold here this week, but I am planning to get out by the weekend.  Here's hoping...

[Fishin_Chip]

I've got "Double Vision"!

Package arrived in the mail today.  The conversion took about a half hour, working at a casual pace.  Everything was pretty easy, except that there is no provision for mounting the switch on the Tri-ducer.  For now, I will leave it tucked in the back of the pack, under the wires, it seems to sit there OK.  The other omission is the cup for the transducer to sit in.  There is an external pouch for that purpose.  I guess it's OK for hole hopping but I would have preferred the more secure rubber cup for transportation

The Double Vision pack is an awkward shape for transporting, in my opinion, although it appears that it would fit in a 5 gal bucket if you detached the camera pouch from the side and hung it from the upper rear clip.

The Double Vision setup weighs 15.4 lbs, not including a camera panner.  Adding the Marcum panner would add about .2 lbs, so for comparison purposes say 15.6 lbs, about 1 pound heavier than the LX-9.

















The camera monitor slides forward to allow an unobstructed view when in use.

[Fishin_Chip]

I forgot to add that I installed the S-cable to my unit as well.  I have found that in 12 to 14 feet of water, I was having trouble setting the sensitivity low enough, so I plan to try it this way for a while.  I rarely fish over 30 FOW, so the S-cable will probable just stay attached to the unit.  I wonder what will happen in low-power mode with the S-cable installed.....

[ranger620]

so witch is the better camera

[Fishin_Chip]

The specifications say that the Marcum should be the better camera, it has higher resolution and better low light capabilities, plus the camera compass, which shows which way the camera is pointing relative to the monitor.  I am looking forward to seeing how well that works.

I am hoping that the Marcum is better, that was one of the primary reasons for the upgrade. 

Time will tell, still waiting for a chance to hit the water. 

I could have snuck in an hour tonight, but I chose to assemble the double vision pack instead. 

Soon, though.  Very soon.....

[munchy71]

Everything was pretty easy, except that there is no provision for mounting the switch on the Tri-ducer.  For now, I will leave it tucked in the back of the pack, under the wires, it seems to sit there OK. 

The transducer switch box mounts on the flat surface directly above the battery monitor.....very similar to how it is mounted in the Ultra-Pack.

-Munchy

[Fishin_Chip]

The transducer switch box mounts on the flat surface directly above the battery monitor.....very similar to how it is mounted in the Ultra-Pack.

-Munchy

I was thinking up high, on the left side.  I am unable to see any flat spot near the battery monitor large enough to mount the switch.  The power wires are kind of in the middle of that space.  Is this the same setup as yours?  A picture would be awesome!

[munchy71]

(Image removed from quote.)

I was thinking up high, on the left side.  I am unable to see any flat spot near the battery monitor large enough to mount the switch.  The power wires are kind of in the middle of that space.  Is this the same setup as yours?  A picture would be awesome!

Yup, it lays flat and mounts sideways with the switch facing backwards, right in front of the grommet that the power wires are coming up out of, directly above the battery meter.

I'll see if I can snap a shot for you tonight.

-Munchy

[munchy71]

(Image removed from quote.)

I was thinking up high, on the left side.  I am unable to see any flat spot near the battery monitor large enough to mount the switch.  The power wires are kind of in the middle of that space.  Is this the same setup as yours?  A picture would be awesome!

This video shows it very well....

Double Vision


-Munchy

[Fishin_Chip]

Thanks for the video. 

There are no pre-drilled holes on my unit, but the switch will fit in that location.  I had attempted to fit it there in a different orientation, with no success.  I will need to remove the battery before any drilling to avoid potential damage. 

Thanks again for the help!

[DoctorPerch]

Chip,

Interested in the homemade Micro sunshield:  Is it just plywood or another material?  Also on the mounting "bracket" for the Micro, any details on manufacturer would be appreciated.  Obviously, I have a Micro and would like to add the shield as was done in your picture.  And I am very jealous that you have both systems - look forward to your continued review.  I have the LX-7 and of course thinking about getting the upgrade to add the camera so look forward to your opinion on it.

Thanks in advance.

[Fishin_Chip]

Dr. P,

Sorry to disappoint, micro sun shield is just 1/4" baltic birch plywood, box joint construction and black paint. 

The mount is a 1" Ram mount, with a ball mounted to one of the accessory holes near the top of the handle on the Genz box, super easy and convenient. 

I am working on a GoPro setup that uses the AquaView Micro as a viewfinder, allowing me to have some control of what my GoPro sees underwater.  I will try to add a picture at some point. 

Seems like I might end up too busy messing with electronics to actually get any fishing done!  Have to see how it goes.

Still waiting for a chance to get out.  Might have to sneak away from work early tomorrow afternoon, just for an hour or so....

[Fishin_Chip]

Chip,

Interested in the homemade Micro sunshield:  Is it just plywood or another material?  Also on the mounting "bracket" for the Micro, any details on manufacturer would be appreciated.  Obviously, I have a Micro and would like to add the shield as was done in your picture.  And I am very jealous that you have both systems - look forward to your continued review.  I have the LX-7 and of course thinking about getting the upgrade to add the camera so look forward to your opinion on it.

Thanks in advance.

If you are looking for a quick, easy solution, look for an index card (or recipe card) box.  You should be able to find a black one that the micro will fit.  You will want the AquaView Micro to lay flat in the bottom of the box. Drill a hole in the bottom, and sandwich the box between the monitor and the cable holder.  Add a hole to access the off-on switch.  Voila!  Good luck!

[DoctorPerch]

Chip,

Appreciate the input.  I'm on it!

[Fishin_Chip]

Sunday!  Finally get to hit the ice!  A quick weather check and I'll be on my way. 

-30 WITH A WIND CHILL OF -44!!!

Feels like the "new toys" curse, for sure.  Sorry for the delay, guys. Trust me, it hurts me more than it hurts you...

[green thumb]

I'm from central N.Y. and have a Double Vision (Fish Scout on bottom and FL=8SE on top) and a LX-9 that I'm dying to get out and try. I fish Oneida Lake which is not safe yet so I took the units out on my small pond last week to try them out. The pond is only about 8 foot deep but I wanted to compare the cameras. First impression is that the Vex is brighter and clearer than the LX-9. This may change when I get in deeper water on Oneida and I'll post the result then (soon, I Hope!). I absolutely love the all in one convenience of the LX-9 which beats the multitude of wires and connectors, around the back battery indicator and separate DVR of the Vex unit. On the other hand, the LX-9 keypad is somewhat cumbersome, requiring many strokes to make changes. Not sure why but the Vex camera repeatedly attracted the sunfish and bass in my pond and they consistently came closer to it than the LX-9. Installed the LX-9 FW update and waiting for another to change the HUD options (Marcum said it's coming in about a week). Will report back when I have some more observations and some fish on the ice!

[Fishin_Chip]

I'm from central N.Y. and have a Double Vision (Fish Scout on bottom and FL=8SE on top) and a LX-9 that I'm dying to get out and try. I fish Oneida Lake which is not safe yet so I took the units out on my small pond last week to try them out. The pond is only about 8 foot deep but I wanted to compare the cameras. First impression is that the Vex is brighter and clearer than the LX-9. This may change when I get in deeper water on Oneida and I'll post the result then (soon, I Hope!). I absolutely love the all in one convenience of the LX-9 which beats the multitude of wires and connectors, around the back battery indicator and separate DVR of the Vex unit. On the other hand, the LX-9 keypad is somewhat cumbersome, requiring many strokes to make changes. Not sure why but the Vex camera repeatedly attracted the sunfish and bass in my pond and they consistently came closer to it than the LX-9. Installed the LX-9 FW update and waiting for another to change the HUD options (Marcum said it's coming in about a week). Will report back when I have some more observations and some fish on the ice!

Good to hear that the update for the HUD is coming, I will watch for that!

Very interesting that your double Vision has the FL8SE.  There is a 99.9% certainty that I will be moving my FL-22 to the Genz pack and my FL8SE to the double vision.  That will leave me the FL-22 as my lightweight super mobile flasher. 

If everything goes as planned and I become a fan of the LX-9, then the Double Vision would go up for sale. 

Don't want to get ahead of myself, now.  No plans to do anything drastic anytime soon.  If the Double Vision comes out on top, I'm pretty sure the LX-9 would sell pretty quick!

I figured the FL-22 would be a more equitable comparison to the LX-9, top of the line vs top of the line fishfinders and all, or I would have done the swap already.

Be sure to keep us up-to-date with your results too, that should make things interesting.

[esox_magnum]

We have fished the 22 with the 7 and already know the results we have found, have also fished the 825HD and the Vex 1000 side by side, also know what our results were....Will watch this and see how your tests turn out compaired to ours....

[green thumb]

Five minutes ago spoke with Chris from Marcum regarding the HUD update for the LX9 and he said now that the update may not come till the end of ice fishing season. Looks like we may be stuck with what we got for now. Not too happy about it; seems like a sore thumb sticking out like this should have been taken care of in the design phase with some actual fishermen input. For the price of the unit,  the statement that it may not be fixed till season end makes me cringe.  Oh well, Cabela's has a 90 day return policy. Hope I find enough other reasons to keep it.

[MNDan]

What sore thumb are you referring to? Love mine!

[green thumb]

Hey Dan, aren't you distracted by the sonar display appearing in the center of the camera image in the HUD mode? I like to center the camera on my lure thus maximizing the field of view of approaching fish. By placing the sonar display to the side, the undisturbed area of the camera image is greater and I find this more desirable. Judging by the other posts I've read and calls received by Marcum, many other fishermen agree. Programming to do this is not complicated and there is reason to believe that it may have been considered at some point. There are a couple of screen images on the LX9 box that suggest it is capable of what I have described above and more. I cannot duplicate those screen displays. Isn't that misrepresentation?

[Fishin_Chip]

Finally!  I got to spend about 4 hours on the ice with these 2 units  today.  And.....

First, let me describe todays expedition.  Because of the relatively short day, and the ridiculous amount of equipment involved, I set up shop in one location and stayed there for the duration.  I was fishing in 14 feet of water for bottom hugging perch, and the occasional marauding pike that passed by.  Today, the camera was more effective than the flasher, but I will try to provide observations for both.

The water was somewhat murky, and with 2' of snow on top of 2' of ice, there was not a lot of light.  I set up the cameras about 3' away from the lure and that was pretty much the limit.  I drilled three holes, one for the 2 transducers (more on that later) and one for each camera.  As you might imagine, getting everything setup took some time.

Camera:  There was no clear winner here.  Because the Marcum camera has much better low light capabilities, I expected superior performance from it.  It turns out that the 5X better low light capability means that the Marcum operated in color mode for most of the day.  The Vex camera stayed B+W all day long.  The thing is, it was easier to see what was going on on the Vex.  I tried both LED on and off.  With the light on, it was closer, but the Vex was still a little clearer.  By the end of the afternoon, the light level had dropped enough that the Marcum went to B+W also.  By that time, I had had enough pike/camera incidents that I was down to only the one camera.  I am not prepared to give a final opinion here yet, but the Vex held its own, for sure.  I think some of the camera advantage is because of the greater level of control offered by the Vex unit, Marcum gives you very limited control of the camera.  The Vexilar allows fine tuning brightness, contrast, and even a mirrored display (more of a novelty most of the time, that.  Does it really matter if the fish is coming in from your left or your right?)

Flasher:  As I previously stated, the camera was my primary tool today, but I did spend some time watching the sonar displays on these units.  Neither unit was able to separate individual fish most of the time, not surprising considering the clouds of little perch that surrounded my presentation.  When the little buggers come up off the bottom 10 at a time to check out the Hali, no flasher is going to give a nice defined reading.  Separation of lure and bottom was surprisingly similar, given all of the chatter I have heard about the differences between the two brands.  There may have been a slight edge to the Marcum for tracking the lure, but I was using a variety of different types of panfish lures, and I made no adjustments to either unit after initial setup.  Much more time/fine-tuning needed here before a useful verdict can be reached.

DVR:  Obviously Marcum wins here, because the Vex requires an external unit for this, and I don't have it.  The DVR records up to 15 minutes or so of video, then the screen goes black for about 20-30 seconds while it saves to disk, then everything starts up again.  Not real impressed with that!  It seemed like something was going on almost every time the screen went blank.  Grrrr!  Lucky I could watch the Vex while the LX-9 was doing its thing.

Two transducers in one 8" hole.  Each one is about 3" in diameter.  Not ideal, for sure, but not a big deal when catching perch.  Pike, now, that's a different story!  Every pike I caught today found one or both cameras, except one.  That one came to the hole pretty quick, then proceeded to do a 15 turn death roll around both transducers!!!  Yikes!  Oh well, all in a days fun, I guess. 

By the way, I dropped those 2 transducers into that 8" hole, so close they were almost touching, turned both units on, no interference!  I was thinking I would have to spend some time messing around to deal with that, nothing!  Gotta be happy about that.

I tried to take a couple pictures to show the units in action, but it is difficult to get helpful images, the nature of flashers and the flickering display makes that very much a hit or miss proposition.  Maybe I will try some GoPro video, we'll see.

I started out in the HUD mode with chart and vertical zoom, moved to the split screen, and pretty much used either that or just the camera for most of the day.

So, after one outing, I can clearly state.... not much!  Except for DVR capabilities, I haven't found a clear winner yet.  That doesn't mean I won't, only that these two systems are somewhat similar in capabilities, in my opinion.  I reserve the right to change that opinion, as I spend more time with them.  I can say that I did find the dedicated VEX flasher to be less distracting/easier to focus on.  The all-in-one Marcum will take some getting used to. 

Well, that's it for now.  I know there will be some who are disappointed that I didn't declare a clear winner after only 4 hours and one scenario, but

a: that wouldn't be fair, would it. 

b:  I calls 'em how I sees 'em. 

c:  I am certain one or the other will become the preferred unit before too long.

I plan to fish sometimes with both, but more often with one or the other.  I expect that the unit that sees the most "ice time" will be the one that works the best for me, and the one that will get my recommendation.

More to come....

[esox_magnum]

Change the contrast and brightness when in color to sharpen the image, this needs to be changed throughout the day depending on light penetration and water clarity,works for both color and B&W

[Fishin_Chip]

Change the contrast and brightness when in color to sharpen the image, this needs to be changed throughout the day depending on light penetration and water clarity,works for both color and B&W

I will give that a try.  Are you referring to the "backlight" setting?  That is the only reference I can find in the manual to a brightness setting, and nothing for contrast.  I will be going through the menus on the actual unit again to check for this, but I would certainly appreciate any additional guidance you could offer.

I meant to mention the camera compass in the review above as well. 

Marcum has an indicator on the screen in "camera" or "gauges" mode that shows the direction the camera would be pointing, if it were directly below the monitor. 

Even though I went through the calibration routine, the heading appeared to be off by 20 - 30 degrees.  It was , however, still extremely useful, every time I had to reset the camera after a pike incident, returning to the same setting as the last time was quick and easy, requiring only a little fine tuning to center the lure on the screen. 

Another camera pointing tip, for those without the compass:  turn on the camera LED and look down the hole, very easy to see which way your camera is pointing then.