Feedback on Aqua Vu Micro II Underwater Camera

[hawkmn]

Hi Everyone,

Long time viewer .. new poster

I wanted to see if I can get some current feedback on the Aqua Vu Micro II Underwater camera's.   I know they have made the newer ones waterproof and with more features (you can buy the Cadillac version that records the video), but overall how good are they?

What really caught my eye is how small they are, great for ice fishing, since I walk out and don't want anything too bulky

Picture quality?
Can I watch my jig in side view (seams like the camera is fairly light and may move a lot)?
How durable are they?
What is the battery life like?

Thanks in advance!  This is a great board!

Chris

[Rebelss]

Welcome to the site, Hawkmn!! Um, it helps if you post your location in your profile, better able to help you with location specific questions, and we like to know where you're from! 
Here's my input on my Micro, the gritty good and not so good..

The Good

Small, fits in pockets
Pic quality and color sat is pretty darn good, on par with any camera and screen, cloudy murky, water reduces pic distance to about 2' range.
4 different viewing angles
Contrast, saturation, color, brightness levels
Batt life has been no issue at all with mine

The Not-so-good

Small, lightweight camera moves and spins very easily; I have added a weight to the camera to help stabilize it in the water.
The Cable is such a thin, tiny wire, that it is hard to pinch between your fingers to spin the camera. Use with gloves? Forget it.
Durable? A redundant question; it's a small piece of electronics; treat it as such and you won't have any issues. Wanna drop it or sit on it? Well, then I can't tell ya....

Nice, compact, all-around workable addition to your gear, if that's what you want. It does what's expected of it, quite well. Hope this helps ya out. 

[TType86]

The micro 2 says it has "auto lighting". Im assuming that means you cant manually adjust or turn off the light? The light just made my old aqua vu basically worthless most times. It lit up all the particles in the water to the point of not being able to see very well. Anyone have experience with the auto lighting feature on these micros? Does it pretty much stay turned off unless dark outside or in deeper water so that its not really a concern? Or is the thing gona be turning itself on constantly even though im in shallower water and its not really needed?

[Rebelss]

Cant't turn the lights off. At least, not on mine, appears they stay on all the time.

[AltaIce]

Cant't turn the lights off. At least, not on mine, appears they stay on all the time.

  Hey Reb, Morning.

 No sweat brother…. simple solution to that.. just gently tap the bulb with a five pound hammer.. Gentle !! ..

 Have a great weekend all.

 AltaIce   

[Rebelss]

Mornin' Alta.    Guess I haven't had an issue with mine at all as far as lights....hmmm...do they turn on and off??? Kinda like the "refrigerator light bulb" thing...does it turn off when I shut the door?? How do you know?? 

[AltaIce]

Mornin' Alta.    Guess I haven't had an issue with mine at all as far as lights....hmmm...do they turn on and off??? Kinda like the "refrigerator light bulb" thing...does it turn off when I shut the door?? How do you know?? 

  Morning Reb, everyone, why would we want to turn off the Underwater Camera light?  ( I know that sounds like a dumb question .. you just guessed… I don't have a underwater camera as of yet) So I was wondering, does the light scare the fish and if it does why do they have them on there?? ( I know another dumb question… LOL)

  Reb as far as your infernal question of the Fridge Light bulb.. does it or does it not shut off, when the door is closed??    You and I will never know… as we are both way to big to ever fit inside the fridge when they close the door.

  AltaIce   

[Rebelss]

If there is a lot of suspended silt in the water, the light will reflect back at you, just like putting your High-beams on in a heavy snowstorm. I figure at that point utilize the flasher capabilities, and forget about the camera. Ya can't have everything.  Say, we could drill  a hole in the 'fridge door, and put the camera in when we shut it!!! The we'll know if the light goes off!    Hmmm....but then the camera light might light it up, and we won't be able to tell....

[TType86]

Well im just sayin, there were plenty of times I was fishing with my old aqua vu and decided to turn on the light to see if it helped any. Usually it would just magnify the plankton and particles making viewing even worse! THATS why youd want to be able to turn off the light and it not be an "auto" function.

[Rebelss]

Oh, I know what you mean!!! But, I think if there were no lights, there would not be enough ambient light gathered by those small camera lens to enable you to see anything. Really good low-light lenses are spendy; lights are a lot cheaper to put on a product. You make a good point, at least to me you do.

[TType86]

It looks like they added the ability to control the light to the more expensive version of the micro. You definitely need the light at times I will agree, but I think it would be nice to be able to turn that thing off if needed. Anyone whos ever used an underwater camera knows what Im talkin about.

[jmillsp]

I have been tinkering with the idea of getting a new camera. I have the older Aqua Vu Scout II. It is a pain to lug around. Trying to decide on the best model to get. Sure like the looks of these little portable units but even they seem to have more than one model available. Decisions, decisions!

[Trump]

whats the major difference between the aqua vu II at $250 and the aqua vu av micro plus at $400? if its adjusting the lights on and off ill save 150 bucks and put some tape on it.  i dont need to record anything either i just want to know where that damn brush pile went to!!

[Rebelss]

Aqua view Micro on sale Friday while they last at Fleet farm for $199.

[TType86]

whats the major difference between the aqua vu II at $250 and the aqua vu av micro plus at $400? if its adjusting the lights on and off ill save 150 bucks and put some tape on it.  i dont need to record anything either i just want to know where that damn brush pile went to!!

Looks like only other difference is you get the sun shield cover. Pulls double duty to protect screen during transport. Ill probably end up doing the same and saving the extra money. Lol about the brush pile! I know what your sayin. More I thought about it, only thing ill use it for is to find structure and see what fish are down there.

[Rebelss]

The "yellow" one, Aqua View II, has a sunshield/cover with auto on when you flip it open, lens zoom feature, and a built in DVR recorder chip with output, and "push button" controls. Otherwise, pretty much the  same monitor/camera....for a lot more money.

[TType86]

The "yellow" one, Aqua View II, has a sunshield/cover with auto on when you flip it open, lens zoom feature, and a built in DVR recorder chip with output, and "push button" controls. Otherwise, pretty much the  same monitor/camera....for a lot more money.

The yellow "micro 2" doesnt have the sunshield. The "micro plus" which is also yellow has the sunshield, a manual light switch, and is available with or without the dvr. Its a bit confusing but I looked into it on the website.

[Trump]

Well call me chester cheepo if you want but I'm buying the $250 model  I think that's good enough!  If the lights are that big of a deal I'll cover them and if the sun won't let me see the screen then I'll put the sun on my back and I'm thinking some kind of pod with a ping pong ball or rubber ball slit half way through will work to hold the can at depth and keep from spinning we will see. 

Ice fishing started with some guy trying to figure out how to catch fish in a frozen lake he used some major ingenuity all I'm doing is using  a little to give me a bit of an edge

[hamms]

I spoke to rep last sat. and he said the lower priced one was water resistant meaning don't submerge. the 399 one was water proof he said... look same to me. I am looking at the 249 one and there is a 49 dollar rebate. The one in fleet farms ad is black... I don't think it is same thing, black one the cable plugs in on side, exposed.

[Rebelss]

There are now THREE models; the Aqua View Micro, (one that is $199 at Fleet farm tomorrow, and it's the one I have), Aqua View Micro Plus, Yellow) and Aqua View Micro II.  The original one, for $199, does it well for me. I really like it. It has the Contrast, brightness, and saturation adjustable levels, plus gives you 4 different views, your choice by pushing the button as to the view you want. Also an On-screen battery meter. Comes with the spring camera holder AND the adjustable black "Fin" camera holder. For $199, I think it's a great deal. Tip: if you have a mini camera tripod, like the one I use for my Sony photo camera, the micro screws right onto that, giving you a totally adjustable tripod base.

[Superslabber]

Aqua vu website has black one on site refurbished with one year warranty for $159

[Trump]

Got it bought a micro av ii had a $150 gift card plus a $50 mail in rebate so I guess I'll tell my wife it was only $67 and not be lying ......

[mike304]

The lighting on the micro II is IR lighting, not regular lighting, so I'm not sure reflection off plankton should be an issue. Not positive though!

[tr7]

Last week I bought the micro II on Friday and turned around and returned it on Monday. I really liked the idea of the size and portability. Out of the box everything was great and while testing the picture quality around the house I was very impressed. However when I had it on the water that Saturday I was less than impressed how it performed under the ice. My understanding is that the light is automatic and will turn on under low light or murky water conditions. The water I fished on that Saturday was neither and although I couldn't tell if the light was on under water it was extremely hard to see much of anything. Eventually I could find my bait but the camera had to be right on top of it. The disturbances in the water overtook the entire picture on the screen and all I could see was what looked to be white spots all over the screen. Mind you this was my first camera and I may have had to get used to it some, but I know a lot of better ways to spend $250 so that is why I returned it. Just my experience though.

[1moslab]

I have a micro av plus and love it ,water I usually fish is kinda murky I can see about 3-5ft I can turn the lights off but don't usually.my buddy has a full size and it is usually at home because of the size and having to pull around that battery.the micro is so portable because of its size it is usually on board.in my opinion it will definitely help your fishing improve.