Underwater camera

[Cubby24]

Looking at buying an underwater camera.  Have narrowed it down to 2 in my price range.  Marcum 485C and Aqua-vu 715C  any input on which model I might be happier with?

[hardwater diehard]

Have you tried doing a search

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?action=search

[Cubby24]

I have not, I will try that.    Thanks.  New to this and was just trying to get some real user input and not a salesman's point of view.

[hardwater diehard]

For what its worth the smaller "Micro" and "Recon " versions are great for scouting ..can angle the camera up/down 45 deg and EZPZ ..cameras in general are limited ..cloudy days ..cloudy water...snow cover . On the small units make certain that the units light IR and LED can be turned off/controlled.

[Cubby24]

Thanks.  I was looking for something with a little bigger screen to use in my ice tent when the grandkids are along.  I have thought that the micro's would be nice though. 

[jrjach75]

I looked at both the Marcum 485 and the AquaVu 715c when I was in the market late last season. I actually ended up with something different, the Vexilar Fish Scout after finding a deal on one.

They all look pretty good, the Marcum and Aquavu have the fold down screen, where the Vexilar has a set up more like a flasher on a shuttle. If you are looking into used ones, the AquaVu has an improved version of their camera, the one shaped like a fish is the old version.

My Vexilar probably doesn't have as clear a screen as the others and LED versus IR lights,  but I didn't care about diving down too much into technical specs and pixel counts, etc. I'm not trying to film an outdoors show, just see fish (hopefully) biting my jig. I wanted something easy to set up, a heated screen, and needs to just work, so far so good.

Don't know if they are still available, but when I was looking both Vexilar and AquaVu had reconditioned units on their websites for a decent amount of savings.

[Unclegillhunter]

Don't be afraid to go reconditioned, I have a reconditioned aqua view that is on it's third season and works just fine.
Keep it safe! JDL

[Cubby24]

Thanks for all the help.  I did look at some reconditioned models.  Prices are pretty good.   I don't need all the whistles and buzzers.  Just want to see some fish(Hopefully)  Sounds like Marcum and Aqua-vu  both are pretty good models both with pros and cons. I did look at the vexilar but it wasn't on sale.  I think I will let my wallet talk and see which one I can get the better deal on.  I'm kinda leaning towards a model with IR.
Appreciate all the input.

[Gunflint]

Thanks for all the help.  I did look at some reconditioned models.  Prices are pretty good.   I don't need all the whistles and buzzers.  Just want to see some fish(Hopefully)  Sounds like Marcum and Aqua-vu  both are pretty good models both with pros and cons. I did look at the vexilar but it wasn't on sale.  I think I will let my wallet talk and see which one I can get the better deal on.  I'm kinda leaning towards a model with IR.
Appreciate all the input.

The best feature on the AquaVu that the others do not have is the cable reel. It makes deployment and packing WAY faster and easier. Worth the money.

[hardwater diehard]

Check out some YouTube videos ..you are not really going to see the actual real picture but you may see ease of use ..size comparison . Also if you plan on recording your outings there are very limited options/add ons ..so keep that in mind .

[aquarium234]

I have had a vexilar camera since they came out with it. I would recomend going with aqua or marcum, my buddies have those and they always have a clearer picture then I do on my vex camera. Love my Vexilar, just not my camera vexilar, it works ok, but just not as clear a picture when side by side with other cameras

[Unclegillhunter]

I have had a vexilar camera since they came out with it. I would recomend going with aqua or marcum, my buddies have those and they always have a clearer picture then I do on my vex camera. Love my Vexilar, just not my camera vexilar, it works ok, but just not as clear a picture when side by side with other cameras

Good for you sir! A lot of folks would swallow tobacco spit before saying the unit they have is not as good as their buddies!
Keep it safe! JDL

[missoulafish]

Got the AQUA VU revolution 5.0 pro a couple months ago after getting a pretty sweet vip code from Kayl. It's small, fits in coat pocket or I can carry it around my neck  in the free case promo that came with it. Easy to setup and deploy and the wind up reel is a fantastic part of the camera. Just reel in the camera and move on to the next hole. I have a couple videos posted on my you tube channel if you wanna see what vid looks like....

[fishEH]

I'd like to get a camera, but nobody has them on display. I just can't drop $3-400 on something I can't even put my hands on to try/compare. 

[joemx1825]

Marcum VS825SD is the best fishing camera you can buy, the onscreen camera direction is a huge time saver when ice fishing. Love mine... best tip I can give is to buy the biggest screen you can afford, what's on the screen is pointless if the screen is too small to see anyways...  I also love how the marcum camera's fold up and stay protected.

[Cubby24]

Thanks for all the great input!  I had some Cabela points and went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Aqua-Vu 715C and the MO-Pod to go with it.  I just wanted something with a little bigger screen and the price was right.  If it was just me I think I would have went with one of the micros but I fish an awful lot with my grand kids and wanted something with a bigger screen. Hope it gets here by Friday because I want to try it out this weekend.  Thanks again for all the awesome insight and wisdom.

[jiffy22]

Thanks for all the great input!  I had some Cabela points and went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Aqua-Vu 715C and the MO-Pod to go with it.  I just wanted something with a little bigger screen and the price was right.  If it was just me I think I would have went with one of the micros but I fish an awful lot with my grand kids and wanted something with a bigger screen. Hope it gets here by Friday because I want to try it out this weekend.  Thanks again for all the awesome insight and wisdom.

How do you like the AquaVu 715?   Im on fence - AquaVu or Marcum.

[kayl]

How do you like the AquaVu 715?   Im on fence - AquaVu or Marcum.

You can get 30% off aqua vu with code VIP2020 if it still is active. 

[jiggalo]

FYI, the 30% off code is still good as I just purchased an AquaVu 10i Pro Gen2. Great discount for this camera and thank you for the heads up!!

[Maineguy93]

Congratulations on your purchase.. I have one and love it although I only used it a couple times at the end of last season. Hardwater made a good point about options like recoding etc... another one to look at and consider is the length of the camera cord. I ended up with a bigger unit than I was originally looking for because I fish deep water up north and Needed something that would get me deeper than 75’.

[hardwater diehard]

FYI, the 30% off code is still good as I just purchased an AquaVu 10i Pro Gen2. Great discount for this camera and thank you for the heads up!!

Good Luck with it ..there are DVR options out there...power packs or motorcycle adapters and a gaming DVR ..YouTube has several videos on it .

[Maverick69]

You can get 30% off aqua vu with code VIP2020 if it still is active. 

Where is the code good for ?

[hardwater diehard]

Where is the code good for ?

AquaVu site.

[joemx1825]

Marine General has a deal right now for the Marcum 485 + Marcum Brute Lithium battery and charger for only $329

https://www.marinegeneral.com/product/marcum-vs485c-w-marcum-brute-lithium-battery/

[cold nose]

Thanks to those who mentioned the coupon code . Just ordered the 10I PRO plus  accessories saved 355.00 Appreciate it guys .