I'm with you on the walleye wish! I used the bottom zoom on my 18 a ton when i lived back on the east side of the state when I fished walleyes and perch all the time. Necessity? NO. It did give me a lot more confidence and made me able to read the fish better.
Laker fishing is about the only time I have felt that I needed a zoom. Deep water with most of the fishing coming off or near the bottom. It is hard to separate lines when you are fishing 80 - 100 feet without a zoom.
I purchased an LX-5 this year. Both marcums and birds have a movable zoom (zoom anywhere in the water column). I figured this would be really nice for suspended schools. To be honest though, suspended fish are usually high enough and active enough that I don't take the time to zoom them. I still only zoom for bottom fish in deep water. The vex can actually zoom to the bottom a lot faster and with a lot less effort than both the marcum and the bird.
If you bottom fish in more than 40 feet of water or have not so perfect eyesight, I would say the upgrade is worth it. Plus, you will get your money back out of it when you upgrade down the road!
