Opinions on Sizes of Fishfinder Screens

[Miss Loretta Fishing]

Hey fellas,

Spring is right around the corner and so are the blue fins

I have a quick question for anyone who would like to provide some insight.

I'm looking into purchasing a new sonar unit-either a lowrance HDS structure scan combo or a humminbird side imaging combo.

I'm not concerned with the pros and cons of lowrance and humminbird, but am more concerned with debating the unit's screen size.

In your opinion is it worth the extra dough for a larger, say 8'' screen versus a less expensive 5'' screen?

Will a smaller unit still produce the same readings as a larger unit? If so, with my eyesight being good, it would make sense for me to simply purchase the less expensive smaller unit.

Basically I'm wondering if I will be missing part of the picture if I purchase a 5'' unit instead of an 8'' unit.

I certainly appreciate any words of wisdom!

Ryan

[tom s]

from having 10in screens for the last 15 years and now with 8in I can tell you im replacing it with a pair of 12s.Way easyer to see from a distance.Tom

[cap'n nasty]

Think of it like televisions.
Sure, the 13" with rabbit ears works fine, but the 52" plasma is killer.
Get the biggest screen you afford. You will never say, " I wish my fathometer was smaller."

[fmoore]

I don't know about the Humminbirds as I stick to Furuno for saltwater applications and Lowrance for bass fishing, but in the HDS's, at least, there are more differences than just screen size. 5" is very very small and I really would not recommend getting one unless that's all you can afford. 7" is the same as 5, except the screen is slightly bigger (note the 7" screen is actually 6.4")

With both the 5" and 7" you can split the screen two ways (ex Down Scan and Side Scan, or 2d sonar and chart plotting or 2d sonar and Side Scan, etc etc)

The big step up is the 8" unit. This has the soft keys underneath the screen that allow you to change sensitivity, range and things of that nature very quickly. The 5 and 7 do not. You'll have to go into the menus to play with those settings. Another big draw of the 8" and 10" models is the ability to split the screen 4 ways. Even if you have a different chartplotter, on the 5 and 7 you will not be able to see downscan, side scan and 2d sonar all at once.

So basically, the HDS 8 and 10 have all the same features except one obviously has a larger screen. Similarly, the HDS 5 and 7 also are in essence the same unit, but again, one has a larger screen.

For me, there's no way I'd get a 5 or 7 for the helm. It was imperative for me to be able to see 2d, down scan and side scan all at once, and sometimes chartplotting too. Also, I know I'd get extremely frustrated going through the menus trying to change the sensitivity or range.

Those are the big differences but there are a few other very minor ones as well. Go and play with the units at a West Marine or Bass Pro or something if you can before you buy.

Lots of great info here, although it is a freshwater forum (they have a forum just for Humminbird electronics as well): http://www.bbcboards.net/zeroforum?id=13

[blackhullcharters]

Forget Lowrance or Hummingbird for side imaging and take a long look at Simrad side imagine

[wrap-check]

It's not much a matter of being able to see the screen, its how long the marks stay in view as the screen scrolls.

Our old machine and new one coming have a 10.5 inch screen - at slow trolling speed, the screen showed everything that was marked up to 1.5 minutes behind the boat (with a fast scroll speed). When tubing, the fish are often still on the screen when they hit.
The smaller the screen, the quicker those marks are going to dissappear. While that doesn't matter if you just stare at your screen all day, it really matter's when you're driving the boat, looking for fish, dealing with tackle, etc, etc.

IMHO - the structure scan is a waste of money for where you fish. I'm sure it would be fun to see exactly what the bottom at scorton looks like, but at this point I'm sure you already know what parts of the ledge hold fish on each tide, so what's the point?

Spend that side scan money on a bigger, more powerful unit, especially if your getting into tuna fishing.

[Miss Loretta Fishing]

Hey guys thanks a lot for the responses, I certainly have some homework to do.

Black hull, the Simrad NSE 8 looks awesome. Definitely something worth saving up for.

Thanks Tom and Fmoore, seems like you have all your bases covered well.

Cap'n nasty, nice comparison, especially for some of us "slower" folks

Wrap Check I'll keep an eye out for you guys this spring. If I can ever be of help finding fish etc. just get me on the radio.

Funny you mention the Ledge. Last year was the first year since I was a kid that we did not catch a single legal bass on the Ledge. I know they showed up on the Ledge occasionally, but I was never on the water on those particular days. Go figure.

Best of luck this year,

Ryan