Down Imaging. Worth the extra cash?

[MetroMan]

I'm planning on upgrading from my Humminbird PiranhaMAX 190c in the near future. I had my mind set on a particular unit that offers down imaging. With more time to explore more options, I find myself asking more and more if the DI is worth the extra money. It would be cool to have it to see structure and all...

I guess I'm looking for feedback from those who have fish finders with this capability. Do you find yourself using it often? How useful has it been for you?

[Yak Fish]

Hey metro, we should have talked about this yesterday and I could have given you a good run down. I got the humminbird 788 HD DI last year and really like it, but your question is whether or not it's worth the extra cash. That's a hard question. I put it in the "nice to have" category. Most of the time I am in split screen mode with the standard sonar and the map. The 788 has shortcut buttons so one of those I have set to go to the down imaging view. When I go over something interesting I can see it in the standard sonar but not really sure what it is...so I switch to the down imaging view and can get a pretty good idea of what I'm looking at. Between the standard and down imaging, you can get a good idea of what's below. Personally, I kinda wished I would have got the side imaging as well. While I was already spending a lot of money, I should have just spent a little more....I'm just not sure I could see great detail on the small screen out to the sides.

If you are going to the meet and greet in feb come find me and I'll show it to you in action. That's not the best place to use it because there's not a lot down there, but it did help me find some nice boulders where I found a lot of perch. I could also see the traps down below as well in good detail.

[MetroMan]

Sold at "nice to have". It's in my original budget, so I have no reason not to. I'm planning on getting the 386ci DI.

[AbuMasgouf]

I recently got a Humminbird 587ci DI HD and used it for the first time today. Honestly, I really liked having a sonar and DI split screen. I can see both views at the same time and get a better picture at what's below. I look at it this way (assuming you have the funds and aren't neglecting something related to your livelihood): how often do you buy a FF? On average it seems most people have them between 3-6 years... divide the extra cost of the DI over the amount of time you'll be fishing those 3-6 years and see if having an additional view at a touch of a button is worth the extra cost.
To me, I felt it was worth it...

[MetroMan]

Thanks for the input Mustafa. I'll be picking up the new FF this week!

[DOGFISH]

I must agree with the "nice to have" comment. I use a Humminbird 597 HD DI. When fishing the bay, I generally use the standard FF view with split screen and GPS map view. If I did more deep water lake fishing, I might use the DI more. The bay areas that I fish generally are flat and lack structure. The standard view tends to mark fish better, at least for me. I just may be more used to seeing the standard view.

[kitkatyaker]

Hey Metro. I too have the Humminbird hd di 597. I love using the split screen. Because you have a motor you can access more spots. The di will be helpful to locate and identify the spots it takes the rest of us too much time to get to so we probably don't fish there. My opinion ; it's worth it.

[Turtle135]

Here are some real images (the traditional sonar image and the DI image) of a submerged tree:





I have the Humminbird 346c DI. In both images I think it is clear that the object is a tree. For the fishing I do (primarily freshwater reservoirs) I'm of the camp that while the DI is interesting it may not necessarily add anything to solving the fishing puzzle.

[chex]

I almost never use the DI, but that may have to do more with where I fish. In the bay there is an not a whole lot of structure so it's not very useful. Fish are hard to spot on the DI, and that's usually what I'm looking for, rather than structure. There is also the possibility that I'm not using it right. If you had to choose between GPS and DI, I'd go with GPS all the way. My split screen is Map/Sonar.

[mango]

Turtle 135, that is an amazing difference. Dammmmm it it all, gonna have to save some money and pick one of these up now. Not sure why the fascination to see what I am sitting over clearly.

[Turtle135]

Turtle 135, that is an amazing difference. Dammmmm it it all, gonna have to save some money and pick one of these up now. Not sure why the fascination to see what I am sitting over clearly.

I understand the fascination. When I first got the 346c DI this past fall I would paddle around and stare at the display for more hours than I care to admit (and I have had a fish finder on my yak for over 15 year now).

[mango]

I am sold

I understand the fascination. When I first got the 346c DI this past fall I would paddle around and stare at the display for more hours than I care to admit (and I have had a fish finder on my yak for over 15 year now).

[Pinch]

I like the DI (I use a Elite 5DSI). I like how the DI cuts out the clutter of fish vs. Debis.

[Yak Fish]

If you guys check out the flexible mount that I made on earlier posts, I bend the transducer outward at times and it can basically become a side scan...to a single side anyway. The DI beam is much broader than the sonar so in deep water you can see a lot more.

[MetroMan]

Fish finder ordered today!