Lowrance or Garmin?

[lokidog]

I'm not sure what all the negativity is about the 83/200 is in saltwater?  Both of mine (Humm 788ci and Lowr. HDS5) have this and I have absolutely no problems in the saltwater, including bottom readings in 400+ feet of water at 25 mph. 

[wildmanoutdoors]

I'm not sure what all the negativity is about the 83/200 is in saltwater?  Both of mine (Humm 788ci and Lowr. HDS5) have this and I have absolutely no problems in the saltwater, including bottom readings in 400+ feet of water at 25 mph.

Im with you! My new Gen 3 touch HDS has the 83/200. Was out Sunday and it was spectacular! At 300 plus feet It was awesome still!

[Gobble Doc]

Hmmm.  50/200 vs 83/200.  I will have to ponder the pros/cons and figure out what probably makes sense for me.  I'm hoping that I'll be choosing between 2 good options.  Thanks for everyone's insight and suggestions. 

[Ripper]

I was on the phone with Lawrance the other day and they say the 50/200 is for salt water and works in fresh, the 83/200 will only work right in fresh water. That has been my experience also.

[Skillet]

I think it depends more on what you want to see at that depth.  With  my 83/200 I could get bottom readings at the depths loki is talking about, but I wanted to know more.  Bottom composition, be able to distinguish a fish hugging the bottom, etc.  Stuff I absolutely want to know when I'm vertical jigging for walleye in freshwater, I like knowing in salt even if it doesn't seem to matter as much when trolling salmon coho and pinks up in the water column.  But for halibut, deeper lings and bouncing dowrigger balls on the bottom for blackmouth, I definitely wanted more info.  So the 600W 50/200 transducer was a massive upgrade for my style of fishing.   
Of course, I was using a pre-HD LCX fishfinder and these guys are using HD finders, so the technology may make better use of the 83/200 return signal than my LCX did.

There is also the difference in cone angles for each frequency.  Per Lowrance's website:

"Cone Angle
A transducer's cone angle determines its coverage area of the underwater world. The wider the cone angle, the greater the area that's covered. We offer a variety of 200 kHz transducers with either a wide (20°) or narrow (12°) cone angle. The 50 kHz transducers come with a 35° cone angle. The dual-frequency transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 50 kHz cone angles. And the dual-search transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 83 kHz cone angles."

Clear as mud, right? 

I was on the phone with Lawrance the other day and they say the 50/200 is for salt water and works in fresh, the 83/200 will only work right in fresh water. That has been my experience also.

You actually got a human at Lowrance?  That's an improvement.  Fan of their products, but not at all of their customers service...

I think we have to remember that when people typically talk about fishing salt water, they're typically talking offshore halibut depth capability.  Salt water is slightly denser due to the dissolved mineral content, but it isn't concrete - 83 hz still  gets the job done to a certain degree and will give 66% more feedback signals than the 50hz, but they will be comparatively weaker signals for the same wattage output.  Also, both 'ducers offer up a 200hz signal, so your finer definition in shallower water is covered there.

[huntnphool]

I've owned both and much prefer the Garmin.

[Rick]

I've owned both and much prefer the Garmin.

Me too.

[lokidog]

OK, I just looked at mine more closely.  I have the HDS 5 with the nautique insight which uses either 53 or 200 Hz (you have to choose one or the other) and I have the Humminbird with the 80/200.  The Humminbird can use either, each, or both, which is a nice feature.  I don't know if any of the Lowrances will do this, but it is nice.

I think I have had both set on 200 Hz for the smallest cone angle since I mostly used it for bottomfishing/lingcod.  I will have to play with them a bit, especially since I can compare both the 53 and the 80 side by side.

[Kola16]

I was on the phone with Lowrance the other day and they say the 50/200 is for salt water and works in fresh, the 83/200 will only work right in fresh water. That has been my experience also.

There is pretty much no downside when going with the 50, unless if 95% of your fishing is in freshwater. Get the 50! It also comes with a nylon mounting bracket that won't rust like the one the 83 comes with. The metal bracket that comes with the 83 will eventually rust which will interfere with the sonar. The only thing an 83 is good for is.....well nothing Maybe lake trout in Chelan or finding schools of kokanee

[Spawnstar]

Neither, hummingbird!!! I've owned them all and hummingbird is the best in my opinion

[lokidog]

Alright y'all.  I had to run to town today so I figured I would do a side by side test of my Humminbird and my Lowrance. 

So the 85hz did, indeed, suck.  The 200 gave the best high speed bottom signal with the 53 showing bottom but with lots of noise.  I was able to do the 53 and 200 side by side on the Lowrance and I was not able to detect anything more with the 53 than the 200, however I was not working any structure or marking fish.  My Lowrance has to be set to only show one frequency per screen (but can be set to any of the three).  My Humminbird can do both frequencies on the same screen and with FishID on gives them a different color depending which cone they are in, I like that feature.

Some more food for thought.

[Gobble Doc]

Loki,

Thanks for the additional information.  I'm going to try to get into a store this weekend to look at some of them in person.  So far I can't find a Hummingbird or Garmin that has the transom mount 50/200 and a GPS anywhere in the right price range for me.  There is a HDS-5 online for $499 that has the 50/200 transom mount. 

[lokidog]

Good luck.  You will be happier with the best unit you can get.  Maybe make due with your Humminbird until you can stash a bit more away?

[PolarBear]

I have owned just about all of them (Lowrance, Eagle, Humminbird, Garmin, Furuno, SiTex, Raymarine, etc) and have had the best luck with Lowrance followed by Garmin.  You can't go wrong with either brand.  I had the most problems with my Humminbirds and SiTex.   I used them for everything from commercial saltwater shellfish/fishing to tournament bass fishing and everything in between. 

[gasman]

Loki,

Thanks for the additional information.  I'm going to try to get into a store this weekend to look at some of them in person.  So far I can't find a Hummingbird or Garmin that has the transom mount 50/200 and a GPS anywhere in the right price range for me.  There is a HDS-5 online for $499 that has the 50/200 transom mount.

If your not in to much of a hurry, Sportco has there tent sale next month, you might find thea good deal then 




I picked up my HDS5 for $399 at Sportco last year