# Screenshots from the new Elite-5 HDI



## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

I just upgraded to the new Elite-5 HDI. I was deciding between it and the Raymarine Dragonfly. The deciding factor for me was that with the Elite-5 HDI I can view the DSI, Broadband sonar AND Chartplotter all at once. I could also adjust the size of each screen. The Raymarine did not allow for all three functions at once. Also I found the Raymarine to be for those wanting an excellent yet simple (ie not much user configuration allowed) machine. Plus, I was already familiar with Lowrance's interface as I was upgrading from the Elite-4.

I installed the unit on my Hobie Pro Angler 14 yesterday and took it down to East River today for a spin. I didnt fiddle with the sonar and DSI configurations so this is what to expect out of the box.

First up, the bridge pilings. Then a brush pile and then a log(?). I cant wait to get this thing offshore! Ive always wanted to fiddle with DSI but never wanted to sacrifice my broadband sonar as finding bait and fish (DSI doesnt do this as well) is key for me. Overall Im VERY happy with this purchase and at $500 I believe its a STEAL.


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## sel1005 (Jan 10, 2008)

pretty unbelievable technology there. Congratulations on a great set-up


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Will it show colors for the different types of bottoms, like grass, live, sand?


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## SaltWaterBuck (Sep 2, 2013)

pretty badass there :thumbup:


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## cape horn 24 (Sep 29, 2007)

almost pulled the trigger on a HDS 8 but you have to get the structure scan to get down imaging so looking hard at an elite 7hdi, then sales staff pointed me in direction of hummingbird now I'm very confused


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

Are their fish showing in any of.the pictures?


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

kanaka said:


> Will it show colors for the different types of bottoms, like grass, live, sand?


It does some what, more like different shades of the same color. You are suppose to be able to tell but I need more time on it.

Here are shots from today in the sound around Navarre.

First up are the snorkel reefs. You can clearly see the "discs" on the post that these reefs are made of. Second is another one of the reefs but in shallower water with a small rope coming off the top and surrounded by bait.

The next two is one of the big pilings at the channel under the bridge, one in 455khz and the other in 800khz. This pilling has a wider base that extends out a couple of feed near the bottom, you can clearly see this. The 800khz has a narrower cone hence the lack of strong detail on the vertical aspect of the piling as it was a little further away then the fat part which extended out and away from the piling closer to me.

Next is a shot of other bridge pilings. These consists of one large base above the surface of the water with five legs extending down like the five side of a dice. You can see the two pilings closest to me and the middle piling. I like this shot, as it clearly shows the sheepshead swimming around the piling. The DSI really shines when you are trying to distinguish fish from structure as the target separation is much more pronounced.

I tried to fiddle with the settings some but couldnt get anything better then the factory settings. I found the purple color palette of the DSI was easier for me to see clearly.


**Ok the pics didnt upload in order. The first in the one with the rope and the last is the one of the snorkel reefs. The second and third are the big bridge piling and the next to last are the smaller pilings with the sheepshead.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

cape horn 24 said:


> almost pulled the trigger on a HDS 8 but you have to get the structure scan to get down imaging so looking hard at an elite 7hdi, then sales staff pointed me in direction of hummingbird now I'm very confused


I dont have any first hand experience with the Hummingbird. Were you in Prattvegas when told to look at the Hummingbird? From the research I did seems like Hummingbird as a stronger foothold in the freshwater market.

As for the HDS vs HDI, I believe the big difference is the HDS series offer much more networking capability, irrelevant for my needs on a yak. Though the HDI is NMEA 0183 capable. Imaging wise they should be exactly the same though the HDS offers side imaging I believe.

Other features I have yet to explore of the HDI is its sonar logging feature ( I can record my days sonar track and view it on my computer later). I believe this will allow to come back and check to see if I ran over something and get the GPS coordinate later on my PC. It does have the "trackback feature" which records your recent sonar images. If say you are running and ran over something but the image has scrolled off the page, you can trackback to it and put a way point right on the spot.

It also has DSI Overlay which I have not messed with yet. This overlays the DSI image onto the sonar image giving you the best of both worlds at once!


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## scott44 (Aug 17, 2013)

I have a 596 humminbird and it sure didnt look that good straight out the box,It does have split screen though,you can have sonar and di at the same time.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

scott44 said:


> I have a 596 humminbird and it sure didnt look that good straight out the box,It does have split screen though,you can have sonar and di at the same time.


This unit has that (all of these pics are broadband sonar on top and DSI on bottom) but you can also view DSI, sonar and the chartplotter at the same time a feature I do not believe is found on any other unit in its class.


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## Caddy Yakker (May 21, 2011)

Well damn Jason you got me wanting to upgrade! I can't wait to see some of your snapper spots and how the fish mark on that unit.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

I can't wait to see how it looks offshore


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

I cant wait to get it offshore either! If it ever calms down out there, its been since October 26th since Ive been offshore!!!!!!


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## sel1005 (Jan 10, 2008)

would you mind posting the models / configs that produced these? I need to look at some new electronics but I am not familiar with what you are using at all. My experience is the traditional Raymarine / Furuno type models and they sure as heck don's show images like these!


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

sel1005 said:


> would you mind posting the models / configs that produced these? I need to look at some new electronics but I am not familiar with what you are using at all. My experience is the traditional Raymarine / Furuno type models and they sure as heck don's show images like these!


The model of the unit is the Lowrance Elite-5 HDI. As for the configurations, this was all factory settings other then changing the color palettes to suit my taste, everything else was all factory settings straight from the box.


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## Ptpainton (Feb 16, 2013)

*Hodges Marine*



JD7.62 said:


> I just upgraded to the new Elite-5 HDI. I was deciding between it and the Raymarine Dragonfly. The deciding factor for me was that with the Elite-5 HDI I can view the DSI, Broadband sonar AND Chartplotter all at once. I could also adjust the size of each screen. The Raymarine did not allow for all three functions at once. Also I found the Raymarine to be for those wanting an excellent yet simple (ie not much user configuration allowed) machine. Plus, I was already familiar with Lowrance's interface as I was upgrading from the Elite-4.
> 
> I installed the unit on my Hobie Pro Angler 14 yesterday and took it down to East River today for a spin. I didnt fiddle with the sonar and DSI configurations so this is what to expect out of the box.
> 
> First up, the bridge pilings. Then a brush pile and then a log(?). I cant wait to get this thing offshore! Ive always wanted to fiddle with DSI but never wanted to sacrifice my broadband sonar as finding bait and fish (DSI doesnt do this as well) is key for me. Overall Im VERY happy with this purchase and at $500 I believe its a STEAL.


I bought one of these online from Hodges Marine for 416.00 with shipping. About a week later a friend tried to get one but they had gone up about 50 dollars. Still a very good deal and like you I was debating between this and the Dragonfly but stuck with Lowrance for the better warranty mainly. Thanks for putting up the review.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Ptpainton said:


> I bought one of these online from Hodges Marine for 416.00 with shipping. About a week later a friend tried to get one but they had gone up about 50 dollars. Still a very good deal and like you I was debating between this and the Dragonfly but stuck with Lowrance for the better warranty mainly. Thanks for putting up the review.


I saw that, what a deal! I got mine for $515.99 after tax and shipping from West Marine during their Thanksgiving sale, but it came with a Navionics Gold Chip which is worth nearly $200 alone.

Have you used yours yet?


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

DANG....that is AWESOME!!!


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Waiting to see the new Garmins.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Nice! I have a H-bird 747c and added the QuadraBeam transducer to give me the 455kHz beams. Its one of the grandfathers of the sideimaging units I guess.
It just happened to show vegetation as green so that was convenient finding deep grassbeds and live bottom.


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

I'm looking at this Elite 7X at the GPS store with transducer, cart price is $514.99. As far as I can tell this is the same machine as the 5 but a bigger screen, right?

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Lowrance-Elite-7X-Fishfinder-with-83200-455800-Transducer-P3533.aspx


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

tiderider said:


> I'm looking at this Elite 7X at the GPS store with transducer, cart price is $514.99. As far as I can tell this is the same machine as the 5 but a bigger screen, right?
> 
> http://www.thegpsstore.com/Lowrance-Elite-7X-Fishfinder-with-83200-455800-Transducer-P3533.aspx


Sort of, it does not have the GPS/Chartplotter. Being on a kayak I needed both on the same unit because Im not one of those guys that likes to turn his yak into a swiss army knife! If you already have a unit on your boat that works well as a stand alone chartplotter that would be a great buy.


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

JD7.62 said:


> Sort of, it does not have the GPS/Chartplotter. Being on a kayak I needed both on the same unit because Im not one of those guys that likes to turn his yak into a swiss army knife! If you already have a unit on your boat that works well as a stand alone chartplotter that would be a great buy.


Thanks for that info, I do have a Garmin GPS, but wouldn't mind replacing it with a new unit to do it all. Do you know if a Lowrance makes a 7 inch screen model with all the features of the 5 like you have?

Never mind I found it, combo cart price $699
http://www.thegpsstore.com/Lowrance-Elite-7-HDI-Gold-with-83200-455800-HDI-Transducer-P3510.aspx


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

tiderider said:


> Thanks for that info, I do have a Garmin GPS, but wouldn't mind replacing it with a new unit to do it all. Do you know if a Lowrance makes a 7 inch screen model with all the features of the 5 like you have?


Yes, the Elite-7 HDI.

In the elite series of units an "x" denotes the fact its just a sounder and the prefix "mark" denotes that its in black and white.

HDI = hybrid dual imaging (sonar and DSI)

DSI = well you can figure that out.

So for example:

Elite-5x would be just a traditional color sonar
Elite-5 would be color sonar/chartplotter
Elite-5 HDI would be color/chartplotter/sonar/DSI
Elite-5x HDI would be color/sonar/DSI


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks for the information. Now which transducer to get. All my fishing will be coastal (relatively shallow)


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

83/200, 455/800. 

You can get five transducer options with the Elite-7HDI

83/200, 455/800 and 50/200, 455/800

The above will allow for sonar and DSI

You can get the 455/800 which is DSI only.

Or the 83/200 or 50/200 which are both sonar only.

So, you want to make sure you get the one with both sonar and DSI. The 50/200, 455/800 is $100 more and is more useful if fishing deep water but not needed around here really, at least I couldnt justify it for the extra $100 even if it did have a slightly wider beam.


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks for taking the time to help me out on this. So this combo should be the ticket and take care of my requirements?

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Lowrance-Elite-7-HDI-Gold-with-83200-455800-HDI-Transducer-P3510.aspx


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Thats the one, you can save some money if you opt to get the one with out the Navionics Gold chip, though for just an extra $70 its probably worth it.

I would have put that on my kayak but it really sucks up the juice and I did not want to have to lug around a bigger battery.


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

Thanks for the help, it's going on my SeaPro (3 batteries) so I'm good.


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## foxtrotuniform (Nov 11, 2013)

From the looks of it, you've got the downscan overlay turned on. I was never a fan of that feature as it totally obscures the bottom hardness and colorline from the traditional sonar. I'm running an HDS, and I feel like I have the best luck running the downscan and traditional sonar side by side, with the downscan zoomed in a notch or two to pick up bottom detail. 

Here are a few images from my sonar logs for show and tell: http://imgur.com/a/96SLM


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## cheesegrits (Sep 18, 2013)

That is some awesome info! Dang I have got to get one these now!

Would the humminbird 798 units have the same functionality?


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## WhackUmStackUm (Jan 31, 2010)

I have a HDS 8 with down-scan and side-scan on my boat. The side-scan is ok down to about 80', but pretty useless beyond that. I've not used the down-scan much, as I am usually dragging a side-scan fish around.

Looks like the Lowrance down-scan is a good tool on a yak. Guess I'll add one to my Outback.

Thanks for the info.

Whackum

P.S. Looks like the Elite-5 & 7 both use 1.1 amps @ 12v. So you should be able to use the same battery.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

foxtrotuniform said:


> From the looks of it, you've got the downscan overlay turned on. I was never a fan of that feature as it totally obscures the bottom hardness and colorline from the traditional sonar. I'm running an HDS, and I feel like I have the best luck running the downscan and traditional sonar side by side, with the downscan zoomed in a notch or two to pick up bottom detail.
> 
> Here are a few images from my sonar logs for show and tell: http://imgur.com/a/96SLM


I did not have the overlay on. Each image is split screen 83/455 or 83/800. I just changed the color palette several times on the 83khz screen. 



cheesegrits said:


> That is some awesome info! Dang I have got to get one these now!
> 
> Would the humminbird 798 units have the same functionality?


I have no idea, never messed with them.



WhackUmStackUm said:


> I have a HDS 8 with down-scan and side-scan on my boat. The side-scan is ok down to about 80', but pretty useless beyond that. I've not used the down-scan much, as I am usually dragging a side-scan fish around.
> 
> Looks like the Lowrance down-scan is a good tool on a yak. Guess I'll add one to my Outback.
> 
> ...


I fish in 80' or less, maybe I should upgrade to a side scan unit in a year or two. Prices are coming down every year so I bet in a couple of years a nice side scan unit can be had for around $500.

Well dang on the power consumption, I didnt check the elite-5 HDI before purchase. Oh well, the Elite-7 HDI would be pretty large for a kayak anyhow though several guys run them!


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## foxtrotuniform (Nov 11, 2013)

JD7.62 said:


> I did not have the overlay on. Each image is split screen 83/455 or 83/800. I just changed the color palette several times on the 83khz screen.


Not trying to be argumentative, but are you sure? In the 83kHz graph in this photo, you can clearly see where a brown overlay is initially covering the green bottom structure. Then at mid-screen it jumps down and begins covering just the subsurface echos. 










That brown isn't part of the color palette. It's the downscan overlay. It's enabled by default on these machines, its opacity is set to 100%, and it's obscuring your 83kHz returns. The menu to disable it is a little tricky to find. 

I just wanted to give you a heads up because it can pretty much blank out your whole 83kHz display if the downscan sensitivity gets turned up. Example: 









Hope you enjoy the box man! Lowrance makes some fantastic equipment. I'd be lost without ours.


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## foxtrotuniform (Nov 11, 2013)

cheesegrits said:


> Would the humminbird 798 units have the same functionality?


The hummingbird boxes have almost identical functionality and usually cost less than the comparable Lowrance units. 

We run Lowrance, but have friends with Hummingbird bottom machines. My experience from working with both is that Hummingbirds are a little more user friendly, and they make nice images without much fuss. 

The Lowrance units are a little more finicky to set up, but they have more advanced options you can use to fine tune them. Once tuned up, I think Lowrance units give me more usable detail, but that's more personal preference than anything.

Hummingbird also has an awesome unofficial support group at www.sideimagingsoft.com. 

Those guys do some amazing stuff. The 360 mods and custom towfish are insane. 

With either one, you'll be amazed.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

foxtrotuniform said:


> Not trying to be argumentative, but are you sure? In the 83kHz graph in this photo, you can clearly see where a brown overlay is initially covering the green bottom structure. Then at mid-screen it jumps down and begins covering just the subsurface echos.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Im sorry but youre incorrect. That color palette is called "bottom finder/blue background" and the exact same color palette I used on my elite-4 which gave me the exact same images.

Plus, once I read your first response saying overlay was on I went out and fire up the unit to make sure and it was not, nor can you you run overlay with split screen (at least I couldnt figure out how).


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## foxtrotuniform (Nov 11, 2013)

JD7.62 said:


> Im sorry but youre incorrect. That color palette is called "bottom finder/blue background" and the exact same color palette I used on my elite-4 which gave me the exact same images.
> 
> Plus, once I read your first response saying overlay was on I went out and fire up the unit to make sure and it was not, nor can you you run overlay with split screen (at least I couldnt figure out how).


Well now I'm going to have to brave the biting gnats and fire up our GPS to make sure I'm not going crazy... Ha!


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

By the way I ordered a Lowrance Elite 7 HDI Gold with 83/200 & 455/800 HDI Transducer from the GPS store on Sunday, $9 for two day shipping and it arrived on Tuesday. I'm hoping to get it installed this weekend.....can't wait to see it in action.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

tiderider said:


> By the way I ordered a Lowrance Elite 7 HDI Gold with 83/200 & 455/800 HDI Transducer from the GPS store on Sunday, $9 for two day shipping and it arrived on Tuesday. I'm hoping to get it installed this weekend.....can't wait to see it in action.


Awesome, Im sure youll like it!


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