Hummingbird vs Lowrance?

I'm in the market for graph on Console and understand this is somewhat religious topic. I've done moderate research on both the HDS Gen 3 and HDS Carbon's. Also the Hummingbird Mega's... I see charting, down scan as top 2 priorities. I'm not sure how much I would use side imaging at this point and 3d is evolving i.e. expect it to only get better over time.

Lowrance is my religion, however, for my priorities Mega maybe better fit based on my research

That said, love to hear recommendations..

I love my lowrance Gen 3’s and chose them over the HB’s. HOWEVER, if HB was as user friendly as Lowrance is it would have been no contest and I would have gone with HB. The price point is better and the picture clarity is superior but I was blown away by the interface that Lowrance comes with and, knowing myself, HB would have driven me crazy. Me 2 cents for ya.

Isn't it amazing how we're all wired different. I find HB to be much more user friendly than Lowrance. I love their 2D over HB but everything else I find easier to work. May have something to do with what you started out on. I don't know but I always find it so interesting that we are all different. That said, if imaging is of any importance to you, MEGA cannot be touched by Lowrance right now. The two aren't even similar.

If my memory serves me correctly HB, as of about a year ago, had just come out with touch screen graphs while Lowrance had the tech out for a bit already. Several of the screen options were easier to get to and navigate with Lowrance in my opinion so I went with them.

If I were looking my breakdown would be:

Humminbird- Mega (nothing on the market like it), 360 is a good tool, and if you go Onix/Solix, then info sharing between units is awesome
Lowrance- better 2d (IMHO vs a non HB mega unit) easier to get around on the screens.
Garmin- (i know you didnt ask, just throwing it out there) really good down imaging (again compared to a non mega), mapping is awesome.
has pre-loaded maps, and has preloaded QuickDraw that can map any lake, plus there is a community to share them with.
And Pantopix, its like having a underwater camera in real time.

Again, these are my personel opinions, and I am sure you will get answers from every corner.

If you are looking to buy new, you may want to hang on till the HB Solix 10 comes out.

Since I have Lowrance they're the best, how unbiased is that. Never owned HB so nothing to say but I doubt you can beat Lowrance customer service. I'm running a touch screen and find it easier and faster to navigate than button punching and that's all I have to say about that.

Trust me, you will find the SI a great tool to search with., especially at the console. Being able to look at everything around 100’ left and right you will find things that you didn’t know existed. For me down imaging is my least used setting on my fish finder. Never used Lowrance so cant compare but you won’t be disappointed with a hummingbird mega for pic quality

Wonder how long it will be before some genius makes the SI picture looks like the sonar picture instead of gray scale like now or even better it shows a live or simulated picture. For instance A tree will look like a tree, a fish will look like a fish and so and so on.

I am from Tulsa and very loyal to my hometown, so in several boats I have owned I have started with Lowrance and just knew I'd love the units. However, I tend to always touch the screen while searching and so I was always changing the view. I purchased two Mega 10s, a Mega 9, and a 7, for two boats, got Slade to dial them in, and it was amazing how great they became!! I just bought a new Skeeter and I will be mounting both 10s, one on the bow and the other on a ram mount. Also bought the Mega 12 for the console. I honestly want to love the Lowrance units. I admit I am technologically backward, to put it nicely, but the Humminbirds, along with Slade, helped me a ton. I won't own anything else. I agree absolutely that the Humminbird is much more user friendly than the Lowrance as was mentioned by Frank. For this tech misfit, the SI images on the Birds are without compare!!

Birds give you good features without needing lss boxes and all that extra stuff but lowrance in my opinion gives you your money worth with detail, but i havent seen the mega but i hear its nice

here is a 600 foot side scan and a down shot on my hds12
maybe someone can post a 600 ft scan of the mega i would like to see how they compare

this is Side image from my garmin 1040xs

I always had Lowrance and recently purchased a boat with HB and I honestly think HB are better and the units I have are not even the HB Mega units. I do miss the touch screen on Lowrance and easy of that function.

Wow, impressive picture on the side scan. Hard to beat that.

With any of the newer lowrance units (any Touch model) you don’t need a lss module anymore, unless you want the 3D. It changes every 2 years and less things are needed, but the price goes up every time too.

you do still have to have the 3d module box with the carbon
https://www.lowrance.com/lowrance/activi...dhigh3d-bundle/

I’m also n the market for new electronics so I’m watching this thread intently. But I have what may be a dumb question...once you get the unit set up, other than changing views, how much are you adjusting it? I change views a lot but rarely zoom n or much else. Maybe that’s why I’m looking for new units as mine are pretty basic. Maybe I’m putting too much thought into it or I’m just technically dumb enough to not know what I don’t know.

I have the Navionics map card on mine but all I change is the lake I'm fishing, sonar, down scan, side scan and zoom. Some of the settings are on automatic.

its a vicious cycle. They both have their advantages

Hmmmm, I thought the whole point of the carbon was to get away from the 3d module. You might be right, they are too much for myself to purchase.

I just purchased the HB Helix 9 SI (not MEGA) for Christmas. My buddy has one on his boat and I really liked it. In hindsight, I should have got the MEGA.

Both are good but have you seen the Simrad units ? Pretty Sweet.Which Lowrance owns now for a few years.

I like me HB and I can see fins on a fish at times.

I still run a 898,998,999. Clear pictures and great detail.

If it is not broke dont fix it.

Usually, you make a little fine tuning when you get on the lake to adjust for a better pic with the water quality. After that it is pretty much just changing views which hb has three quick select buttons that you can use or click the buttons to scroll thru them. You can also turn off views that you never use. I’ve never used a touch screen and my reasons are that I don’t want finger smudges on the screen and I feel like trying to use while running in rougher water that using a button is more accurate.

My main reason for hb is that they have good quality pics at a reasonable price and you don’t have to then pay more for more equipment to go with it. If lowrance sold you a complete unit in the box then o might have gone that way in the beginning instead. Now with mega units there just isn’t an equal imo until Lowrance catches up.

Both brands are quality units and you can’t go wrong with either one if it meets your expectations.

Anyone have any MEGA images?

Bassboatcentral has a thread for mega images. It's clear out of the box.

There are some pretty good comparison shots there, only bad thing I see about the mega is the si distance gets cut down pretty quick. But it def cleans up the detail a lot.

Same thing comparing 455 kHz and 800 kHz or 83 kHz and 200 kHz. The higher the frequency, the less range and coverage.

Another thing I like about HB is they don't "sunset" models and FORCE you to buy the latest model if you need repair or a new one. That drives me crazy about Lowrance. Smart business for them, terrible for the consumer.

Really really really look into Simrad... it is lowrance with more options and adjustability.

If i was buying new it would be between simrad and HB mega

One reason I ruled Garmin out was lack of integration with Navionics. Is there upgraded mapping that has detail of Navionics? Would think integration coming soon now that they have bought them ...

Wayne, i haven’t been reading the bird page lately. Does your 360 run on the same freq as the mega or is it still 800/455?