Aqua-Vu Unveils the Ultimate Underwater Camera

Back when high definition first amped up TV screens worldwide, the new digital technology blew people’s minds with its astonishingly realistic picture. HD is like “being there,” they said, right in the middle of the action. The dazzling color and clarity of the view-screen virtually transported you to the scene, almost as if the vivid video landscape beckoned you to interact with it.

In the realm of underwater viewing, such spectacular screen detail is already proving to be a massive advantage, as Aqua-Vu unleashes the amazing new HD700i. The steadfast leader in underwater video technology for two decades, Aqua-Vu released the industry’s first high definition underwater viewing system for fishing in winter 2015—the ice fishing-centric Multi-Vu HD. The company followed this with the HD700i, a complete HD underwater viewing system, including the first truly daylight viewable LCD and progressive XD Camera optics.

The transformation from analog to digital underwater video has already delivered dramatic rewards for anglers. Foremost among them is low light vision—the ability to display a colorful, crystal-clear screen image, even in dark water and well past sundown, when a lack of light has long rendered most underwater cameras ineffective.

Last winter, while testing the new XD Camera, Hall of Fame angler and world-renowned photographer Bill Lindner captured some staggering comparison footage, detailing the dramatic differences between existing underwater technologies. “The variation in screen quality blew us away,” said Lindner. “With the Aqua-Vu XD cam, we were seeing fish and vegetation in total color, even in 10- to 12-feet of water, an hour past sunset.

“Above the water and below, I have used probably every camera on the market,” Linder continued. “Honestly, this new XD Camera from Aqua-Vu yields the sharpest, brightest, cleanest underwater images I’ve ever seen—and that includes the popular POV cams everyone’s using. The low light capabilities of the HD700i are incredible; unheard of.”

Headlining its epic spec list, the HD700i system includes a 7-inch daylight viewable LCD, which displays HD underwater video at an extra-bright 1800 Nits — four times the screen brightness of previous technology. The monitor boasts an IP67 rating—the highest industry designation for waterproofing. The LCD also includes an auto-heat function for seamless use in cold weather. An HDMI video-out port provides an interface for digital recording devices or auxiliary HD TV monitors, such as for large ice fishing houses. (The digital video signal allows for superior resolution on big screen LCD TVs.)

Re-engineered and reduced in size, Aqua-Vu’s new XD Camera is sheathed in a super tough metal, muted in matte black for superior underwater stealth. Other advantages of scaling down the optics, say Aqua-Vu engineers, include major boosts in user-friendliness and portability. To keep the camera tracking straight forward and backward as well as multiple view angles, the XD Camera includes quick-change trolling fins for forward and reverse viewing and ice fishing position clips for up-, down- and side viewing. The HD Aqua-Vu also features a patent-pending Strike-Vu sight fishing system for viewing baits and lures in real time. Connecting camera to LCD is 100 feet of 200-pound-test optical cable.

Operating at an industry-best 720p HD resolution, the XD Camera provides a crystalline, color underwater picture. Possibly even more impressive than the HD700i’s daylight visibility and vivid video, however, is its ability to project a clear image in dark water. Beyond the XD Camera’s built-in, anti-spook IR Lighting, the optics is also imbued with an Ultra-Low Light image sensor, allowing for never-before-seen image clarity in dark or dirty water.

“My passion is filming underwater footage of fish in their natural habitat,” Lindner said. “But as a fisherman, I also recognize the amazing applications of this new HD Aqua-Vu system. It’s going to show anglers the underwater world like they’ve never seen it before. And the camera’s low light abilities mean they’ll be able to observe night time feeding behaviors of walleyes, crappies and other fish, perhaps for the first time ever.”

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Available at major outdoor retailers in late summer, the new Aqua-Vu HD700i Underwater Viewing System comes with everything you need to find and surveil the fish you seek—all in spectacular HD color and clarity. With a suggested retail price of $699.99, the HD700i includes LCD monitor, XD Camera, 12-volt battery and battery charger and a custom soft carrying bag. For more information, visit www.aquavu.com.