I just purchased a Lowrance Elite-4x DSI. It's a down imaging only sonar. After a lot of research and comparison, I thought it was the best purchase for most of the applications that I'll be using it for. Here's some of the features listed on the box.
-DownScan Imaging
-Dual Frequency (455/800kHz)
-TrackBack Sonar History
-Zoom View
-Max Depth of 200ft
-Max Speed of 50MPH
-Muliple Color palettes
For just over $200 ($232.77 with tax) it seemed like a solid purchase. Most of the reviews that I checked out were positive as well. Very rarely do I fish in water over 200', so I figured the high frequency (which provides better resolution than lower frequency sonar, but the compromise is depth capability) would be ideal for me. It's small and lightweight, and the power draw is 200mA @ 13.5V, which again is ideal for me, because I'm only using a small lawn tractor battery to power it (I've only got a 12' Jon Boat with a 5hp motor, so the less bulk and weight, the better).
I called in sick to work this morning (in my defense, I do have a bit of a sinus headache), so I'm gonna head out on the water and try it out. I'll take some pictures and maybe a video of this product in action so that anybody reading this will get to see what it's all about. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and I'll be following up with some more soon.
Happy Fishing!