Help for a novice- Do I take the plunge?

[NBCrappie]

I know this has been discussed many times, but I still have no idea what to do. I am a weekend warrior that just likes to catch enough fish to have fun. I fish shallow lakes mostly ( less then 10 feet). I do like to explore new lakes quite often so I think the mapping features would be nice. My fish finder is over 10 years old and I would like to upgrade.

I want a gps system but do i spend the cash for the HD or SI?

How well do these systems work in shallow and murky water?

Which way do i go for simplicity?

I need some direction, just too many options to choose from.

[JigFisher]

Well, my wife bought me a Humminbird 383C (color) about 4 christmas's ago and I love it, I have no idea if it's HD or SI??? Cost is minimal though.
I bought a new Triton a year ago and 1st thing I did was pull the Lowrance out of the dash and mounted the HB 383C in it's place. Looks and works great. The 383 is not a large screen as many are today but I'm happy with it. No matter if in Sun or Shade is highly visible, detail is better than any I've owned before and the GPS is something else too.
I have a HB 565 on the bow for fishing.

[fishin couillon]

I read these post all the time. The first thing i always say is what is your budget? There are many units out there and you start looking and not think of price until it's time to buy it and then you see that its more than you can afford. Once you figure out how much you want to spend then look at those units in that price range and start comparing brand against brand. Also if you can get a hands on experience with guys that have both units or you can go to a BPS/Cabela's or some store that has them on display where you can actually look at them and check out the menus and how to operate them. I have lowrance HDS units and love them. The next guy will tell you HB units. We can tell you all the things about them but in the end, its your money that your spending and chose the one that will work best for you.

[fieldsj66]

easiest to read maps, newest technology including new side scan, easiest to read sonar, similar price= lowrance hds5

[GoneCrappieFishing]

I wouldnt buy a super duper high wattage output unit fishing 10 foot or less most the time.I think the fish can sense electronics in shallow water.When its shallow water time of the year, I usually turn my unit off if I am stationary for any length of time.I know others feel that way as well.Back to your issue.Eagle is a low cost option and has some nice units around 350 bucks or so.The hds units require the lss-1 for side scan and thats a 600 dollar adder to the hds unit which is already 600 or more in cost.Would be a very nice unit though.You can buy the lowrance hds units and not buy the lss-1 for si, and buy it later if you like.Now Im startin to get confused.lol Basically the amount of money you are willing to spend is the deciding factor to what unit you get.Lowrance, Humminbird, Eagle, and some others all have some good units out there.Chose what fits your needs and budget.

[Flatwater]

You just want to catch a mess of fish. Drop in a few brush piles and fish them.
A SI unit helps you find structure, creek channels, drops faster. A $69 depth finder does the same thing only it will take you longer to cover much area.
find structure then fish it. You still need to determine what it will take to get them to bite.
If you fish the same honey holes over and over, what is a zillion dollar unit going to change? If you go to new lakes they can prove there worth, by finding structure faster, finding humps faster, finding drops faster. YOU still got to fish it. Good luck.