I just replaced my brand new Humminbird unit. I had it less than a month and it developed moisture inside and eventually locked up and quit working. I replaced it with a Lowrance Elite 5 DSI/chartplotter. I also thew another $100 at it and bought a Fishing Hot Spots card.
I took it out for the first time yesterday on Jordan Lake, NC. The quick summary is.....TOTALLY IMPRESSED. If I get five years of service out of it I will feel I got my monies worth out of it.
Yes, the instruction manual sucks but the menu driven operating system is quite intuitive. If you have operated a fishfinder before you will have no problem learning to operate this unit.
The image detail this unit shows is just amazing. I was able to locate AND IDENTIFY structure AND FISH with amazing clarity and ease. No, fish do not show up as a large inverted "v" but it is a very obvious image. In 45' deep water I was able to locate fish just hovering above the bottom. That is something I could never do with any previous sonar units I've owned.
Next time I go out I'll try to remember to bring a camera to take some screen shots.