Vexilar FishPhone Wifi Camera review

So for Christmas I ordered a Vexilar FishPhone Camera system.  It's an underwater camera that is connected to wifi which means you can watch all of the action on your smartphone or table.  I got mine from Cabelas for $190.

I got a chance to test it out on Big Lake, AK January 4 & 5.  Both days were dark and dreary with about 2 feet of ice with snow covering the ice.  This would be very difficult conditions for any camera let alone a sub $200 camera.

The camera comes with 50ft of cord but I fished it in 10 feet of water as the camera was definitely having issues getting enough light.  One of the features of this camera is that it will shoot and record in Black & White until there is enough light and then it automatically switches over to color.

During the two days I fished, there was only a two hour window on the second day where the camera had enough light to shoot in color.

Day one was much darker than day two.  The first fish was shot in only 7 ft of water, but even peering down into the hole, I could barely make out the bottom.  The second series of shots were in 12 feet of water and it was a little later in the day so there was more light.

The second day was a little bit brighter and the result was much better. This was in 10ft of water,  About half way through the video, you can see the camera win action in color.

I have to be honest and say I am not quite sure what score I would give to this camera.  As many of you know, I love posting videos and I was hoping the image quality of the recording would be much better.  But shooting at 240P the resolution is not enough to really watch it on a full screen monitor unless you are standing a few feet away from it.

However, it did allow me to fish all day without being hunched over the hole staring down in an awkward position for hours on end...my typical routine.  The image you see on the iPad was much better than the image it was recording.

So the bottom line is that I would not purchase this system if your goal is to post videos on the web of your fishing.  The resolution and light gathering abilities is just not there.  BUT if you want to see your lure in action, it definitely works as advertised.  Perhaps the best thing about it is there is virtually no delay in the picture and therefore you can use it to set the hook.  But for $200, its a great toy to have and it added enjoyment to my fishing day.  So as long as you know its limitation and are ok with them, I would recommend.



So in summary:

Pros: Inexpensive camera that added a lot of enjoyment to my day and saved my neck and back.  What was really cool was that when a fish came through the hole, I could point it out and everybody fishing with me could see the action for themselves.  Impossible to do if you are peering down a hole.
The batteries on the unit lasted all day ( 6hours) with juice left over and I was even more surprised to see my iPad with the brightness turned down lasted 6 hours and it was only down to 50% batteries.

Cons:  Terrible light gathering qualities.  It records in only 240P  The LED light seems worthless as a lighting mechanism in all but the clearest waters.  The LED light was useful though in getting the camera pointed in the right direction.