Lowrance introduces elite-5 HDI Series

by Estelle Baldry on 16 Jul 2013 Lowrance, a world-leading brand in marine electronics, announced today the newest addition to its Elite family of fishfinder and chartplotter products, the Elite-5 Hybrid Dual Imaging™ (HDI) series.

Setting the standard of feature-rich, high-performance, easy-to-use electronics with affordable pricing, the Elite-5 HDI is available as a fishfinder/chartplotter combo model — as well as a standalone fishfinder or chartplotter. Replacing the previous Elite-5 and Elite-5 DSI series of products, all Elite-5 HDI models feature Hybrid Dual Imaging, which combines two award-winning technologies — Broadband SounderTM and Downscan ImagingTM — to provide the best possible view of the water column and everything in it.

Built into the new Lowrance HDI Skimmer® transducer design, Broadband Sounder technology is ideal for marking fish arches and tracking lure action, while Downscan Imaging provides easy-to-understand, picture-like views of structure and bottom detail. With the exclusive Lowrance Downscan Overlay™ feature, boaters can layer the Downscan Imaging view over the Broadband Sounder for a stunning presentation that separates and clearly exposes fish targets from surrounding structure.

In addition, the overlay transparency is fully adjustable and easy to change using the Elite-5 HDI’s rotary knob.
To maximize fishing time on the water, Lowrance’s exclusive Advanced Signal Processing (ASP) reduces the need to manually adjust settings to see fish, structure and bottom detail more clearly; and TrackBackTM allows anglers to scroll back in recorded sonar history to review structure, transitions and fish targets. When used on an Elite-5 HDI model with chartplotter capabilities, users can also TrackBack and pinpoint locations with a waypoint — eliminating the need to circle back and retrace their path.

Elite-5 HDI models with chartplotter capability feature a highly accurate built-in GPS antenna and a micro SD card can be used to display Navionics® Gold and Jeppesen C-Map Max-N Wide charts. All Elite-5 HDI chartplotter models are compatible with the new online Insight Genesis™ map creation service, which allows users to make their own custom, high-resolution contour, bottom hardness and vegetation maps from recorded sonar logs.

'Elite-5 HDI provides powerful Lowrance chartplotting and dual fishfinder display capabilities for cost-conscious anglers,' said Leif Ottosson, CEO, Navico. 'We first introduced Hybrid Dual Imaging with the Elite-7 HDI in late 2012, and it’s been incredibly popular with our core market — fishermen. Now, we have the same innovative solution available for a wider range of fishing consumers — at even more affordable prices.'

All Elite-5 HDI models feature Lowrance-exclusive, high-resolution 5-inch, colour display and an easy-to-use menu system with quick access to all features using one-thumb operation. The new Elite-5 HDI series consists of Elite-5x HDI fishfinder-only, Elite-5m chartplotter-only and Elite-5 HDI combination models.

Protected by a one-year limited warranty and the Lowrance Advantage Service program, the Elite-5 HDI series can be purchased from authorized Lowrance dealers and distributors beginning in mid September 2013. Prices range from $499 for the Elite-5x 83/200 kHz HDI fishfinder to $999 for the Elite-5 HDI 50/200 kHz fishfinder/chartplotter model bundled with Navionics Gold cartography.

For more information on the Lowrance Elite-5 HDI series, the entire Lowrance line of marine electronics, or to locate an authorized Lowrance dealer, please visit www.lowrance.com