Satellite Imagery Comparison – Garmin’s G2 Vision vs. Lowrance Preloaded vs. Navionics Platinum Plus
In the marine GPS market we have some very good makes bringing new, advanced technology to the table on a pretty regular basis. A few years ago Navionics introduced us to satellite imagery overlaid on top of their charts bringing a sort of a Google Earth look to our Chartplotters and giving them a Wow feature. It was pretty neat stuff but it slowed the units screen redraw rate down and really didn’t help us much with navigation. Garmin followed suit on their optional G2 Vision cards. The overlay looked cool but the processors couldn’t keep up with the screen redraws so we turned them off. The new Garmin’s addressed the speed issue with their latest but you still didn’t get much more than a Wow factor with the satellite overlay. Note: There are other reasons to have the G2 Vision card besides the satellite overlay – but if that’s the reason you get one, you’ll be disappointed when you compare it to the best out there now, the Navionics Platinum Plus. I’ll show you what I mean on some screen shot comparisons below.
When someone calls and asks which GPS Chartplotter I would recommend for their needs, most of the time I’ll suggest Garmin units since they’re by far the easiest to use and the built in charts are as good as any out there. But if the persons looking for a unit that is compatible with the best satellite imagery out there I would have a different recommendation. I’d recommend a unit compatable with the Navionics Platinum Plus chart cards. The Garmin G2 Vision satellite imagery is nothing more than a pretty picture overlay to add contrast to the area you’re navigating. With the Navionics Platinum Plus yo can actually see the sandbars and reefs overlaid on the charts to help you navigate a tricky body of water.
Below are three sets of screen shots from Garmin's G2 Vision, the preloaded charts from Lowrance's HDS units and Navionics Platinum Plus card. It should be noted here that although I'm showing the Platinum Plus on a Lowrance HDS unit, there are other units out there that are compatible with this card and will give you the same satellite overlay.
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Garmin G2 Vision - Pringle Lake - .5 Mile
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Lowrance Preloaded - Pringle Lake - .5 Mile
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Navionics Platinum+ - Pringle Lake - .5 Mile
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Garmin G2 Vision - Greens Bayou - .5 Mile
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Lowrance Preloaded - Greens Bayou - .5 Mile
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Navionics Platinum+ - Greens Bayou - .5 Mile
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Garmin G2 - Baffin Badlands - .2 Mile
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Lowrance Preloaded - Baffin Badlands - .5 Mile
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Navionics Platinum+ - Baffin Badlands - .5 Mile
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