I had to post on this issue. The poll is a great idea and I am always looking at it for info and majority, so please don't take this post as a poll slammer.

I saw the poll had almost 79% against using these in tourneys.  My question is how far do we take it?  Would a Hummingbird 797's, 997's or 1197's all be illegal in these tourneys also?  If not, I would like to here the rational behind the statements.  Is it legal as long as everyone had 1,000+ (for the hummingbird) for the devices?  Would your poll response be the same if you actually owned an underwater camera?  Would your opinion be the same if you didn't have the luxury of living in the same area (lakes) your whole life?  Those that do own these cameras understand, as long as the camera is in the water, your not catching fish!  

I do agree, during tournaments, you should not be allowed to use an underwater camera if you have a pole in your hand.  Some of you may remember the tournament in 2007 where the pro's were drop-shotting and using there sonar simultaneously, they could see the fish approaching, what would be the difference?  That is different than trying to understand the structure, cover & bottom.  They are a great tool to expand your knowledge base, especially in a tight mouthed club.

I have a camera and I used it last year.  I would never ever ever ever, did I mention ever?  Use it during a tournament.  I hope everyone else in the tournament uses their camera during the tournament because I would beat them.  I have no problem with anyone using a camera during a tournament.  It takes a good bit of time to get the camera setup and it is hard to use effectively.  I found that the camera had to be within a few feet of the bottom to see anything.  It is a waste of time during a tournament.  I would use it in conjunction with a depth finder to understand structure  and maybe fish location on the structure in your prefishing.  I think that the side imaging sonar from Humminbird would be the best instrument to find fish and structure.  If I had an extra $1000 I would buy 797si!

I see no problem with using a camera, and I think if legal most would not use it. It would take to long and todays depth finders are so advanced, it might have a purpose in practice, but I seriously doubt many people would bust it out during a tournament.  But who really knows. Great question.

I never fished a sanctioned tournament were they are legal.

As for the Hummingbird side Imaging, its just a graph, a tool, that if it works, someone has to read it correctly and with that, I have no problems  with it being used in any tournaments.

Hookem

I see no problem with using a camera, and I think if legal most would not use it. It would take to long and todays depth finders are so advanced, it might have a purpose in practice, but I seriously doubt many people would bust it out during a tournament.

My thoughts too. Too time consuming, but while prefishing they would definatley be a good TOOL to use.