Last updated on February 10th, 2024
So you are interested in a Lowrance Mark 4 review? You have come to the right place. Fishing becomes an increasingly popular activity. But today, it is exceptionally easy thanks to the contribution of modern technologies into such useful devices like fish finders. If you want to go fishing, having a fish finder is a must if you want to enhance your experience and make your trip fruitful.
Today, we are going to introduce you to Lowrance Mark-4, a great fish finder for an affordable price. While it has some questionable features like the black and white display, it is a pretty decent choice. Though this unit didn’t make it to our best fish finder guide, it still has some quality features. Let’s examine what makes Mark-4 a worthy candidate for purchase!
[amazon bestseller=”Lowrance Mark 4″ items=”5″ template=”table”]The Feature of Lowrance Mark 4
Transducer
As you probably know, the sonar transducer is the most important part of a fish finder. Mark-4 has one quite high-performance transducer, which operates at 200/83 kHz and 262W RMS & 2100W PTP, which ensures max depth of 1000ft. The transducer is capable of delivering data at water temperature as well, which will be exceptionally useful in locating your target.
The transducer makes Mark-4 a pretty good model for moderately large areas and average depths.
But you should know that it probably won’t be able to offer extremely detailed readings as well as spot fish on great depths.
Thus, Mark-4 is a nice pick if you will be fishing is not too deep and not too shallow water.
GPS & Cartography
The GPS and cartography capabilities of Mark-4 are pretty typical for the fish finders of Lowrance, but it doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing. The accurate GPS paired with the preinstalled base maps will really come in handy during your fishing trips. The default maps feature the US rivers, lakes, and coastal areas, but don’t expect those maps to be too detailed. Besides, they only include the contiguous US.
You can save up to 3000 custom waypoints, 100 routes, and 100 plot trails as well.
Another great feature of this fish finder is the Trackback feature, which allows you to easily review the recorded sonar data and pinpoint important locations. Next time, you will spend less time investigating as you will already know where you generally should look for fish.
At last, if you want to have more detailed maps of the US or if you live outside the United States, you can purchase map expansions available for Mark-4. Those include such map packs as Fishing Hotspots Pro, Navionics Gold and Premium charting upgrades. You can upload the expansions via your microSD card.
Display
While the display features respectable resolution for its size, we think that it is the weakest feature of Mark-4. Judge yourself – this fish finder has a 16-level grayscale 320 x 240 4-inch screen. Will it be enough for you? It depends on what your budget and requirements are.
The display shows you the most basic data on temperature, depth, and speed. The quality and size of the screen are fairly sufficient to be able to identify targets and structures. But the absence of colors will make distinguishing between individual objects exceptionally hard, even impossible due to the small screen and its resolution. If you absolutely need a high-detailed image, you should go for a fish finder with a bigger color screen.
Overall, the colorless screen makes Mark-4 more like a backup fish finder. It is quite compact and can be used with one hand. But keep in mind that you can find models with color displays for generally the same price. If you are looking for a backup model, Mark-4 will be able to satisfy your needs.
Also Read: Lowrance Elite 4 review!
Controls
As for controls and its overall convenience, Mark-4 is pretty typical. It features clearly marked buttons plus a menu selector, which makes the navigation in the user interface quite convenient.
The only problematic side of the controls is that the selector isn’t a great choice for typing text, for example, when you want to set a name for your waypoints. But that’s the same with other fish finders as well. Just keep that little inconvenience in mind. We are happy to give you a detailed control guide in this Lowrance Mark 4 review.
Pros
- Balanced-performance 200/83 kHz sonar transducer.
- Accurate GPS module.
- Included base maps feature lakes, rivers, and coastal areas of the contiguous US.
- With the Trackback feature, you can review your sonar data and pinpoint important locations.
- You can expand the maps with a variety of expansions via your microSD card.
- Fairly clear 4-inch 16-level grayscale display with informative UI.
- Convenient controls.
Cons
- It doesn’t offer too detailed readings in both shallow and deeper water.
- Small display.
- An absence of colors makes distinguishing between individual targets and structures nearly impossible.
- The menu selector may bring its inconvenience if you plan to create a lot of waypoints.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the colorless display be a serious drawback for me?
Do you need to see easily separable targets? If the answer is yes, you should go for a model with a color display. Color screens allow you to see more detail and easily distinguish between different objects. Your final choice will depend on your needs.
What’s the use of a fish finder with a b/w display?
You can’t say that such fish finders can’t find their buyers. They are as tough and functional as color models. If you don’t really need a color screen, Mark-4 will be a pretty good choice for you. Besides, this model is a nice pick for a backup fish finder. If you don’t really need the level of object separation of color models, this one should be enough for you.
Do you need to buy expansion maps for these fish finders?
If you don’t live outside the contiguous US and don’t need detailed models, no. Otherwise, you should probably buy an expansion map to make fishing easier.
Conclusion
So that was our Lowrance Mark 4 review. Hopefully, we have managed to uncover all the beautiful features of Lowrance Mark-4. It is an exceptionally good choice for its affordable price and will satisfy anyone who doesn’t need a color screen or high-detailed images in both shallow and deep water. Mark-4 is a great fish finder to become your backup unit too!
Did you like our today’s hero? If so, go get it to enhance your fishing experience!
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