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Color - Yes/no???


Thrak

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I'm considering taking up geocaching - my neighbor is nuts about it - and have been looking online all day at this site and various others. I like the looks of the Vista C but am wondering if the color will really make much of a difference. I don't see as well as I'd like and it seems that perhaps the color screen might help me with that.

 

Any comments?

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If you have a visual impairment and have noticed a color screen is easier on your eyes then definitely color is worth it!

 

Otherwise, a color screen is just a perk. Albeit a wonderful perk, and if you have no problem dropping the additional dough that a color GPS costs then go for it. Otherwise, black & white models work just fine too. Be certain with a b&w unit it has "16 level greyscale" level of graphics.

 

However, a specific note about the Garmin Etrex series.. in their case you definitely want to get the color model if you can afford it. Not just for the fancier screen, but because the color models are much newer than the older b&w ones, and have much better antennas & signal capturing ability.

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I ended up with the GPSMap 60 Mono. I had all I could do to scrape up that money for it. If I would have been able to afford it I defiantly would have gotten the color. I manly use topo maps and the color makes a big difference.

 

I am able to do the same thing with the b&w 60 and have used it for hunting and fishing and have not been disappointed in the accuracy or speed. Plus I know I got the best GPS (for my needs) that I could afford.

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Go color. It makes is so much easier to see the difference from roads, trails, streams and the many other things on a map. It is well worth the extra money and you will save money in the long run. I wasn't so smart and bought a greyscale 76S and then after seeing a color unit I had to have one and so I buy a color 76CS.

team sidewinder

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If you have a visual impairment and have noticed a color screen is easier on your eyes then definitely color is worth it!

 

Otherwise, a color screen is just a perk.

 

OK, but it's a nice perk. I bike the same region frequently. I put tracks of previous hikes/rides in one color, possible roads spotted from aerial photos in another, etc. I would never go back to b/w. If you can afford it, it's hard to imagine you regretting it.

 

Rich Owings

www.MakeYourOwnMaps.com

 

"We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books." - Edward Abbey

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Don't care what brand you buy, but if you can afford color - go for it.

 

I purchased a Vista a short while ago when I started caching. My eyes, not being what they once were, have a lot of trouble reading the greyscale screen, particularly in the shade and subdued lighting; and especialy through the clear plastic cover of the carrying case.

 

As soon as I can afford it, I am going to upgrade to a color Garmin Map 60CS. I have had very good results with the Vista, I just have trouble reading the screen under certain circumstances.

 

John

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After using a B&W etrex for a while, I can say I truly value the color on my newer eXplorist.

When you're caching in a familiar area, the color is not as important. On the other hand, roads and streams look very similar on my old eTrex. How many times have I gone out of my way to take that handy road right near the cache, only to find my car won't be going that way anytime soon.

 

It's also nice to be able to visually see things like lakes and park boundaries (two more things that looked similar on the eTrex). I use the map view to route between geocache sites and the color has been a big help. My eXplorist draws a green line to follow a route, roads are black and water is blue. Much easier.

 

Remember, when you're standing there in a field, 1.2 km from the cache and 1 km from the car that those 16 shades of grey can be hard to distinguish in direct sunlight sometimes. Heck even certain colours can be fun to tell apart, but it's been a long time since I've interpreted a river as a road, or vice versa.

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It depends.

 

If geocaching is your primary application, one of the basic, non-mapping Garmin units will serve you well.

 

Many use their receivers for tasks that require more deluxe features - mapping, color displays, external antenna, auto routing, etc...

 

Last year, while shopping for my first receiver, I compared all the mapping units in the Garmin line. At the time, I thought of a color display as merely a "nice-to-have" feature. Much more important was the amount of INTERNAL MEMORY that was available in each of the models.

 

What I discovered was that the color 76-series receivers [76C & 76CS] dominated the Garmin handheld line with 115MB of internal memory. The VistaC has 24MB. Even the highly-touted and over-styled 60C only has 56MB.

 

For approx $40 more than the 60C and $80 more than the VistaC, the 76C has much more internal memory, better ergonomics and a more substantial build quality than either of the other two units.

 

For me the choice was simple. In order to get features that were important to me, I had to bite the bullet and go with the color display. After a year, I'm glad that I selected the Garmin GPSMAP76C. The color display is clear and bright in daylight and nicely backlit at night. The receiver routinely holds single-digit accuracy and is as rugged as my Nikon cameras. Still wish I had more memory though.

 

mark

Edited by MLP-76C
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Having upgraded from an older Magellan to a Legend C, the one major advantage of a color unit I have discovered is that I can comprehend the readout with only a quick glance, instead of having to stare at the monochrome screen for several seconds.

 

This may not be too important for geocaching, but for navigating in the vehicle it made a world of difference. For me -- with my "mature" eyes -- a color screen is a real safety plus.

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Having upgraded from an older Magellan to a Legend C, the one major advantage of a color unit I have discovered is that I can comprehend the readout with only a quick glance, instead of having to stare at the monochrome screen for several seconds.

 

This may not be too important for geocaching, but for navigating in the vehicle it made a world of difference. For me -- with my "mature" eyes -- a color screen is a real safety plus.

Same experience here. Huge difference if the route is marked over a black road in pink on a yellowish background, or if it is marked over black road with dark grey on a light gray background.

 

One question to ask is if someone who "doesn't see so well" can use any of the handheld units with their rather small high resolution screens for automotive navigation at all. I am happy that I can, since my glasses are 2.5+ (yes, I wear magnifying glasses all the time). So I allways use screen resolutions other people find hard to read.

 

It really depends on what exactly "doesn't see so well" extends to and what the intended use beyond geocaching is.

 

For someone who can't read a handheld while driving but who also wants to use GPS for automotive navigation, I would suggest getting a moderate small budget handheld unit for geocaching and stare on it a little longer. Save the money for a second, dashboard mounted unit that has turn-by-turn voice commands.

 

If the intended use is for geocaching and other outdoor activities (except driving) alone, then go and get all the fun you can (and want to) afford in a unit small enough to carry around in the woods.

 

Jan

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Old color screens (on pda's and the like) tended to wash out in bright sunlight. The color screens now is use, if anything, seem brighter in sunlight. I'm not sure how they do that, but it makes them a pleasure to use outdoors.

 

Also, color units tend to come with more memory (on the Legend 8MB vs. 24MB on the Legend C) so if you purchase map software to load maps beyond the basemap, the color units have the added advantage of holding more maps.

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Also, color units tend to come with more memory (on the Legend 8MB vs. 24MB on the Legend C) so if you purchase map software to load maps beyond the basemap, the color units have the added advantage of holding more maps.

 

This has nothing to do with the color screen, The first legend was on the market for a few years before the color version, this has more to do with the lower cost of memory. Some of the newer monochrome GPSr have more memory that the older ones.

 

Comparing an old GPS to a New one is like comparing apples to oranges :lol:

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I'm never going back. COLOR all the way baby!!!

 

Liken it to black and white versus color TV's (If you're able to. I'm 36 and can remember that far back ;-) )

LOL -- I've been MARRIED for 33 years. ;)

 

I remember when they first started putting a ( C ) next to a few shows in the TV Guide to indicate that those shows were in color.

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This may not be too important for geocaching, but for navigating in the vehicle it made a world of difference. For me -- with my "mature" eyes -- a color screen is a real safety plus.

One question to ask is if someone who "doesn't see so well" can use any of the handheld units with their rather small high resolution screens for automotive navigation at all. I am happy that I can, since my glasses are 2.5+ (yes, I wear magnifying glasses all the time). So I allways use screen resolutions other people find hard to read.

(CymSnip)

For someone who can't read a handheld while driving but who also wants to use GPS for automotive navigation, I would suggest getting a moderate small budget handheld unit for geocaching and stare on it a little longer. Save the money for a second, dashboard mounted unit that has turn-by-turn voice commands.

 

If the intended use is for geocaching and other outdoor activities (except driving) alone, then go and get all the fun you can (and want to) afford in a unit small enough to carry around in the woods.

I agree with Jan on this one, especially on the latter bit.

 

In the field, I find that my eyes adjust quicker to the data on the Rino screen than it does with the GPSMAP 60CS. Dunno why, but it does. As such, I carry the Rino with me out of the car almost exclusively.

 

Others have pointed out topo shading is kinda hard to read on the greyscale. I never notice the colors, I look at the lines. Individual preference on that one.

 

Bottom line, as Jan said - if your primary mission is to use it outdoors, get what you afford.

 

Try to take a look at the units in person first. If the greyscale/black & white/whatever you want to call it works for you, then by all means get it. You'll be fine. If your budget allows and you favor the color, then go for it.

Edited by Cymbaline
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My suggestion to you is to go to a dealer of GPS units nearby if one is available and try out both b/w and color. I think it was best said by another post as it comes down to a personal choice as to what works best for you. I have a Meridian Gold and did look at the Meridian Color before buying but I myself could not jusitfy the difference in cost just for color, but then that is my opinion.

Perhaps in the not so distant future color units will become more in line in cost with what b/w units are now. Either way both do an excellent job in Geocaching.

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I ummm.... kind of seem to have bought a unit this morning. I was checking on eBay and there was a new in box unit that was selling in auction for a fair amount less than the Buy It Now units that were listed. I entered a bid only $5 more than was the current high bid and it seems to have stuck so it seems that I'll have a GSPMAP 76CS

 

Now how do I approach my wife.............. :rolleyes:

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