Disclaimer: fishinggearx.com is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro offers the latest in fish finder tech. It’s a serious upgrade from previous Raymarine Dragonfly fish finders, so you get a high-end unit that comes at a mid-price point. The high-end features are also blended with simplicity, making this unit easy to use even if you’re a beginner angler. In this Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro review, we’ll try to give you a better idea of what exactly this fish finder has to offer, so you could understand if it would make a good fit for your fishing needs.
Display and Control Features
The Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro comes in a visually appealing design. It features a display that is compact and lightweight. On top of that, it’s durable as it uses a waterproof technology, which gives it a waterproof rating IPX7. This means that even if it gets in the rain or gets splashed with water, it will continue working without any damage.
The display measures 7 inches in diagonal. It provides a wider view of all the displayed information, so you can clearly see all the details even if you’re reading the screen from a distance. Moreover, it’s a color screen with a pixel matrix 800×480. This provides sharp image quality and good visibility regardless of the viewing angle.
What makes the quality of this display stand out is also the use of the optical bonding LCD technology. This is one of the latest advancements in technology. The benefits of this optically bonded display include brighter colors and sharper contrast of the images, so you can easily read them even in direct sunlight. Another benefit is that it provides all weather readability as it prevents the display from fogging up when it is cold.
For the controls, the fish finder features a rotary dial and three buttons. The display is also very intuitive, offering simplified display choices and menu options. This provides quick navigation between settings and different screen options. You can quickly switch between CHIRP sonar readings to GPS maps or from full screen viewing to split screen. And to select these pre-configured screens, you just need to press a button.
The display of this unit is also designed for easy installation. It comes with a ball-and-socket mounting system, which makes the entire setup compact and simple. The mount is also adjustable, so when reading it, you can easily find the perfect angle for optimal viewing from your sitting position.
CHECK THE LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON
Sonar Features
The Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro also delivers exceptional performance when it comes to sonar. It uses Dual channel CHIRP sonar, supporting a sonar conical beam and a DownVision wide fan beam.
First of all, unlike conventional imaging sonars, the CHIRP technology of this unit transmits a wide range of sonar frequencies. And since it interprets each of the returns for these frequencies separately, the result is high-resolution and photo-like images.
The CHIRP DownVision provides an even higher resolution, giving the images unmatched clarity and making them look even more life-like. This DownVision sonar uses a 60 degree side-to-side and 1.4 degree fore to aft beam.
This sonar produces the most detailed images, so you will be able to see fishes of all sizes, as well as all the underwater structures. Moreover, you will be able to easily separate between the fish and the structure. Another advantage of this sonar is that you will be able to get accurate sonar readings even cruising at high speeds.
The second beam is a 25 degree conical beam. This second channel provides better fish targeting, as you can easily identify target bait and larger fish.
Since the fish finder is using CHIRP technology, you can modulate the frequencies. It can be modulated between 170-230kHz for the 2D channel and between 320-380kHz for CHIRP DownVision. There’s also a difference in maximum depth capability when using the two channels. It’s 900 feet when using 2D sonar and 600 feet when using DownVision.
You can view each of these two channels either separately or side-by-side using the split screen mode. The advantage of the second option is that you will be able to compare the information produced by the two sonar channels, which will give you a better idea of what’s happening underwater.
This fish finder includes the transducer, which also comes with a transom mount and 20 feet of cable. The transducer is also equipped with a temperature sensor, so you can keep track of the temperature below the surface of the water.
Navigation Features
The fish finder is also equipped with a GPS receiver. It provides quick and precise position and speed tracking. However, this particular bundle doesn’t come with any charts. They are sold separately, which means that you can choose the chart that you need, whether it’s lake charts or coastal charts. This unit is compatible with Navionics, HotMaps, Lighthouse vector and other charts. There’s a micro SD card slot, which can accommodate whatever chart card you buy.
There are a few other features of the GPS system in this Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro fish finder. One of them is the waypoint system, which allows you to save on the map different points of interest. For example, you could save your favorite fishing spots or dock from which you launched your boat. You can do the same with different tracks, by saving the essential track routes.
The maximum storage capacity is 3,000 waypoints and 15 tracks. The waypoints you can also categorize, with the system supporting up to 100 waypoint groups. However, you can also expand the storage capacity by using the SD card slot.
Networking
The Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro also offers networking capability. The built-in Wi-Fi allows you to sync the device with your smartphone and use the Raymarine Wi-Fish mobile app. With this app, you can use the fish finder through your phone. You can view, pause and rewind sonar images. You can also share these images with your online friends.
CHECK THE LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON
Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro Pros and Cons
- 7 inch display.
- Optical bonding LCD display technology.
- Includes a transducer with a temperature sensor.
- Dual channel CHIRP: 2D and DownVision.
- Impressive target separation.
- Maximum depth capability up to 900 feet.
- Built-in GPS receiver.
- Wi-Fi connectivity.
- Micro SD card slot.
- Wi-Fish app.
- Easy to use.
- Simple installation.
- 1 year warranty.
- The software is not upgradable.
- No NMEA ports.
- It does not come with charts included.
Final Thoughts
The Raymarine Dragonfly 7 Pro makes a good fish finder GPS combo. It offers great performance in both sonar and navigation capabilities. It’s a powerful, yet simple unit that can be useful to both beginner and professional anglers. The lack of software upgrades and the availability of charts only as add-ons is definitely a disadvantage, but given its reasonable price tag, you do get some of the best quality and performance in the market.
