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#71
iGills - iPhone dive computer - Good, Bad, Ugly??
SCarpenter - 5/09/2013 5:38 AM
Category: Equipment
Replies: 13

I’ve seen the ads and the Facebook page. It looks really cool and a great way to multi-use equipment. And I can carry my dive log and pics with me so I can spend valuable work time looking at my dive memories.

BUT - does it work? Is it a viable tool or just a gadget?

I would like to hear from a user if possible. Give us the good, the bad, and the ugly - all that apply.

Thanks!!
#51828
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Greg - 5/09/2013 6:08 AM
#71
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SCarpenter - 5/09/2013 6:12 AM
Greg - I searched for it and didn’t see anything - thank you!! This is helpful.

Would still like to hear from an actual user.
#20451
LatitudeAdjustment - 5/09/2013 6:52 AM
Not a user but, are you an underwater photographer? Because we have a saying, it’s not if it’s going to flood but when.

You need to be anal about o-ring care, carry lube and a magnifiying glass to look for hair and sand on the seals.

Back up those dive logs, pics and dive memories!
#1406
Green_Achers - 5/09/2013 7:35 AM
Kind of unrelated, I had a flashlight flood a few months ago while in the ocean. It was out and rinsed in fresh water with in 20 minutes - yet looked like it had been under for a hundred years. The light was a total loss but I did save the battery of all things.

Now apply that to your free (or $199) iPhone. Replacement cost is full value which is over a grand if it’s locked in the two year contract. Too much at stake for me to try.
#2086
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zielit - 5/09/2013 9:48 AM
I don’t know about its "dive computer" abilities, but if one think seriously about photography one doesn’t take pictures with cell phone - not on the surface, definitely not under water. It doesn’t have to be DSLR right away, but decent strobe is required for good UW picture, and I doubt there is one you can hook up to the iPhone.
#204
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hugomaniac - 6/24/2013 9:07 AM
I have a Igills, and have had it lock up in compass mode on two dives and had to surface, undock the phone, restart the app to use it. The rep at Igills had me uninstall the app and reinstall it after the first time and I lost all of my previous dives. It still froze up on my next dive and they said they would check the app to see if happens on their end. Yesterday I did two dives and it got stuck in video mode, I could start and stop the video but could not get back to the computer mode. It did record the dive and I had no issues on the second dive.
When it works it is very nice. Pictures and video are great, the digital compass is easier to see than the one in my console , and the computer works as well as the one in my console also.
#192
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Oahu_Dive_Medic - 7/03/2013 3:47 PM
I have been using the iGills as a backup computer for about 6 months now and for the most part I love it. I typically dive 3 or 4 times a week, so I am using mine more than most users. Every great once in a while mine will have an issue with booting up before a dive and I have to undock the iPhone and re-dock it, but other than that all is well.


On night dives I would rather use the iGills than my main wrist mount computer because of the way it lights up very brightly. There is a daytime and nighttime setting which changes the display colors of the screen making it perfect for night dives.



The built in gyrocompass is more accurate than my traditional liquid-filled compass when diving around all of the lava rock here in Hawaii. The minerals in the lava rock do not seem to mess with the iGills compass as much. With my regular compass I have noticed that if I move it near the rock sometimes the reading can change by as much as 10 degrees or more.



One thing I have noticed is before your dive and on your surface interval make sure to keep the iGills out of direct sunlight as it can overheat the phone causing it to shut down.
#139
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CW2cJ - 5/04/2014 7:29 AM
I know this is an older thread but I am hoping to get some answers. I have sent iGills a message on their website and asked questions on their Facebook page but I have received no answers. They are advertising that the iGills is now $199 (it was $164 a few days ago). I still think this is a good price but customer support is also important. If they do not answer their questions about their product before a sale why should I think they will answer after a sale?
I am wondering if the dive logs are exportable in standard format like CSV so I could import the logs into my Dive Buddy Pro app? Is the temperature logged at different depths of the dive or just the surface and bottom temps? The manual states that a log entry is not created if the dive is not deeper than 20ft. Can you just drop below 20ft for a moment and then continue your shallow dive or must the dive remain below 20ft for a longer period?
#204
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hugomaniac - 5/19/2014 1:20 PM
The logs are not exportable through the app. The temperature logged is the coldest. The dive is recorded as a graph of depth and time. I logged 2 dives yesterday both starting at 5-8 feet of depth.

The information logged is: Date and time / duration of dive / dive number if more than one dive that day/ breathing gas / average depth / Max depth/ water temp (coldest) / pictures and videos taken during the dive.

There may be a app that lets you export the info from the Igills app, I just write it in manually in my log book.

I use the Igills for the picture and video and the compass when it does not lock up. The dive computer works well and is very easy to see in light or dark situations.

The customer service blows and the only email response that you will get is when you place a order, the only time you will get a response to a question is by logging into your order and sending the question through their order area several times.
#17
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DIVEMASTER1970 - 7/29/2014 1:11 PM
I have emailed them on several occasions now and still have not received a response. Also I have noticed that since CW2cJ wrote the above on the 5/4/2014 the cost of the iGills is now over a staggering $300!!!! so a price increase of a whopping $136- almost double. I for one will not be buying one a) stupid price increase b) lack of customer service
I dread to think what would happen if one flooded and you tried to contact them!
#139
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CW2cJ - 7/29/2014 5:29 PM
I decided to go with the Bluebuddy instead of the iGills. The owner of the site that manages the Bluebuddy was much more responsive. The Bluebuddy logs the temperature throughout the dive. I am still working with the programmer to get the readings correct for altitude dives. I can export the data in the DAN DL7 format then use Excel to convert the readings from metric to imperial. Every piece of electronics has issues but the support for the Bluebuddy seems to be better. I did receive a response from iGills eventually and they told me what hugomanic posted above. The Bluebuddy gives me the features that my older dive computer is lacking. Go to Divenav.com and check it out.