Hello,
I have two F-70's and now own an F-75. I have done quite a bit of side-by-side testing in my back yard with both the F-70 and the F-75. One of my F-70's has the standard coil and the other has the 11" DD coil that comes standard on the F-75. Let me start out by saying that the F-70 coil for coil is just as deep or maybe even a little deeper than the F-75. The F-70 is also a little lighter than the F-75 especially with the standard coil. If you are mainly a coin hunter I think the F-70 should serve you well; however, if you also do some relic hunting than you may want to consider the F-75. Not to say that the F-70 is not a capable relic machine but the F-75 offers a few additional features that make it more suitable for relic hunters.
What I like about the F-75 over the F70: The F-75 has a trigger that is used for pinpointing and also for ground balancing the machine. Personally, I think every metal detector should have a trigger as I have found it to be a much more natural way to pinpoint. The F-75 has an always on back-light that comes in handy when the sun has gone over the horizon or on the occasion when you may find yourself hunting at night. The F-75 has an on-the-fly depth meter that gives you some idea of the depth of the detected target. Lately I have found myself digging targets that register in the 50 range when the depth meter indicates the target is deeper than 8 inches and I have been rewarded with some nice finds. The F-75 appears to do a better job ID'ing deep targets better than the F-70. My F-70's tend to up-average deep targets, where the F-75 does not. An example would be a quarter at 10 inches. The F-70 will ID the quarter in the 90 range where as the F-75 will give the correct ID of 82. Both machines can be a little jumpy at times; however, I have found that I can tame the F-75 a little easier than I can the F-70 when using the standard coil. However, when you put the 11 inch DD coil on the F-70 the machines are pretty much equal when it comes to stability.
What I like about the F-70 over the F-75 Being just a little lighter the F-70 is a little easier to swing for long periods of time. Both machines are by no means heavy, but I prefer the weight and balance of he F-70 over the F-75. Switching from Discriminate mode to all-metal mode is much easier on the F-70. Two quick touches of the keypad and your there. I also like the F-70 notch system better than the F-75's, I have found that the F-70 seems to do a much better job indicating the correct depth of a target. If the F-70 says the target is 3" deep it usually is. Not so on the F-75, or at least mine anyway. I find it annoying when the F-75 indicates a target to be 5" deep and when I dig, the target is right under the surface. That is the one thing I dislike most about the F-75.
So which machine do I use the most? The answer is, I use them both. For general coin shooting around the city I grab the F-70. If I am going to an older location that may hold some older coins or other artifacts I grab the F-75. Do I think the F-75 is $300 better than the F-70? No Way! Is the F-70 deeper than the F-75? Yes; however, I am sure there are a lot of die hard F-75 users that would argue with me on this one. Nevertheless, after spending quite a bit of time testing both machines in my back-yard test bed I have come to the conclusion that the F-70 is indeed just a hair deeper.
So which machine would I recommend? Both! However, for those people who are on a budget and looking for one of the best values on the market I would recommend the F-70 over the F-75
any day.
Comments are always welcome.
Leo234
