Garmin Thermal and Low-Light Cameras

Garmin has introduced a line of thermal and low-light cameras. Simple control and cool target tracking mean it may be time for an upgrade that will help you use your boat more and more safely.

By Peter Swanson

July 3, 2012

GCT 30, $13,996; GCT 20, $8,996; GCL 20, $3,500

Garmin’s new line of thermal and low-light marine cameras boast some extraordinary features. Controlling them from a Garmin GPSMAP multifunction display is simple. The navigator can choose a stationary or moving target (including AIS vessels) and the camera will use its pan and tilt to stay on it. The GCT 20 and 30 thermal cameras go a step further, even in total darkness. They can be locked onto a moving “hot spot” on screen—the heat signature, for example, of a person in the water. The military term for this is “slew to cue,” but your term should be “Man overboard, keep an eye on him!”