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Whites Prizm III

Price: $350
Avg. Score: 4 stars 3.67
Based on 24 reviews

Avg. Durability: 4 stars4.50
Avg. Ease of use: 4 stars4.50
Maximum detection depth
Submit your review for Whites Prizm III

Tree roots that show penny or quater

January 02, 2010
Maybe it's me but I turn p-3 on and go some places that are not so trashy it's the woods and I'll be swinging the coil then all of a sudden beep-beep 2-4 inches down I'll start digging there is a root in the way so I think the target is below the root so I dig a little more--then nothing recheck hole, dirt, and ha-ha-ha even the root the beeping vanishes?????????????? Could someone explain that to me.

Overall Rating 1 star

128

Good very easy to use relic hunter, mid grade coin

July 21, 2009
I've spent the necessary for you first timers, 100 plus hours getting to know this borrowed machine in some severe relic hunting terrain, hip deep in rivers, rain and mud, high trash school yards, bear filled mountains etc. I'll give you my negatives first:
poor pinpointing = big holes-get a pinpointer.
Wish it had variable tone id = you'll be digging lots of trash in school yards if your coin shooting, even though the target id seemed accurate on coins- large bottle caps etc. also register strong maybe better on the Prizm V with tone id? In fairness digging trash is just part of life with most machines and I have found coins with this one, its just not a "great" coin shooter in trash, and Whites makes those. Other than the monotone it does have a low bass tone and if you hear it may a can, flat metal etc. but it also may be a cw buckle! Trust me on this one..dig..if your relic hunting.

The positives-
Turn it on set the dis. and sens. and go, its that simple-had a spectrum xlt and spent alot of time just fiddling with the programs wondering if i missed something....stress. In fairness to that machine I did not spend more than 100 hours using it....and that marvel requires a bit more.
Light weight-you can use this all day, and I have, and not get the least bit tired of using it....more time...more treasure!
It will find good metal-I have a pile of it to prove this, buttons, coins, buckle, bullets, brass, nickel copper, LEAD. A good relic hunter and gets respectably deep in good ground, through rocks, works well in fresh water rocky rivers, just keep the box dry, bags and tape.
Well built, lightweight, like the composite lower rod. I've had the coil 2 to 3 feet deep in fresh water and its still dry and works fine.
Excellent battery life.
Excellent touch screen.
Perfect ergonomics.
Will it find birdshot past 2 feet in Va. clay like my old XXXXXX XXXXXXX did?...probally not....thank goodness!..I'm hunting the rock filled mountains now.
Silent until you hit metal, comfortable to use and I'm still having fun, I like it.
For the newcomer to detecting- You need to dig EVERYTHING for at least 50 hrs to give whatever machine you buy a chance to prove itself and you need to do your RESEARCH. If your not finding good stuff......go where the good stuff is! Research and time are the keys to having success....I guarantee it wont find anything sitting in the closet. Don't be disappointed if the screen on any machine says "50 cent" or whatever and you dig a big chunk of something else out of the ground, they only register conductivity of metals and this can vary greatly depending on size, metal, age and ground.

Overall Rating 4 stars

854

The prism III works

April 07, 2009
I have searched... It doesn't matter if it's wood chips, high ore, underground pipes (french drains) this thing works!
Figure your settings out. I can almost determine the difference between P-tabs and nickles. It seems to have a low tone Beep when it's junk.
the monotone, inadvertant beep is easy to read. I use low descrimination and dig little junk (mostly deep).
Who cares if you find soda tabs when you're set for gold, It is just a reminder that your batteries aren't dead

Overall Rating 4 stars

290

What a Joke!

March 22, 2009
Metal detecting was fun before I bought this machine. I used to have an old Coinmaster II which, although not equiped with depth reading and target ID, always found metal, trash or keepers. With the Prizm III I have spent over 90% of my time digging holes with nothing in them, not even trash. The pinpointing is awful, in fact, you will start to believe that the targets magically move around under the ground and then realize that they disappear altogether. The target ID and depth reading is all over the place. Also, youll get a beep and then pass over the target again and get nothing. After another twenty or so swings over the area where you got a beep another might happen. How can you dig like that? I have been ready to just heave the piece of junk into the road several times.Your blood pressure will skyrocket if you buy this machine!

Overall Rating 1 star

1822

Whites metal detectors are very good

February 17, 2009
I have started with a prism 3. At first I was very disappointed, But I continued learning and trusting my prism 3. With good practice prism 3 gave good satisfaction. Only good practice can make perfect.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

178

White's Prizm III - first White's disappointment

July 20, 2008
I've been doing this since the mid 80's, and I've always used White's products so, while you don't KNOW me, your must trust me on this one. The Prizm III is an overpriced toy, and I'm very disappointed that they'd put the White's name on such a poor detector. If I paid $149 for it, maybe - but I got somewhat hoodwinked by an over eager salesperson and paid full blown MSRP of $299.99. PT Barnum said there's a sucker born every minute and I must qualify. But I DID rely on the White's name because I have always been happy with their products.

First off, the coin ID is terrible. Unreliable, jittery and utterly bad. Pinpointing is another issue. There is no swell on the volume level when you go to pinpoint. The whole surface of the coil causes a loud beep so you invariably must dig holes about the size of the coil to find the target. You're supposed to be able to identify a good target by a 2-way repeating signal. This is not the case. The bad coin ID coupled with the machines unreliability at producing repeatable signals, even on good targets -and- having no tone ID (like most other low-end machines by other manufacturers in the White's Prizm III price range) makes for a very insecure hunt. You'll find yourself digging lots of junk for fear you're passing up something that's a keeper. White's,

I hope you read this. I can't tell you how disappointed I am that you would foist something this bad (my god, the friggin' headphone jack is off to the side, so the headphone cable lands smack dab across the display! I swear they don't want you finding ANYTHING with this unit) I'm not good at writing reviews, but if you trust someone with years of experience and can learn by someone elses mistake, stay clear away from this overpriced piece of junk.

If you're new to the hobby, the Prizm III will assure you'll stay that way. You'll get so frustrated you'll never want to metal detect again.

Overall Rating 2 stars

11319

It works better than I thought

February 08, 2008
Light weight easy for the beginner. I like the depth
finder and this is worth the price. I am happy I got it. A friend that hunts all the time told me not to buy any junk, and to buy a whites and he was right. I intend to have this for the rest of my life. Soon I will go to the beach.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

205

Great detector

January 17, 2008
I picked up a used prizm III and I'm very satisfied with it's performance so far. I found a total of 10 clad quarters, 11 clad dimes, 4 nickels, and about 50 pennies today at 4 different playgrounds in just a few hours. I also dug up a few buttons and a spoon. It surprised me on how small of a target it can find and how deep it goes. I dug several coins from around 6 inches and I had signals deeper I just didn't feel like breaking out the big shovel. All in all I'd say get one if you have the chance. A bargain at twice the price!

Overall Rating 5 stars!

202

Prizm 3

August 20, 2007
Don't overlook this great detector. It cannot be beaten for the price. Since March, 2007 I have located five rings, one gold and four silver as well as over $103 in clad change and a 1917 penny. I have also located two cell phones and one digital camera.
This detector works well in wet or dry sand with an upgraded 9.5 loop.

Overall Rating 5 stars!

190

Nice machine but........

July 29, 2007
just bought a whites prizm 3 this summer,great machine for the money,but don't know if it's me but having a heck of time pin pointing,other than that not to bad of a machine

Overall Rating 4 stars

64

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