Minelab GPZ 7000 Depth Tests And Charts - Looking Back

[vanursepaul]

OOOps, sorry JP --i have been using that "up to 40%"------- saying for everything----it is just a joke for me---- no ill will----- it is like the standard now....

[PhaseTech]

I've been involved in a lot of Minelab promotional videos, and let me tell you a lot that goes in them is done there and then on the day to get the video done. I've also had to alter the script or video scenes with the film crew to tell them that something won't work as it is un-natural, or that's not what happens in the field etc etc. So people shouldn't take what they see in a promo video too seriously. 

 

That's why I like shaky, blurry muffled user videos. The production quality maybe terrible (like some of my videos!) but it's real, raw, and as it happens in the field. 

[Jay Gold]

Gday Steve and DP.com members. 

 

I find it amusing that there are people out there who still question the ability of the Zed. Anyone who has had the opportunity to use one will soon find out that it's one dynamite piece of gear. 40%? try over 200% in some cases. But hey, don't take my word for it. The less people swinging these things the better a far as I'm concerned.        

 

JG

[Steve Herschbach]

Hello Jay, welcome to the forum!

It was all so predictable. When at the Minelab Conference for the announcement of the GPZ 7000, I told all present that the 40% thing was going to cause them issues if not explained and even then problems were going to happen.

The problem is simple. People hear what they want to hear. No matter how many times you explain that "up to 40%" means anything from exactly the same and up to 40% in a matter of degrees, people refuse to see it. People like black and white results, blanket declarations, and minds latch onto best case scenarios.

I learned this best running a service department. If I have your broken item in for service, you will probably ask when it will be done. I might answer "oh, five to ten days".

Well, I just shot myself in the foot. You heard 5 days and will forget the 10 days part. In five days you will be on my doorstep wanting your item, and in seven days you be irate it is not done yet. People will always discount what they do not want to hear in favor of what they want to hear.

Now, the fact is Minelab could have used evidence I had in hand to claim "up to 400%" but they wisely kept with more realistic figures. The GPZ can out detect a GPX by many orders of magnitude on the right specimen gold, and as long as you can prove it as fact, it is perfectly legal and allowable in advertising to quote best case figures. Gas mileage numbers are famous for it. Can you imagine the outcry if Minelab had gone with "up to 400%"?

It is obvious the GPZ advantage depends on the type of gold and the nature of the ground itself. In some places the difference is very dramatic, and I have seen it myself. In other places on nice solid gold, there is little or no advantage. In fact, if you look at the scatter chart below, in the lower left there are four results basically at or below 0% improvement!

There is nothing in these examples that attempts to define how common the various results might be, and it is likely that in some places there is little or no advantage with a GPZ versus a GPX with the proper coil/timing combo. So I get it that there are people out there that are not seeing a dramatic difference where they are at and are somehow concluding therefore that the advertising was misleading. Again however, it is people simply refusing to read and understand what is being presented in its totality.

The last article I wrote up about the new Makro Gold Racer I went to great lengths to not "hype" the product. I found that lacking hype people will create it for themselves. Everyone wants to believe the latest new thing is somehow going to work magic for them.

Minelab is interesting because they always also have a contingent of people who want to trash each new product as being worthless. Everything that has happened with the GPZ happened with the SDC, the GPX series, and the GP series before that. The GPX 5000 that everyone now says is unparalleled was reviled on release as being an over hyped bit of Minelab nonsense. Same with the SDC 2300. Check out the SDC 2300 thread at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/302-minelab-sdc-2300-my-detector-would-have-found-that/

I almost immediately ditched both my GPX 5000 and SDC 2300 and do not regret it one second. My reasoning was and is simple. I want one detector with one coil that has my best chance on a single pass over the ground of getting a positive response on the widest range of possible gold targets in the ground. I do not want to go over and over the same ground with multiple coils and multiple timings trying for a best result. I want the best possible shot on the first go and as of this moment I still believe the GPZ 7000 is giving me that best across the board performance on a gold nugget of any size or composition.

Of course, in specific situations and with specific budgets there are many possible solutions to peoples prospecting needs. The GPZ is not the be all and end all of prospecting detectors or everything else would be ceasing production, and that is not happening. For a recap of reasons not to buy a GPZ 7000 visit http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/725-reasons-not-to-get-a-minelab-gpz-7000/ from March 2015. Here, let me quote myself from that post "So you have a GPX 5000 (for example) which you know inside and out and you have a full set of coils and other accessories. You have that setup dialed to perfection. Do you need a GPZ 7000? Of course not. Honestly, that is just silly. The GPX 5000 in my opinion at this time still represents the best value in pulse induction prospecting detectors. The model has a solid history as a performer and nothing has changed overnight."

Anyone thinking the GPZ 7000 made the GPX 5000 obsolete simply has not been paying attention, or hearing what they want to hear.

[phoenix]

"There is nothing in these examples that attempts to define how common the various results might be, and it is likely that in some places there is little or no advantage with a GPZ versus a GPX with the proper coil/timing combo. So I get it that there are people out there that are not seeing a dramatic difference where they are at and are somehow concluding therefore that the advertising was misleading. Again however, it is people simply refusing to read and understand what is being presented in its totality."

 

Steve I think you have a good forum here and I realize that I am now probably about to be booted off it.

Clearly I am one of the people "refusing to read and understand what is being presented in its totality". I`m not sure I even understand what that means.

I like the 7000 and intend to keep it but in 10 months of detecting almost daily in the goldfields of Victoria I am yet to to see my detector come close to attaining the claims made by Minelab in their advertising.

 I read the large print about the huge increases in depth and then I`m supposed to read the small print and decide before I buy the detector that the claims do not apply to where I live and detect.

I was mislead by Minelab advertising.

 

I hope you all had a good Christmas in the States and very sorry to read about the tornadoes that are hammering some areas at the moment

cheers dave

[vanursepaul]

I would think it would always be a good idea to read the small print before shelling out 10K.....  just me....

 

 

Hope you had a good Christmas there as well.....

[Norvic]

Yeah, in my country the Z has come up with the goods from day one over the 5000 with the coils of the day, I ordered mine before the glossy marketing simply because it was new tech, and ML has always come up with the goods, the Z has shown it is up with that marketing now I`ve read it. Looking back for me ML has not mislead, and in some targets it has surpassed the gloss and achieved better than the up to 40%. Certainly it is much easier to use than the 5000 which I only used for 2 very productive seasons. But it doesn`t make gold

 

But this naturally is my take. My 5000 is not for sale but the Z with its coil replaces it with as Steve has commented, it is a one coil/detector solution, go over the ground once and move on. Love it, especially the no wires.

[Steve Herschbach]

 

"There is nothing in these examples that attempts to define how common the various results might be, and it is likely that in some places there is little or no advantage with a GPZ versus a GPX with the proper coil/timing combo. So I get it that there are people out there that are not seeing a dramatic difference where they are at and are somehow concluding therefore that the advertising was misleading. Again however, it is people simply refusing to read and understand what is being presented in its totality."

 

Steve I think you have a good forum here and I realize that I am now probably about to be booted off it.

Clearly I am one of the people "refusing to read and understand what is being presented in its totality". I`m not sure I even understand what that means.

I like the 7000 and intend to keep it but in 10 months of detecting almost daily in the goldfields of Victoria I am yet to to see my detector come close to attaining the claims made by Minelab in their advertising.

 I read the large print about the huge increases in depth and then I`m supposed to read the small print and decide before I buy the detector that the claims do not apply to where I live and detect.

I was mislead by Minelab advertising.

 

I hope you all had a good Christmas in the States and very sorry to read about the tornadoes that are hammering some areas at the moment

cheers dave

 

 

Why would I boot you? I only ask that people be honest and respectful and you are being both. Hopefully my post was not seen as disrespectful to you or others because it could come across that way, and that was not my intent.

 

It is rather obvious many people are seeing the increases in performance and some are not. That is what "up to" means. It does not mean absolute under all conditions everywhere. It means some places yes and some places no, and to varying degrees. It sounds like you wanted and expected 40% across the board, but nobody including Minelab ever said that was what you would get.

 

Yes, I advise reading the small print, and better yet waiting 6 months or a year before buying any new model detector. Let other people sort it out then decide whether to lay out the bucks.

 

Oh well, it is what it is, and pretty much water under the bridge at this point. Some are happy, some are not, and others in between. As you noted, most people in the world have far more serious issues to deal with. Happy New Year to you Dave!

[Jay Gold]

Thanks Steve, I'm a long time reader and first time poster. Insightful and educated posts like the ones you made above and those of other members here make this a great forum.

This statement sums up the Zed perfectly:

"I want one detector with one coil that has my best chance on a single pass over the ground of getting a positive response on the widest range of possible gold targets in the ground. I do not want to go over and over the same ground with multiple coils and multiple timings trying for a best result. I want the best possible shot on the first go and as of this moment I still believe the GPZ 7000 is giving me that best across the board performance on a gold nugget of any size or composition."

I hope that didn't infringe copyright laws haha...

I'm of the same opinion which is why my SDC is gathering dust in my garage.

Cheers. JG

[Rob Allison]

Hey Steve and all,

 

  I will chime in with what I have experienced with the three Minelab units over the years (GPZ 7000, GPX 5000 and SDC 2300).  I used the GPX 5000 for well over 3 solid years here in the Southwestern US.  I've had great success with the unit.  To date, I would say it was the best Pulse Induction metal detector on the market all around for small, medium and larger gold.  

 

Then the SDC 2300 got released.  I figured it will have limitations due to the coil size, but with the new fast timing they claimed it would find much smaller gold than the GPX and even stuff that is larger, but more porous.  Well after about 300 small nuggets missed by the GPX 5000, I knew this unit was a winner.  I never used it to chase large gold at depth, but more as a lightweight, exploratory unit.  Hike in long distances, pull out the unit, start prospecting.  If I found something that warranted a return, I would bring back a PI that would punch deeper.  Overall, the SDC in my opinion, was and is a winner.  

 

Then shortly came the release of the GPZ 7000.  Ok, a $10,000 MAP priced detector, I think it hit most off guard!  With the rumors floating around from Australia on this unit, I think most expected a $6000-$8000 MAP priced unit.  The high price tag surely keeps a lot of guys out of this market, so one reason the bashing.  It's human nature when you can't have something to say it's an overpriced, over rated product.  Hey, I get it ..... but I bought one anyways.  

 

It's wasn't more than 3-4 hunts until I felt I understood the unit well enough and found enough small gold at depth the SDC missed. I placed both the SDC 2300 and the GPX 5000 up for sale.  I felt the GPZ 7000 had better mineral immunity, much better depth, better sensitivity overall on small and porous gold, there was no reason to have 3 units when one did them all combined.  

 

I have found nuggets under a grain in size with the GPZ at the surface, Gram sized pieces at a foot depth (many witnessed finds) and some larger 1/3 to 1/2 ounce pieces at even great depths, missed in old patches.  

 

They all are great units, but I found the GPZ 7000 was worth the $10,000 and managed to recoup a bit of that cost selling the SDC and GPX.  

 

Just my thoughts.