Navionics Platinum: I'd say it was the "gold standard" in electronic charts, but that would be confusing, since Navionics Gold is a notch below Platinum.

In a world dominated by coverage of the latest and greatest, though, it's often difficult to figure out whether or not you can really benefit from the newest innovations, especially when it comes to marine electronics.

My 5-year-old Raymarine C-80 chartplotter, for instance, works just fine. I'm not ready to replace it, even though I know there are lots of great features on the newer multi-function displays.

Still, I probably should replace my five-year old chart card. The manufacturers encourage you to update your charts every two years or so. Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, most of us use our charts (paper and digital) for a lot longer than that.

But five years? That's long enough. It's time to update my Navionics Gold card. But is it time to upgrade?

I've asked Navionics reps, dealers, and installers, but the fact is that nobody has been entirely certain which Navionics Platinum features work on a Raymarine C-80.

Navionics seems to be aware that there is some confusion. Thus it's no coincidence that this is the second FAQ on the Platinum product page:

Q: How do I display Platinum features on my chartplotter?

A: Navionics provides Platinum Quick Start Cards to help users access the key features of Platinum Charts. Download the Quick Start Card (.pdf) for your chartplotter:

NAVIONICSThese Quick Start cards are very informative, except the focus is on Raymarine's E-series.

These Quick Start Cards are very informative, except that the focus, when it comes to the Raymarine product line, is on the E-series units.

So if you take a look at the QuickStart cards, you'll see five major feature areas that E-Series MFDs can display: Panoramic Photos, Aerial Photo Overlay, HD Fishing Charts, and 3D View.

E-series chartplotters have a bit more processor and display power than the C-series. This is probably why nobody is sure what to tell me about plugging a Platinum card into a C-series chartplotter.

But it's also because, as I discovered, Platinum chart cards are really overkill for C-series plotters.

RAYMARINESeattle's Lake Union displayed on Raymarine's C-80 Chartplotter using data from a 2004 Navionics Gold chart cards and a 2008 Navionics Platinum chart card.I like old monster movies, and I'm sure we've all seen one in which the scientist (probably mad) decides that his only option is to test the new formula on himself. Triumph, or tragedy, or mayhem, or (if it's Abbot and Costello) hilarity ensues.

That's about where I am. So I got a platinum card, and I plugged it in. Here's what I learned:

First: triumph! It works. It does everything the old Navionics Gold card did, and there is a lot more data about shoreside facilities and businesses. Take a look at the two Lake Union screen captures side-by-side. In both screen captures, I've split the screen to show the "decluttered" chart view on the right.

I had to zoom in a bit with the new card, because there is so much additional information on the screen. That additional information, along with any actual chart or navigational revisions, is certainly sufficient reason to update your chart cards at reasonable intervals.

For me, this confirms the "update" issue. But what about the "upgrade" question? What about these cool new Platinum features? Here, the story takes a turn from triumph to tragedy. Well, it's more like disappointment.

The only feature you can view on a C-Series display is the Panoramic Photo collection. Photos are available wherever you see the little purple camera.

I did find one small bug with Raymarine's C-series software (yes, I've installed the latest upgrade). For this post, I made extensive use of Raymarine's built-in screen capture feature. To be fair, this is an undocumented feature only intended for internal testing and bug-reporting at Raymarine. I learned about it from Panbo's Ben Ellison. So is it a bug if it only affects an undocumented, unsupported feature hardly anybody knows about? I'll let the folks at Raymarine decide.

RAYMARINEMove the cursor over one of the purple cameras to access the image provided by the Panoramic Photo Collection.The point is, screen capture doesn't work when the screen is displaying one of the panoramic photos. When you push and hold the "Data" button for several seconds while viewing an image, you don't get that screenshot.

So I can't show you one of these photos just exactly as it appears on the screen. But I can tell you that I like them. Aerial photographs can really provide clarity, especially when approaching an unfamiliar destination. All my favorite print guidebooks include aerial photos; why shouldn't my chartplotter display them?

My Conclusion?

Only one of the new features can be displayed on a C-series MFD, but if the price differential is small, it might be worth paying extra, depending on your priorities and your usage..

For most C-series owners, though, stick with the tried and true Navionics Gold chart cards. They'll include almost everything your chartplotter can display.

As for me, I'll continue using the Platinum card, because I like the photos.