Side Imaging Fishfinder question ????

[IAFrogger]

I am totally ignorant to the abilities of a fishfinder. Never seriously considered one primarily due to the fact that I spend 95% of my time fishing shallow water less than 10 ft deep.

But now I am wondering if the side imaging systems offer me anything of great value to consider.

When fishing lily pads, other aquatic vegetation, and slop can these units easily detect those patches containing fish beneath them?

Can one easily scan thru large expanses of standing timber in shallow water to pick out the spots containing the best fish?

Can fish be detected beneath floating logs with this technology?

Does it take much skill to use these units and understand what you are seeing?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer some first hand experience and advice regarding these units.