Ever dove with a UV light?

[BoundForElsewhere]

I have on a couple of night dives but blech. It just seemed like a Jimi Hendrix poster I used to have in my bedroom.
To be honest, I tend to spend most of a night dive with my light off until I see something move. You'd be surprised how your eyes acclimate to the natural light.
I like to think I am being kinder to the critters but mostly cause I hate those beady little shrimp eyes that glow back at you from the coral. Those things are terrifying.

 

[Pressurehead]

You'd be surprised how your eyes acclimate to the natural light.

Yes, agree.

 

[sbw2131]

I carry one for night dives (Red Sea), it is always fun diving in deep purple mode. Brain corals, for example, glow amazingly in UV.

You can see the difference when illuminated with regular light vs UV in attached photo.

Some seashells glow bright red under UV light

It is good also to spot scorpions from large distance.

Thanks for sharing the clip! Very cool. I've also used the UV light for spotting scorpions--really fun for a nature walk in the dark.

 

[Jai Bar]

Thanks for sharing the clip! Very cool. I've also used the UV light for spotting scorpions--really fun for a nature walk in the dark.

I added photo of scorpion we found in the gravel on way to dive site

 

[pisauron]

we did a fluorescent night dive @ Sunscapes in Curaçao for my wife's birthday. They supplied the UV lights and the yellow filter to go over your mask... it was a pretty cool experience.

What does the yellow filter does?

 

[dlao]

Bought a UV light and tried it in Bonaire. Tbh it's kind of disappointing. The first try feels pretty cool but I got bored after 5 minutes. There's not much to see.

 

[davecampbell]

What does the yellow filter does?

it enhances the fluorescence

 

[tridacna]

I used a UV light on a night dive a few years ago. It became apparent that I could not see anything at all with my right eye when the UV was the sole source of light. Left eye was fine. Saw my ophthalmologist and he diagnosed a cataract in that eye.

 

[cfberry]

By far not my best video - but a short using UV light: There are different corals that reflect differently - some were green, some were bright gold, the short just shows some of the bleached coral glowing nicely. There were others around me with white lights too - again not my best video.

this is so awesome

 

[Jai Bar]

What does the yellow filter does?

The yellow filter blocks UV, allows to pass visible wavelengths.

If you put it on *mask* (or camera lens), it will block whatever UV is being reflected and you will see better the light coming from object's fluorescence. Of course, placing it on torch only reduces its efficiency as it will block UV.

If you have a torch that is not pure UV, you may need the opposite filter on the light source: something that will allow only UV to pass