Color Correction dive masks

[Girl Diver]

Hi Divers (my favorite people in the world....jajajaj).

I need opinions about the color correction dive masks.

I want to buy a frameless but IŽ´ve been seen some color correction masks. What about it?

Does ir worth it?

Thanks!!

 

[ScubaSteve]

I personally have not seen it so I can only speculate. Is the actual lens tinted or is it something that you slide on and off as required by depth (like a lens filter type thing)? I would rather see the true colours in the "shallower" depths versus having it corrected at depth but having to look at everything with extra red in the shallows.

 

[SteveAD]

"Color correcting" lenses are filters. Filters, by definition, take things away. So a mask that claims to restore the red end of the spectrum actually removes the blue end, thereby restoring the balance.

But what depth is it calibrated for?

What many people don't realize is that the human brain is capable of some truely amazing compensation on its own. Try wearing a pair of red tinted sunglasses. The world will look odd colored for a few minutes, then you get used to it. Take the glasses off and the world looks odd again.

If I need to truely restore color at depth, I will turn on a light.

 

[meesier42]

agreed, I've used them and in the right environment they are pretty cool and work well. The filters are nearly the same as the filters that I put on my camera for color correction, but as with my camera, you will loose light and the filter will only work correctly at certain depths and ambient light conditions.

If you often dive in the Carribean where the water is clear blue and the sun is shining and your at 30-60 feet, they are good. Outside of those conditions they just make the world dark.

 

[jbubbles]

I've seen several masks w those type of lenses...they make sense, like a camera filter, but how well do they work.

 

[Mixedpuppy]

Here's my Humble 2 cents,

I dive 1-2xweek here on Oahu, mostly 35-50ft. I use a $35 mask mirrored
with yellowed lenses. Local spear fisherman like the yellow tint because "It clears
things up" for them. I agree that it clears up between darker and lighter
colors for better contrast. They like the mirrored lenses because "It doesn't spook
the gamefish as much because they don't see your eyes". This statement is debater by some.
They also say it helps them spot octopus easier when they are hunting as well.
The mask I own is not a very low volume mask but the lower edges leave enough reservoirs if it starts to fill giving more time to prepare to clear. I think the yellow lenses are good for color contrasts above 60ft. When I went to the range in the Army and in Iraq we used yellow lenses for target contrast and brightening up the scene a little.

I don't know enough about the pink/red lenses but it is a small investment for a potentially better experience.

 

[ntmainstrm]

I have a red tinted mask and find that it does make things seem much darker but the real problem is that the tinted lens reflects may face into the lens and it's very hard to see through.

 

[jonnythan]

Well they can't add red light, so they filter out blue and green light.

Thus they make everything less bright.

Seems silly to me.

 

[Charles Genovese]

It's easy to test- I tried yellow sunglasses with no mask in shallow water- the contrast improvement is dramatic. Going to try Velcro small strips in the mask with matching strips on different colored gels at different depths.
Charles

 

[DangerousDan64]

I have a Pink-lenses mask that I use for any dives over 30 feet. It is subtle enough that it doesn’t darken things noticeably but neither does it deliver the vibrant colors at depth that it promised. I have never taken a clear mask with me on a dive to compare them side by side (gasp- that seems so “me”! Why haven’t I done it?!).

When I was shopping for them, I saw the “aquacolor” website but it just looked too good to be true. Anyone reading this ever try one of their masks?