During a recent discussion while teaching an Underwater Photography class, I was asked why there are camera filters if we use lights which add the light back to the scene. So the discussion went on for about 10 minutes or so and then we moved on to the next topic. But as it would seem, it did spark another question on different types of filters for different types of environments. So while on a recent dive, some of my divers and myself decided to do our own testing and the results actually surprised us. Disclaimer up front, I am just a small little dive shop owner who teaches basic Underwater Photography and Underwater Videography for free when a customer buys a new camera from us. With this being said, I am no where near and expert on Photos and Videos (though I must brag I do have a store YouTube Channel and 2 other personal channels, but that's just because I like looking at myself on the screen).
So what we decided to do was to compare 2 types of filters in a freshwater environment, primarily what at least 80% of the divers in our area would be diving in, and we also decided that since at least 95% of the divers in our area were basic recreational divers, we would stay well with in recreational depths. The ground rules were simple. The cameras tested must either be identical or set with the same resolutions and frame rate (same parameters) and absolutely no artificial light could be used. We also specifically chose to dive a local quarry after several hard days of rain, so that we would have plenty of turbidity which would reduce the amount of light that would be penetrating from the surface. Lastly, we used one additional camera without a filter just as a baseline.
Cameras used were the Intova Nova Action Camera and the Intova Edge X Action Camera (yes I am being biased and yes I am an Intova Dealer). We mounted both cameras using Intova's Mask Mount and we mounted them side by side to make sure we got the exact same shot with each camera. The third camera used was an Intova Nova Action Camera without any filter, and it was mounted on Intova's Extension Pole as a base line shot for the test. The 2 main test cameras were equipped with a red and magenta filter. It also was used to show the camera set ups while diving. All cameras were set up using the same parameters, and we made 2 one hour long dives. All footage was then downloaded and clips were edited using a basic Windows Live Movie Maker. No additional colors were added during the editing process (as I said I am not a professional when it comes to Photos and Videos), only specific clips where distinct colors could be seen using the different filters were put into the video.
At the end of the test we discovered that for the environment that we were in, the magenta filter beat out the red filter. It appeared that the magenta made the water column itself appear to be more translucent than what the red filter did, and it made the colors of certain items stand out. The thing that surprised us the most was, we tell new divers that we lose colors while descending in the order of the color spectrum (R-O-Y-G-B-I-V)with red being the first color to go, however, the red filter did not do as well as we thought it would.
In this video, you will see the test and I will list the times of each discovery and what filter was being used. I hope this video will help newer divers, make easier decisions on camera equipment, who are just getting into taking Underwater Photos and Videos.
[video=youtube;dwo57kGB7zI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwo57kGB7zI[/video]
Test Camera Set Up
Intova Edge X with SP1 Red Filter
Intova Nova with SP1 Magenta Filter
Base Camera Set Up
Intova Nova with No Filter
1:23 Base line test with no filter - Surface to 25ft
2:30 Base line test with Red Filter - Surface to 25ft
3:30 Base line test with Magenta Filter - Surface to 25ft
4:30 Red Filter 30ft Notice the diver's yellow fins appear white, and the water appears chalky
4:50 Magenta Filter 30ft Notice the diver's yellow fins appear yellow, and the water is more translucent
5:10 Red Filter 30ft Notice the fins appear white and the divers tank appear to be black or a real dark shade of blue
5:30 Magenta Filter 30ft Notice the fins are indeed yellow and the divers tank is a metallic blue
5:50 Red Filter 40ft Notice the housing latch on the base camera appears to be pink and the water is chalky
6:10 Magenta Filter 40ft Notice the housing latch is clearly a dark red color and the water is more translucent
6:30 Red Filter 55ft Not much light at all diver's fins still appear to be white in color
6:50 Magenta Filter 55ft Not much difference the diver's fin appear a little more yellowish
7:10 Red Filter 30ft Notice the shade of my drysuit, service sleeve, mask frame, and the yellow alternate hose appears black
7:30 Magenta Filter 30ft Notice how the orange and red really stands out, and you can clearly see that my alternate hose is yellow and not black
7:50 Red Filter 25ft Notice the shade of the door on the car and how chalky the water appears
8:10 Magenta Filter 25ft Notice the shade of the door is brown and the the water is more translucent
8:30 Red Filter 25ft Notice my gloves look white or a light shade of blue and the bowling ball appears to be grayish white, water also appears chalky
8:50 Magenta Filter 25ft Notice my gloves are clearly Blue and the so is the bowling ball, the water is also more translucent
9:10 Red Filter 25ft Notice how yellowish the water looks and both my gloves and bowling ball appear to be white and grey
9:30 Magenta Filter 25ft Notice just how blue both the glove and bowling ball is, and how much more translucent the water is
9:50 Red Filter 6ft with ambient light from the surface
10:10 Magenta Filter 6ft with ambient light from the surface
10:30 No Filter 6ft with ambient light from the surface
So what we decided to do was to compare 2 types of filters in a freshwater environment, primarily what at least 80% of the divers in our area would be diving in, and we also decided that since at least 95% of the divers in our area were basic recreational divers, we would stay well with in recreational depths. The ground rules were simple. The cameras tested must either be identical or set with the same resolutions and frame rate (same parameters) and absolutely no artificial light could be used. We also specifically chose to dive a local quarry after several hard days of rain, so that we would have plenty of turbidity which would reduce the amount of light that would be penetrating from the surface. Lastly, we used one additional camera without a filter just as a baseline.
Cameras used were the Intova Nova Action Camera and the Intova Edge X Action Camera (yes I am being biased and yes I am an Intova Dealer). We mounted both cameras using Intova's Mask Mount and we mounted them side by side to make sure we got the exact same shot with each camera. The third camera used was an Intova Nova Action Camera without any filter, and it was mounted on Intova's Extension Pole as a base line shot for the test. The 2 main test cameras were equipped with a red and magenta filter. It also was used to show the camera set ups while diving. All cameras were set up using the same parameters, and we made 2 one hour long dives. All footage was then downloaded and clips were edited using a basic Windows Live Movie Maker. No additional colors were added during the editing process (as I said I am not a professional when it comes to Photos and Videos), only specific clips where distinct colors could be seen using the different filters were put into the video.
At the end of the test we discovered that for the environment that we were in, the magenta filter beat out the red filter. It appeared that the magenta made the water column itself appear to be more translucent than what the red filter did, and it made the colors of certain items stand out. The thing that surprised us the most was, we tell new divers that we lose colors while descending in the order of the color spectrum (R-O-Y-G-B-I-V)with red being the first color to go, however, the red filter did not do as well as we thought it would.
In this video, you will see the test and I will list the times of each discovery and what filter was being used. I hope this video will help newer divers, make easier decisions on camera equipment, who are just getting into taking Underwater Photos and Videos.
[video=youtube;dwo57kGB7zI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwo57kGB7zI[/video]
Test Camera Set Up
Intova Edge X with SP1 Red Filter
Intova Nova with SP1 Magenta Filter
Base Camera Set Up
Intova Nova with No Filter
1:23 Base line test with no filter - Surface to 25ft
2:30 Base line test with Red Filter - Surface to 25ft
3:30 Base line test with Magenta Filter - Surface to 25ft
4:30 Red Filter 30ft Notice the diver's yellow fins appear white, and the water appears chalky
4:50 Magenta Filter 30ft Notice the diver's yellow fins appear yellow, and the water is more translucent
5:10 Red Filter 30ft Notice the fins appear white and the divers tank appear to be black or a real dark shade of blue
5:30 Magenta Filter 30ft Notice the fins are indeed yellow and the divers tank is a metallic blue
5:50 Red Filter 40ft Notice the housing latch on the base camera appears to be pink and the water is chalky
6:10 Magenta Filter 40ft Notice the housing latch is clearly a dark red color and the water is more translucent
6:30 Red Filter 55ft Not much light at all diver's fins still appear to be white in color
6:50 Magenta Filter 55ft Not much difference the diver's fin appear a little more yellowish
7:10 Red Filter 30ft Notice the shade of my drysuit, service sleeve, mask frame, and the yellow alternate hose appears black
7:30 Magenta Filter 30ft Notice how the orange and red really stands out, and you can clearly see that my alternate hose is yellow and not black
7:50 Red Filter 25ft Notice the shade of the door on the car and how chalky the water appears
8:10 Magenta Filter 25ft Notice the shade of the door is brown and the the water is more translucent
8:30 Red Filter 25ft Notice my gloves look white or a light shade of blue and the bowling ball appears to be grayish white, water also appears chalky
8:50 Magenta Filter 25ft Notice my gloves are clearly Blue and the so is the bowling ball, the water is also more translucent
9:10 Red Filter 25ft Notice how yellowish the water looks and both my gloves and bowling ball appear to be white and grey
9:30 Magenta Filter 25ft Notice just how blue both the glove and bowling ball is, and how much more translucent the water is
9:50 Red Filter 6ft with ambient light from the surface
10:10 Magenta Filter 6ft with ambient light from the surface
10:30 No Filter 6ft with ambient light from the surface
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