night diving with UV lights to see fluorescence / luminescence

[j2s]

If you have an aquarium shop in your area that carries invertebrates, ask them to show you what they look like under black light....The colors are amazing :O !!!!!

 

[Quero]

I was just at a dive show last weekend and almost pulled the trigger on one of those lights ($100 or so) and the mask filter ($20). That would have been okay, but I also wanted the cap for the strobe of my camera set up. Those babies are expensive! I now know what to ask for for my next birthday, LOL.

 

[farsidefan1]

I also tried it at Bonaire a few yrs back. I liked it so much I went out and purchased 3 lights and 4 yellow mask filters. Then took the rig to Roatan. Not nearly the same as Bonaire. I don't know what makes the difference but it is huge between one dive area and another.

---------- Post added April 29th, 2013 at 05:07 PM ----------

I also tried it at Bonaire a few yrs back. I liked it so much I went out and purchased 3 lights and 4 yellow mask filters. Then took the rig to Roatan. Not nearly the same as Bonaire. I don't know what makes the difference but it is huge between one dive area and another. Ps, I found the set at my lds used in a box for 80 bucks Sorry Quero, had I known you wanted it, well, never mind, I\'d have taken it anyway

 

[billt4sf]

Tried it in Bonaire -- how? We are going there in July. Is it something that operators do?

- Bill

 

[diverrex]

Tried it in Bonaire -- how? We are going there in July. Is it something that operators do?

- Bill

Buddy Dive offers it as a dive. I think it was $45 for a single guided shore dive. They let you use the yellow filter over your mask and the blue light. Well worth it. One of the better dives we have done.

 

[Abdullah]

I was just at a dive show last weekend and almost pulled the trigger on one of those lights ($100 or so) and the mask filter ($20). That would have been okay, but I also wanted the cap for the strobe of my camera set up. Those babies are expensive! I now know what to ask for for my next birthday, LOL.

Is there a light that is just the light - no filters? It seems odd that you add a screen to the light, then filter that light in your mask and camera. I have a 351 nm lamp I use in my shop that causes things to fluoresce without all the filters. Seems like there could be an underwater version of that.

 

[diverrex]

Is there a light that is just the light - no filters? It seems odd that you add a screen to the light, then filter that light in your mask and camera. I have a 351 nm lamp I use in my shop that causes things to fluoresce without all the filters. Seems like there could be an underwater version of that.

My understanding is that you need the blue light to see the floresence and then a yellow filter to block out light reflections other than the floresence. Here is a website link that goes into much detail: NIGHTSEA

 

[Searcaigh]

Very tempted to start this now but more $$$$

Anyone have any good nudibranch pics under UV?

 

[Abdullah]

My understanding is that you need the blue light to see the floresence and then a yellow filter to block out light reflections other than the floresence. Here is a website link that goes into much detail: NIGHTSEA

It looks like they're using a blue light, not a black light, to illuminate the critters. They have you add the filter to your mask/camera to remove the excess blue light so that the fluorescence is more pronounced.

Is there an underwater black light (something in the 300-400 nm range) available that would eliminate the need for the filters?

 

[nightsea1]

The Sola NIGHTSEA actually uses blue LEDs, not UV. That's why you need the yellow filter over your mask or camera - to remove the blue. Without the filter you'll see the fluorescence of some things that are especially bright, but the reflected blue can easily overwhelm most fluorescence so that you don't see it. Might sound like more trouble than UV, but the reason for using blue instead of UV is simply that blue is superior to UV for making more underwater subjects fluoresce, and more brightly. UV works and you'll have fun with it, but blue is better. I have an article about that here - Why NIGHTSEA uses blue light for underwater fluorescence « NIGHTSEA. Also see The role of the barrier filter in fluorescence viewing and photography « NIGHTSEA to see some an explanation about the barrier filter.

Charlie

---------- Post added July 10th, 2013 at 04:24 PM ----------

Searcaigh - Yes there are some great nudi pics done this way. Go through the galleries of underwater fluorescence photographs at nightsea.com. Definitely nudis in David DelBiondo and Kevin Deacon galleries. Also an unbelievable flaming orange nudi (translucent white with purple tips in white light) at the end of a short video I just put up on YouTube, included here:

[video=youtube;4rqe2JBL30c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rqe2JBL30c[/video]