Color Filter Kit

[John Ford]

Please excuse the ignorance in this message but I know that you are a forgiving lot so here goes.

I am completely new to photography of any kind, both above or below water, but have recently bought a DSC-P10 and the marine housing (MPK-PHA). My questions are:

1. What is the purpose of the color filter kit (VF-MP5K) - is it to correct the tendancy for everything to appear blue/green as you go deeper?
2. If not what is it for? and finally
3. I am just off for 2 weeks in the Maldives, should I buy a color filter to take with me?

Any comments much appreciated.....John

 

[Cecil]

John, the prevailing opinion on the filter is no. They do not work very well and cut down on the amount of light which is more critical than the color. You can always correct the color later with a photo editor. The best solution for the blues, is get close, then closer and use the flash (always).

 

[Mark Goodchild]

Hi John,

In my opinion...which is different to the above is that to get decent shots without a strobe you need the filter. Since you are diving in 'blue' water then you'll need a red filter kit.

The filter re-balances the shot so that it looks less blue than before. This is better than post processing because once the shot has lost its balance it is very hard to re-balance and in some cases it is almost impossible to restore.

The internal flash should work fine if you are close to your subject but I personally have not got on well with it. Especially in the Maldives where the plankton could potentially be quite heavy and give you plenty of backscatter.

I personally think the filter is a worthwhile purchase. Especially if you are not using a strobe. Some sensible choices of photograph will give great results. e.g. Where the natural light is at its best and visibility is good. It is not an essential bit of kit because as said above you can fix them in post processing but in my opinion if you have something better to begin with it is easier. On my site I have a digital editing guide. There is a turtle shot on there shot through around 5-10 metres of water and you'll see how blue it is without the filter.

Try these for some examples:

http://www.zerovisibility.co.uk/photography.htm

http://www.zerovisibility.co.uk/Digital.htm

These shots were taken with the filter. Yes I know they are not the best... ;-)

http://www.zerovisibility.co.uk/Gallery/Egypt1/index.html

 

[Cecil]

If you want examples of shots without a filter you can select from my web page. All shots were taken with a Sony DSC-P5 with internal flash. Make sure you check out some of the New England shots in lousy visibility.

Home Page

 

[Jetwrench]

Excellent question, John. I have a filter for my P10 but have not used it. The majority of users at the time were saying it did not work very well, and here you have varying opinions. My best advice is try it. If it doesn't work, you won't be out much in the wallet. I plan to try mine soon in Bonaire and will post back here with my results. As far as I can tell, results vary depending on the operator.

Jet