Mask colors / lenses / etc

[Ironcat]

I use a clear silicone mask with a clear lens but so far I guess I haven't dove deep enough to really worry about colors washing out.
I plan on going AOW and adding depth as I progress in my diving adventure though so I am wondering about the colored lenses and whatnot.
I plan on most of my diving being in the South Florida area and doubt I will see 150' for at least a year or more.

1. What's the purpose of a red lens?
2. What's the purpose of a yellow lens?
3. What's the difference between the 2?
4. Does the black skirt really cut down on glare and whatnot? I have read that a black skirt cuts down on ambient light so you can see deeper into ledges and holes, sorta like a pinhole viewer...
5. Do mirrored lenses really get you closer to fish who can't see your eyes so don't think you're a threat, or is that just mask seller BS ?

I know all of this information is out on the web for people to find at their leisure but I wanted to ask people who use this stuff in the real world, not for an advertisement or a magazine article.

 

[Mo2vation]

I use a clear silicone mask with a clear lens but so far I guess I haven't dove deep enough to really worry about colors washing out.
I plan on going AOW and adding depth as I progress in my diving adventure though so I am wondering about the colored lenses and whatnot.
I plan on most of my diving being in the South Florida area and doubt I will see 150' for at least a year or more.

1. What's the purpose of a red lens?
2. What's the purpose of a yellow lens?
3. What's the difference between the 2?
4. Does the black skirt really cut down on glare and whatnot? I have read that a black skirt cuts down on ambient light so you can see deeper into ledges and holes, sorta like a pinhole viewer...
5. Do mirrored lenses really get you closer to fish who can't see your eyes so don't think you're a threat, or is that just mask seller BS ?

I know all of this information is out on the web for people to find at their leisure but I wanted to ask people who use this stuff in the real world, not for an advertisement or a magazine article.

You're asking the right questions.

I started out of OW as most of us do - with a high-volume clear skirt mask. Dived that for awhile. Actually a long while.

I was tagging along an intro dive I set up for my sister, and the DM / Guide looked at me (this had to be about 40 dives in) and asked if I'd like to try a black mask. I'm all "no way... I love this one..." So we're on the dive and he whips it out of his BC pocket and offers it again... I'm thinking cool. Mask switch at 40 feet... I can do a real A/B test.

So I do the switch... I was shocked at how much better I liked the black skirt. I mean, instantly.... a low profile two window black mask. Who knew.

At the SoCal Scuba Show a week later I was trying on masks... and the SeaVision red lens just fit perfectly. So I bought it. Black skirt, red lens. This was a long time ago when these things we're only on the domes of the lunatic fringe, nobody else has colored lenses and they were prohibitively expensive... like $100 or something. I mean stupid money for a mask.

I dived my beloved SeaVision until it leaked so bad I had to chuck it. Years I dived it. I loved that thing. Took my DIR/F in that mask (to the endless ribbing of all in the class...) Made a difference on a bright day, for sure.

I moved on to the Cressi Bug Eyes and that's been the mask for the last 2 or 3 years. I broke one as I was suiting up about 4 months ago - so I grabbed the leaky SeaVision. You know what - I hated it. Not just the leaky stuff, but a few years away and a few hundred dives removed from it just made me hate the red lenses.

SO - my point is this: You can get used to anything. You can learn to love any mask (that fits....) but after trying them all I have come back to a low volume 2 window black skirted mask as the one I use now.

---
Ken

PS: with no prompting, my wife just put her SeaVision on the shelf. She just said the other day "you know, I don't miss the red mask at all...."

 

[Doc]

1. What's the purpose of a red lens?
2. What's the purpose of a yellow lens?
3. What's the difference between the 2?
4. Does the black skirt really cut down on glare and whatnot? I have read that a black skirt cuts down on ambient light so you can see deeper into ledges and holes, sorta like a pinhole viewer...
5. Do mirrored lenses really get you closer to fish who can't see your eyes so don't think you're a threat, or is that just mask seller BS ?.

The purpose is to get you to spend money.

The colored lenses detract from the quantity of light, they change the quality. The increase contrast. It's still makes it darker. Simple math of physics.

Money much better spent on a small flashlight.

Dark skirts (think about this now) eliminate minor reflections inside the face plate.

Mirrored lenses can spook fish. Try putting a mirror in front of a fish, start with a Damsel Fish. They will attack.

Don't point any mask directly at them. Look from an angle if you must.

Squid love their reflections in your mask. Find them at night, light them up, face your mask right at them. They'll fall in love with their own reflections.

Save your money, buy a flashlight. Ask a local DM where to look for the cool stuff.