Red Filters

[DevonDiver]

Why in the underwater world would you want to achieve a 'dry land' effect?

Badly worded.

I just meant 'realistic color and lighting'... or something like that.

 

[spyder]

How about a red filter for video? I'm purchasing a GoPro/Sartek case and will not be using a video light. Thinking about buying a piece of gel from a local camera shop to cut/place inside the case. Thoughts?

 

[Allison Finch]

The only time I use a red filter is when I am doing dusk/mandarin fish dives. A red filter on my focus light really helps to keep from scaring the fish when mating. The strobes never seem to bother them much, but the focus lights sure will. The red filter makes all the difference.

On regular shooting? Never.

 

[flareside]

PS is a diver's best friend------if you're shooting UW pics.....

PS is for divers who like high maintenance friends .... Lightroom was created for the rest of us.

 

[under water]

I am going to disagree with some of what has been posted previously.
I think that a red filter is a valuable tool for some situations and cannot be replaced by white balance or post processing.

If you use a red filter you will attenuate all but the red light, this balances the amount of light from the spectrum underwater and allows you to dial in the exposure to what is appropriate for the depth you are at.
Yes, it means you will need to increase the exposure or speed (ISO) and this may cause some cameras to go beyond their useful range but for those cameras that can handle it you now are able to expose the red, green and blue at similar levels and therefore are not in the noisy range for the sensor for the reds as you would be without a filter.

If you use a strobe, the need for a red filter is pretty much eliminated as you are providing roughly equal red, green & blue illumination to your subject.

I think the best use for red filters is for wide angle shots that are relatively shallow. This includes shallow wrecks and reefs. Alex's magic filters are just one form of a red filter (they really aren't "magic" ), but he has chosen one he thinks works the best, and I agree with his choice, but others work as well.

In-camera white balance does not always give you the latitude that you need and shooting RAW, even though it captures all of the info, still can suffer from noisy red exposure due to severe underexposure of red light. If you don't get enough red light into your image when shooting you can't create it afterwards without pushing everything red. PhotoShop & Lightroom tricks are good, but they aren't magic either. It is better to attenuate the green and blue so that you have a balanced exposure and then you have room to tweak.

I find using a red filter is especially helpful in taking videos, even when combined with setting white balance.

Here is a shot using just a red filter. no strobes. auto WB.

 

[bkotheimer]

How about a red filter for video? I'm purchasing a GoPro/Sartek case and will not be using a video light. Thinking about buying a piece of gel from a local camera shop to cut/place inside the case. Thoughts?

Don't install a red filter INSIDE the case where you can't remove or replace it as needed. You won't want it for the first 15-20' of your dive; you will want it in natural light at medium depths; and then you may want to remove it again BELOW a depth where it starts to cut the light too much. So make it removable for sure.

 

[jarhed]

I am going to disagree with some of what has been posted previously.
I think that a red filter is a valuable tool for some situations and cannot be replaced by white balance or post processing.

Absolutely agree with Frank here. A red filter, (I also very much like the Magic Filters) are another tool in the kit. WB and color correction in PS do not replace the effect that you can get from using red filters. For shallow water and bright conditions, using the manual WB technique w/ red filters can yield some stunning colors that are not possible any other way.

Strobes will also add color to your image, but only in the short range (~5ft) that the light will reach. red filters will affect the entire depth of the underwater scene.

I tend to usually shoot with strobes, but for bright shallow conditions, filters are a a great choice. I usually use them with the Tokina 10-17mm.

If you simply try to WB your photo to remove the cyan cast, you can enhance the reds in the foreground, but your blues in background water will turn pale and ugly.

I prefer the internally mounted gel filters that alex mustard sells for their quality. you do lose the flexibility to change during the dive, but I get my best pics by committing to a type of shooting for a dive and concentrating on it for that dive.

take care,
john

 

[WetBoy101]

Another "Red Filter Fan" here. I sometimes will use it even at close range. It helps when you don't want to scare off your subject with a strobe. I was able to get three shots off at different distances and he didn't flinch!!

 

[spyder]

Is there a specific red gel everyone uses? I assume there is some brand/numbering system. I would like a filter for outside but will have to figure out how to mount to a GoPro housing.

 

[under water]

I use a 52MMBW Equinox 52mm Salt Water/ Blue Water Color Filter added to my lens on the E-PL1 .. inside the housing. You can get away with using it with a stobe though if you WB and post process.
see this example http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5733122-post18.html

Ideally an externally mounted one is best. I have used an Ikelite one in the past and loved it.
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