Red lenses

[nshuff]

I keep hearing about people using red tinted lenses to see the color on the reef better. Where do you find lenses like this? Can you buy them for any mask, or do you have to buy a mask with only those lenses installed?

Thanks

 

[gert7to3]

You might try Sea Vision:

Prescription Scuba Diving Masks - Snorkeling Masks - SeaVisionUSA

 

[63chev]

Sea Vision has them and Prescription Dive Masks have them. They reduce the blues so truer colours are seen (Supposidly I just ordered a pair so I have no experience.) The yellow are supposidly for low light like ski goggles.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

Does anyone know if this concept really works underwater? I would assume the color, shade, and intensity should vary by depth, water color, and ambient sunlight. I've seen these masks before, but wrote them off as novelty and figured regular clear glass would work best for diving, and if you want to see the real color, then use a light. I'd like to hear an honest opinion from someone who hasused them.

I swear by my rose colored lens while snowboarding. I think that's best for low-light conditions on a mountain and doesn't strain the eyes in bright light as much as a yellow lens (but maybe a bit 'fruity' wearing pink! haha!!)... although all of my shooting glasses are yellow.

 

[Karloss]

I have a Seavision2000 Red lense that I swap in and out of fairly often and have not noticeably seen a BIG differnce. There might be one in the first 20-30' but after that everything seem to be the same when using my Seavision or my Tusa. If you can find one that won't cost you and arm and a leg it would'nt hurt to try it if that is what you want.

 

[peterbj7]

A friend I used to dive with had a hammerhead shark painted on a lens. At least, that's what I assume as pretty well every dive he said he saw one when I hadn't. That's really diving with rose-tinted glasses on.

 

[Tom Winters]

A while ago at a DEMA show, I got a Sea Vision with the red lenses and the -2.0 diopter ground in the bottom to read my gauges. I found it not to be very useful, and after I switched to monovision contacts, I could see close again.
I eBayed that mask years ago. Other people seem to love them.

 

[DevonDiver]

Red lenses only work in shallow depths. They reduce the overall ambient light reaching the eye. that makes things darker. They balance the 'color perception' by reducing non-red light passing through the filter.

Red light is the first color to be absorbed as you descend. Below that absorbtion depth, where there is no red light, you just end up wearing a pair of very dark sunglasses.

To state the obvious.... dark sunglasses are not a clever idea in a low light environment...

Have a look at some of the underwater photography/videography threads that discuss filters. It's the same concept regardless of camera or eyeball.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Does anyone know if this concept really works underwater? I would assume the color, shade, and intensity should vary by depth, water color, and ambient sunlight. I've seen these masks before, but wrote them off as novelty and figured regular clear glass would work best for diving, and if you want to see the real color, then use a light. I'd like to hear an honest opinion from someone who hasused them.

I swear by my rose colored lens while snowboarding. I think that's best for low-light conditions on a mountain and doesn't strain the eyes in bright light as much as a yellow lens (but maybe a bit 'fruity' wearing pink! haha!!)... although all of my shooting glasses are yellow.

PansSiren, you're talking about two different things here, with the red lenses working to restore color verses the red lenses used in skiing to preserve night vision. If you'll remember back to some of the WWII movies, the subs always used red lights at night prior to surfacing. This is because white light washes out your ability to have night vision. In skiing, this helps keep your night vision good so you can see by moonlight and starlight.

In diving, as you descend in water, the water column above you filters first the red light. By diving with a red mask lens, according to theory, you can restore some of that red light and see the more "natural" color of the reef. Well, I think it doesn't work quite that way, because while it may "restore" red to the visual field, it does so evenly over all the other field of view too. So while you may see reds now, you may also see reds where there were no red light before.

I have never used a tinted lens underwater, as I want all the light that is there to come through to my eyes.

SeaRat

 

[MarineResearch]

I've used a red lens filter for photography. There is too much red in shallow water, and the effectiveness diminishes in deep water. However, on most tropical reefs where typical recreational diving depth range from 30-70 feet, red filters work pretty well. Also, red lenses only work in conditions where the water appears to be blue. A magenta colored lens is used for green colored water, such as found off the California coast. Lens filters are typically sold for "tropical blue water" and "green water", with a few around to correct for HID lighting.