Snorkeling Filters

[Anthony Lawrence]

Hi, I'm new to this forum so the question may have been answered. Do I need a filter if I'm only snorkeling in shallow water, say down to 10 to 15 feet..?
I definitely would like to buy a Macro filter for some close ups underwater and above..
i've been looking at PolarPro, Backscatter and SRP but not sure which brand is better.
I have just bought the Black plus..

 

[fbk]

If you're snorkelling then most of the time you're on the surface, unless you are an excellent freediver, in which case you can forgo the filter. I took some manta ray footage in Raja Ampat on the surface and left the filter on... had to take all the red/pink out when editing.

Got rid of my GoPro's but the Switchblade looks like a great combo for the 3+ that I would look into if I had one.

 

[Victor Linnet]

For snorkel depths just below the surface regular filters may hurt more then they help as they are designed mostly for 5-25m so dont use the filters on all shots, then you will be able to play with both in post.

 

[PolarPro]

Hi Anthony,

You can use filters while snorkeling but there are a few things to watch out for.
When you are filming at the surface you definitely do not want a filter. Everything will turn out too red.

At 10 feet you can start to use a filter, but the only shots that are going to turn out nice are shots pointing down towards the reef/bottom.
Most horizontal shots or shots looking up towards the sun will be too red.

If water visibility is less than 30 feet, you can get some great results in 10 to 15 feet with a filter on.

The macro you can use whenever needed, we love shooting with our macro!

Hope that gives you a little guidance

 

[Carpster61]

Anthony, I have just got back from the Maldives. I went for the diving armed with my GoPro Hero 3+ Black and Red SRP Dome filter. Believe me now, if you are snorkelling on the surface to 5 meters leave it off. I used it diving and it is a MUST over 5 meters. I snorkelled when I wasn't diving and the footage I took turned out tinted red. When I was diving I was filming coming back up to surface and as soon as I got to 4 meters there was the surface light and everything turned red. Definately not needed for snorkelling.

---------- Post added December 30th, 2013 at 12:25 AM ----------

Anthony, this is footage from about 2 weeks ago while snorkelling WITHOUT a filter. What you see here is exactly what you see underwater including the colours. You have to remember that 95% of the corals are dead in the Maldives so the reef isnt exactly ablaze ... ;-) >>> Watch in HD .... TURTLE 1 - YouTube .....

 

[Anthony Lawrence]

Thanks for all your replies, most appreciated. I'm quite new to Gopro and filming underwater. I did a little test at my local beach (Sandringham, Melbourne, Australia) and the footage was a bit green looking out to the bay but looking around at the sand and some rocks it was quite clear, i fixed it with FCPX and the footage looked great so I wasn't sure whether a filter would help. Thanks guys. I will be snorkeling in Feb in New Caledonia and Vanuatu so can't wait. Thanks..