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Lense Choice.. clear, amber or mirrored?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
tbgsub said:
by the way, Island sands; you might want to consider modelling mirrored lenses, it is a good look for you. makes you doubly mysterious!
JK..

Tbgsub.
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rofl rofl

I have visions of a bikini with mirrors on it rofl
 
Reactions: Mr. X
nice! I am sure we will all be waiting for that pic!
happy diving.
 
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On my three pairs of AQA Mantis masks, they all have prescription lenses in them and three different uses as well. The mirrors are great when I go over and down to the Florida Keys and my eyes are not so strained at the end of the day. Here when it's murky or the plankton bloom is setting up, the amber lenses are really good at lightening the contrast a bit. And the clears are for when it's closed out or I'm behind the housing with the cameras.

If I had to have one, it's be the clear.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
trux said:
I agree with you, that in spite of the theory, it is worth of trying, but my vision gets easily confused by Polaroids even in normal conditions, so I am pretty sure it would be even worse under water.
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I got in late on this thread and I have no idea how Polarized lenses would work underwater, but I just want to state that they are vital for trying to see fish, reefs, or other things from above the surface. They are almost universally used by fishing guides in Florida, who are trying to spot bonefish or permit on the shallow flats. My father was a fishing guide, and wouldn't leave the dock without them.

I bought my first Polarized glasses, cheap plastic at an Army Surplus store in the early 1950s, and have never worn a pair of sub glasses that were not polarized.

As one illustration of the dramatic difference they make- when I was a teenager, we used to stand on a seawall and throw hand spears at passing mullet and snook. Tourists would ask us if we were just throwing randomly into the water because they couldn't see the fish without Polaroids.

Where I dive now in California, we often stop next to balls of kelp floating on the surface out in mid ocean to see if there are game fish under them. If my friends don't have Polaroids, then they can't see the fish even though I am seeing them.

I wear them while driving or any other time when sun glasses are required, and I have never noticed any problems such as those mentioned by Trux.

I know that this lecture is not directly related to mask lens choices, but since my experience with Polaroids seems to differ so much from that of Trux, I just wanted to give the other point of view.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
Bill, if you read further above, I explained how the Polaroid filter works, and why it works fine in some situations, but is horrible in others. I know it has advantages in some situations (especially at flat horizontal non-metallic surfaces), but I also know that it generates unpleasant interferences as soon as there are vertical or metallic reflections and glares. And as I wrote, underwater, where the horizontal orientation is no more dominant, the advantages are very questionable and hardly worth of the 50% luminosity loss the polarization causes.
 
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Trux,

As I said, I have no idea how it would work underwater, but I believe you are right. But I have never noticed any of those unpleasant interferences with vertical or metallic reflections and glares that you mention, and I've been wearing them all my life.

If people were not aware of the tremendous benefits of wearing them on boats, I just didn't want them to misconstrue your post and think that they should be avoided altogether. I have been two miles offshore when I found that they were back in my car, and they are so important to me that I went back for them.
 
The Riffe masks are just good stuff. Top quality and perfect fit, i have right now a viso amber and it really helps in the reef where some times the shapes just fade away. I tried the mantis mirrored in the store, and the fit was great but it was way too dark, i guess it could fit some bluewater purposes though
 
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I got an Omer Abyss with mirrored lenses in Croatia one year, back here in Ireland at 15m I couldn't see a bloody thing!
They are good for shallow water spearing for schooling bass but for anything deeper and darker forget it.
 
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