Choosing the best scuba diving or snorkel mask can sometimes be tricky considering the many different options available. From HD clear lens masks, to scuba mask color lenses with tints including red, blue, and yellow, how do you know which is best suited to your diving or snorkeling needs? Choosing the mask with the best-suited lenses is essential to having the most enjoyable experience underwater. The most exciting part of scuba diving and snorkeling is everything you get to see underwater, and the quality of that can be either enhanced or diminished based on the lens you choose.
This article will compare the usefulness of both an HD lens (clear) and tinted scuba lens mask in different circumstances to help you make the best decision when purchasing a dive mask.
What is an HD diving clear lens?
HD lenses are clear lenses made specifically to improve vision underwater, even in the bleakest conditions. They work by maximizing the light that enters into the mask to help the diver see adequately in most conditions.
When light rays pass through the HD diving lens mask things can end up looking larger than they would outside the water. When wearing an HD clear scuba lens marine life and other objects underwater can appear up to 25 percent larger than their actual size. A fish that is originally 16 inches (40cm) long, will now appear up to 20 inches (50cm) long. So, wearing an HD clear scuba lens can give the wearer a closer view of objects underwater.
What is a tinted diving lens?
Tinted scuba lens masks have lenses made especially for underwater color correction. They are made using tinted, tempered glass and are optimized for light absorption/reflection, clarity, and making colors appear more vibrant. They can help underwater vision in certain environments and conditions, with each color of tint serving a different purpose.
Red is best for tropical waters such as the central Pacific Ocean and Central Atlantic Ocean which have clear turquoise water. It is best for use below 10 feet, after which there is less red light, therefore the red tint helps put the color back into the underwater environment.
A yellow hue on the glasses is best for areas with little lighting such as lakes and rivers, or anywhere with low visibility.
Glasses with magenta tints help to better observe colors like red, orange, yellow, and green by draining images of blue color tones. This is most suitable for observing the coral reefs which are brightly colored.
The pros and cons of an HD lens mask
The pros
HD diving lenses are suitable for all locations regardless of visibility or depth. They serve the same purpose in any body of water, and will enhance the experience whether in a small lake or on the ocean floor.
They are better for divers exploring caves or exploring at night. When used with artificial light, HD clear masks are the preferred option as they suck up every bit of light available to give a sharper image for which you won’t need color correction.
For new divers, HD diving clear masks are the best choice. Not only do they provide extra lighting in darker areas enabling divers to see their diving instructions better, but they also help the diving instructors assess the state of their students by observing their eyes and facial expressions. Anxiety or panic attacks can easily be spotted by instructors when they have a clear view of the students’ eyes, and the students have a clear view of theirs. If you tend to panic underwater, check out these helpful scuba diving anxiety tips.
An HD diving lens mask lets in more light than tinted lenses. This makes them the best choice for diving in water with green hues, such as the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of the USA.
The cons
An HD clear scuba lens is the jack of all trades, but master of none. HD clear lenses are not optimized to cater to any specific conditions, unlike tinted lenses which each have a specific situation they are best suited for.
The pros and cons of a tinted scuba lens mask
The pros
The color correction created from tinted lenses is a great asset when viewing marine life. The color red is absorbed by the deeper waters of the ocean meaning that marine life that have the color red might not appear as vibrant. In deeper waters, red appears less, and only objects that are majorly blue and green will appear sharp. By three meters (10ft) into the waters, all the red light from the sunlight spectrum would have been completely absorbed, and by 25 meters (80ft), only objects reflecting blue light will be visible to the naked eye. To correct this, red-tinted lenses provide a red hue to make the objects appear sharper. This helps divers to see better at greater depths.
Tinted lenses that block out the eyes can help you get closer to marine life, rather than scare them away. Fish tend to identify predators by checking for eyes, and the tint on the masks can camouflage the human eyes to ensure they don’t mistake divers for predators.
Just like out of the water, tinted lenses can help protect from the sun’s rays underwater as well. The rays that reach the swimmers and divers can be just as damaging as the harsh rays out of the water. Tinted lenses will help to protect from these rays.
The cons
The tint of the lens cannot be changed at any point once it is made/selected. For scuba divers who plan to explore different sceneries and locations, having a fixed lens color might negatively impact the experience in areas where the lens color is not the optimal color.
Which should you choose - HD clear scuba lens mask vs. tinted scuba lens mask?
When deciding whether to buy a mask with clear HD diving lenses or tinted colored scuba lenses, the final decision rests with you and your diving needs. If you are interested in exploring many locations including caves with low lighting, the HD clear lenses would be perfect for you. If your interests lie in specific waters which will require color correction to better observe marine life, then you should go for the tinted scuba lenses which can transform observed scenery from dull grey to sharp, vibrant colors.
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