Magic filters - any good?

[Rod]

Magic filters are excellent. I watched a presentation about them and tied them out and they are excellent. I think they are designed and marketed by Alex Mustard the underwater photographer.

[David P]

Without having tried them ... I have a possibly naive view that Alex Mustard (and Peter Rowlands) wouldn't have (a) developed them, (b) put their (rather considerable) names to them and (c) gone to some lengths to sell them, if they felt that they didn't offer something over and above the URPro filters! Caveat emptor as always - though the examples on their website are impressive.

[JohnK]

UR pro blue water filter - great. Green water filter not so great but methinks this is visibility related.

[Pigpen]

I used a magic filter for the first time in the Red Sea in May. Certainly in shallower waters, with good light and a manual white balance, I reckon the results are as good as if not better than a strobe.

They are a bit fiddly to get in and out of the housings, and you are 'stuck' with it for the whole dive, but they do give good results.

I see on DDnet that Alex is in the process of developing an 'auto' filter for cameras without WB.

Don't think they are recommended for green water.

[Tim Ingmire]

The original magic filters were designed for SLR users that sould use the likes of the UR-PRO eg for those lenses without a filter screw or where the port didn't allow you to add a filter.

Of course, as they are so much cheaper than the UR-Pro's, people with compacts bought them, cut them to size and stuck them into their housings (the filters are gel filters and rapidly disintergrate in salt water so don't try them outside the housing) and get some very very good results. The filter is awesome - I wanted to use them in the Red Sea last year but put them "in a safe place" before I went but, you guessed it, I couldn't find them when the time came. Wasn't really a problem in the end as the camera broke before the first dive.

The filters are designed for blue water so not ideal for green.

[j.w.]

Originally Posted by Lee B

I bought the magic filters 2 weeks ago after having them recomended. I am off to the southern red Sea at the end of aug so will have a good try of them there.

Still toying with getting a strobe though an the filters are only for ambient light and manual white balance shooting so they may be an expensive waste.

What size sheets do the filters come in? Do you an A5 size sheet or just a couple of inches square.
John.

[Pigpen]

Originally Posted by j.w.

What size sheets do the filters come in? Do you an A5 size sheet or just a couple of inches square.
John.

Depends whether DSLR or compact and the type of housing you are using. Check out the website M A G I C - F I L T E R S Its pretty comprehensive.

[B]

ok so I am probably posting completely inappropriately on this thread because I have never used magic filters...

but

I do use kood filters for both blue and green water and it makes a heck of a difference... I tried not using them for one dive and it was just such a difference. It also makes it so much easier later on in photoshop...

Berit

[frosty the snowman]

Originally Posted by The Prices

ok so I am probably posting completely inappropriately on this thread because I have never used magic filters...

but

I do use kood filters for both blue and green water and it makes a heck of a difference... I tried not using them for one dive and it was just such a difference. It also makes it so much easier later on in photoshop...

Berit

I had several nikonos cameras then had a lay off from diving. I've just bought a digital in a housing (fuji finepix f11) but it's just like starting again! So what are kood filters?

[Okeanos]

Originally Posted by frosty the snowman

I had several nikonos cameras then had a lay off from diving. I've just bought a digital in a housing (fuji finepix f11) but it's just like starting again! So what are kood filters?

Kood filters are Japanese glass coloured filters, available in the UK from Bristol Cameras, full list HERE, I've been waiting for some 67mm ones to come in stock but they haven't arrived yet.

If you are using a standard Fuji housing with your F11 they don't fit, they are designed to screw in. I have the Ikelite housing for the F10/11 with a 67mm adaptor to take 67mm lenses and filters.