Auto-Magic Filter

Thanks Alex for the fast response! I should have pointed out that I have a compact with RAW and manual WB capability (Panasonic LX3), but the way I hear you is, that auto-magic is best suited for the smaller sensor of compacts, where going to high ISO values may introduce noise. Is that to say the original filters out more of the blue spectrum than the auto?

Jan

Alex,

I dive with an Ikelite 67 mm housing and two strobes. But the strobes are useless for video. So is it possible to mount either of your filters on the inside of a clear 67 mm filter and use it wet when shooting video? I'd then remove it UW when I went back to stills, or leave it and turn my strobes off.

My camera is a Nikon P5100 with manual WB.

If my idea works, could I then mount my macro lens or my WA lens (both wet) onto the clear filter when shooting shallow-with strobes off of course??

I frequently change wet lens UW as conditions dictate. I know that some people don't like to do that, but I'm comfortable with it.

Your Auto filter comes in 50 X 50 mm sheets, so I'd have to seam them to fill the 67 mm space-correct?? Does the Magic filter come in a larger format??

Thanks very much.

Harry

Hi Harry,

We are well aware of the desire for solid removable versions of our filters and it is something that we continue to investigate. It is not a problem of whether we can make them. We can. It is whether we can make them at a fair price, considering all the different lens/port sizes of the different compact cameras on the market.

I shot this video with my Fuji compact with a removable version of the Auto-Magic filter. The camera is very basic and only has auto white balance and auto exposure in video mode, but I was pleased with how the video looks (its a bit compressed here (I still struggle to get the best out of video compression). However this filter is not (yet) commercially available.

Alex

Alex:

I have a canon 5d2 and i love the idea of shooting video and stills on the same dive. if i were to use this filter, would i need to turn off the strobes for stills?

I just bought the canon G10 with canon housing... and also just ordered the inon s-2000 from reef. What do you think about using the filter along with the strobe? I will also be using the subsee 10x magnifer off and on throughout my dives.

Too bad I didn't see this before ordering my new equipment... :-))

If you do wind up making it available as a wet lens, I believe that fantasea and inon both make an adaptor for that housing that allows you to attach wet lenses... but can't remember if they are bayonet or screw on.

Am heading to Lembeh the end of December...

I have a canon 5d2 and i love the idea of shooting video and stills on the same dive. if i were to use this filter, would i need to turn off the strobes for stills?

Hi Matt,

Yes it is possible. Our filter (original Magic filter) was designed so it is possible to white balance its effect away - so you can leave it on and re-white balance while shooting with flash. Mike Veitch showed some examples in his filter review for Wetpixel in 2005:

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/magic-filter-review/

This is not the best way to shoot, and you are better off without the filter, but the loss in quality of shooting with strobes and filter and then using the white balance to hide the effect of the filter is small.

Then you can turn off your strobes and shoot video with the filter - re-white balancing for available light and filter shots. A good example of shooting video with the 5D Mk2 with Magic Filter is the 5D Mk2 video on the DiveFilm HD podcast - currently on the front page of wetpixel.

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/divefilm-hd...res-5d-mark-ii/

Hope that this helps

Alex

p.s. Note to all, to avoid confusion, that this is discussing the original Magic filter, not the Auto-Magic Filter - which is the title of this thread.

p.s. Note to all, to avoid confusion, that this is discussing the original Magic filter, not the Auto-Magic Filter - which is the title of this thread.

My question about using it with the canon g10 in canon housing with the inon s2000 was referring to the auto-magic filter. Will it make a difference for the better as I get used to working with a strobe again? (I stopped using a strobe when I went from film to diigtal about 5 years ago)