Every try a mirror mask?

I am hearing that those who spearfish use a Riffle mirror mask that "hides eyes and reduces glare while hunting."

I tried it in the pool and it seems to reduce your vision by 2 f/stops. But would the trade off of not scaring fish away because they can't see your eyes be worth having reduced vision?

Anyone had any experience with this?

Unless your on a rebreather or freediving most fish are scared off when you exhale through your regulator. A mirror mask might actually create curiosity or aggression in fish when they see their reflection, otherwise I can't see any benefit.

I am on the fence, when I first started taking photos underwater I was up with a huge Nassau grouper. I would approach him and he would turn away, I ended up looking down and he would let me get a bit closer however now that I am a bit better (still a complete newbie) I approach them differently and look at them completely through the eyepiece

Things that scare most fish though are bubbles, especially fish that have never seen a diver. I randomly jumped off somewhere in the keys in this small reef, my freediving friends, the fish would surround them and they would come up to me fast with curiosity once I breathed BOOM they were gone. Each breath had them jump.

Doesn't matter if you're solo diving, but if you're diving with a buddy, it's important for your buddy to be able to see your eyes as well. Important "tell" as to whether you are going ok or not.

I'm also less than thrilled by the idea of losing 2 stops of light to my own eyes... could make gauging exposure a little trickier, although I suppose you'd get used to it and compensate eventually.

I'd leave the mirrored masks to the freediving hunters.

i had a spearfishing mask that was pseudo polarised and hence had a slightly mirrored look to it.

It actually appeared to increase my vision by about 1/4

there are many to choose from and they are all very low volume, the main trouble is the lack or peripheral vision which i always enjoy when photographing, without it I miss out on so much stuff.

the atomic ultraclear mask line is great for photography (since it uses optic quality tempered glass). no mirror, not light reduction (havnt tried the ARC glass but i here it performs well also)

I'm 100% with the "your buddy needs to see your eyes" thing. Yesterday i did a dive in some annoyingly high current and my buddy was having some major problems (both with the current/camera thing and with some equalization problems) eyes are the first place i look for panic.

Also, keep in mind your eyes are usually hidden behind your camera, so i dont think mirroring anything will have much of an effect. After all, a giant lens is just as frightening.

my .02

Mike

^ Haha that just gave me the ridiculous image of someone trying to hide two marble sized eyes just to pull up a dome port the size of his head. Not to mention the giant spidery arms coming off from both sides

I spearfish and I have used a mirror-mask. But i didnt think that i had any effect besides making evrything darker so I changed back to a regular spearo-mask. And I shoot the same amount of fish as allways.

Spearfishers often debate this and some people claim it works and others that its a fancy gadget.(But it is great if you want to get the attension of a clownfish)

In my expierience, not looking directly at the fish will let you get closer than if you stare right at it. So I turn my head a bit away still being able to see the fish.

Regards

Mads