Posts by Dan

  • Hola a todos !!

    Bienvenido Elvin. Siempre es interesante saber de los comienzos de otro pescador submarino. Espero que te guste el foro.


    Esta lindo el peto.


    Dan

  • Can swimming pools make you sick?

    It seems to me that every time I spend some time in a pool I don't feel well afterward, a sort of a mild nausea. Has anyone else experienced this or knows what the reasons might be? Could it be that the chemicals used in pools somehow permeate the skin and enter one's system?

  • Carbon fin testing

    I'm glad you like it, Los Dan Den have great music. El Chico Suchel never fails to take me back to Cuba, it's so typical.. Further back than when I've actually been LOL BTW Suchel is a Cuban brand of perfumes and cosmetics :)


    Music: Dan Den - El Chico Suchel


    You can download the song by right clicking the link and selecting save as.

  • Masks & field of view

    Quote from hau

    Many times I see the macks as they swim up from behind and pass me. Also, many times I have been on the surface staring at the bottom only to catch a movement at the top of the Technisub which turns out to be a mack or my yak I am about to run into. It is also very easy for me to look down at my weight belt to replace my knife in its sheath.

    I have the same things happen to me with my mask so I can also say that I love my mask for the field of view it affords?


    There are two factors here. First, to be able to say that one mask has a wider field of view than another one needs to measure one against another. I've done this with the omer abyss vs. the Cressi Minima by fixing a position and counting the number of tiles I could see on the wall to the side without turning my head. With the Abyss I could count one more 5" tile at a distance of about 5 feet.


    The second factor is does it even matter if a mask has a slightly bigger field of view. At 40 fsw when you're looking at the bottom that angle that gave you an extra 5" tile at 5ft has turned into an extra 20ft on each side of what the mask with the smaller field of view is giving you. Can you even see everything in the area that a mask with a smaller field of view is giving you? I find myself scrutinizing bottom structure 10 square feet at a time no matter how much field of view I get. And about the macks, as fast as they're moving do you really think that spotting it 0.5 seconds earlier makes a difference?

  • Masks & field of view

    LB, in theory what you said about losing field of view is true. But in practical application whatever loss there is, it's negligible. A mask not fitting your face properly is an important albeit different issue. If the mask leaks on your face there's no arguing about that, you need a different mask. Maybe if the mask didn't leak you'd be in a better position to evaluate the effect of field of view loss. In the post above you have Pantoja, the man sees fish where no one else does, and he brings them on the boat too. If he says that he sees enough hehehe... I have no stakes with this mask, it's not part of our line up although I'd like it to be and I'm going to try and find a source.

  • Masks & field of view

    An issue that we often talk about when considering spearfishing masks is field of view. A while back I purchased a Cressi Minima mask which obviously has a smaller field of view. I finally tried out the mask and really enjoyed the compactness of it. I can almost feel the energy savings turning my head from side to side. The small loss in field of view didn't bother me at all. I thought about why this is so.



    My idea is fairly simple. As spearfishers we're always trying to focus our vision on small areas. Distinguishing fish from bottom structure is not something that can be done with peripheral vision. It takes some concentration to sort things out on the bottom and when you're doing that peripheral vision goes out the window. That's why I wasn't at all bothered by the loss of some field of view. Think about how many times you saw something outside the area that you were focused on that turned out to be a viable target. For me most often it's a piece of sea weed on the surface, another diver just before I bump into him, or one of those little fish that choose to hang out around your face and startle the shit out of me the first time I see them. I can honestly say that spearfishing wise nothing worthwhile has ever come out from peripheral vision. I think it may actually be better to limit the field of view as it helps me concentrate and focus my vision where it will be productive, not waste my time with fantasies about noticing a shark rushing me at the last moment.


    I'm also aware that as I change my focus my head moves. This is done subconsciously. Slight changes in the angle of the head produce a much larger field of view than any mask. Then again, if you're really in the market for the largest field of view possible maybe these are the masks for you..


    http://www.hydrooptix.com/index2.html

    Quote

    This is not a currently shipping product -- the patented MAX optics will only be available for commercial and military divers, integrated as part of full-face masks and helmets made by other companies. Divers with 20/20 vision do not need to wear contact lenses to use this mask, as they do with MEGA Double-Dome masks. The laws of optics dictate the dimensions of the lens barrel -- but their cost and size makes this an impractical solution for recreational divers. The MAX multi-element optical package, sealed in pressure-proof lens barrels, is expected to be available in late 2009 and retail for about $1,500 + the cost for the full-face mask / helmet.


    This is a photo of one of our proof-of-concept MAX masks, which provides a flawless 140-degree field-of-view. Each MAX proof-of-concept mask cost over $60,000, and allows those with 20/20 vision to use their eyes in the exact same manner as they do in air.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8zJZwsehXM


    Quote

    The HydroOptix MEGA 4.5 DD is the world's only mask that puts your eyes at the center of a dome. This geometry lets you see objects at their TRUE size, distance and shape. However, the concave shape of water creates a secondary optical phenomenon: you must be nearsighted to use the mask.


    Many naturally nearsighted divers can use the mask with just their naked eyes. The view is so astonishing that hundreds of 20/20 divers (called 1.0 in Japan) have learned to wear contact lenses. They become temporarily nearsighted just to use the mask, and tell us that wearing contacts is worth the hassle, because of the vast improvement in vision. Low-cost disposable contacts are now part of their standard dive gear. Yes, if you are 20/20, this probably sounds ridiculous. But once you try it, you may decide that your valuable time underwater deserves a razor-sharp view almost 5X greater than anything else. Both new divers and Instructor-Trainers are wearing contacts again, years after successful LASIK made them 20/20.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmI981cICY0