Scuba Diving Archives | See The Sea RX

Posted on 16th July 2024 8th January 2025

Oceanic + Phone Dive Housing Available!

The best camera is the one you have with you

Traditionally, if you wanted to take photos or videos underwater on your diving adventure, you needed a setup like I have in the pictures to the left. A large Ikelite housing, a high end camera, and multiple external flashes. This will still give you the absolute quality images, but is expensive and cumbersome for travel. In the last few years, several products have come to market allowing you to take the camera you carry with you every day, your phone, with you diving or snorkeling allowing you to have pictures where they are most available to you to share and post. We now offer on Seethesearx.com, as authorized Oceanic dealers, the Oceanic + housing, the perfect companion for your prescription dive mask.

This is one of my favorite pictures I have taken while diving- I captured this turtle on my iPhone 14 Pro Max in a dive case in St. Martin about 2 years ago. Depth – approximatley 60 feet underwater

Overview of the Oceanic + Housing

The Oceanic+ Dive Housing is meticulously designed to provide robust protection for high-end phones, ensuring they perform flawlessly in the depths of the ocean. Constructed from durable materials such as corrosion-resistant metals and reinforced polycarbonate, this housing is engineered to withstand the pressure and elements encountered underwater. Its ergonomic design allows for easy handling and operation, even in challenging underwater environments where visibility and dexterity may be compromised.

The primary function of any underwater housing is to provide optical clarity while protecting the phone. The Oceanic+ Dive Housing excels in this aspect with precision-engineered ports and and lens that maintain the camera’s autofocus capabilities and ensure sharp, clear images. Advanced coatings and materials minimize glare and distortion, preserving the natural colors and details of the underwater world. This clarity is essential for capturing the vivid hues of coral reefs, the graceful movements of marine life, and the intricate textures of underwater landscapes.

In terms of camera functionality, the housing has a built in app for depth and color correction, ability to use all the camera’s lenses, and ability to quickly share photos when topside (keep in mind even though you have your phone with you underwater, cellphone signal is lost within several feet of the surface).

Dive computer functionality

The Oceanic + Dive Housing has a dive computer app built in, however, this does have a subscription fee if desired (the app fee is shared with the app on the Apple Watch if you have that subscription). The subscription is NOT required for the camera functionality, but is an added feature available for those that might want it (and one less piece of equipment have to travel with).

unboxing

Conclusion

There is no question the easiest way to take photos and video underwater is with your phone and a compact dive housing. These housings provide an easy compact way to bring your phone underwater on reefs, wrecks, or wherever your diving adventures take you. These housings are even great for snorkeling. The camera quality on phones has increased gigantically over the last few years, and while a DSLR/mirrorless set up will produce the highest quality photos available (and we can help you build a set up like that if you wish) in terms of space and cost, these phone housings cannot be beat. The Oceanic + housing costs $489.96 and ships free with your prescription dive mask order. If you would like to purchase one separately, feel free to reach out.

Posted on 2nd January 2022 31st October 2023

Rebreather Diving (With my Prescription Dive Mask) on the Fu Sheng Wreck in Sint Maarten

Rebreather diving in Sint Maarten

One of the ways we are differentiated is the fact that we are divers, not just opticians and optical techs. While the last two years have been challenging for us and others in the dive industry, I was finally able to start getting back in the water this year. The video above highlights a recent awesome dive we we are able to do on a wreck in Sint Maarten. For those wondering, I dive a prescription scubapro d mask with single vision lenses.

I like to write about some of my dive travels with my own prescription dive mask and share them with you all.

In this article, I will also cover specific prescription dive mask concerns for rebreather divers. (Be sure to check out my video above highlight the whole dive).

Dive mask and scuba equipment. — My Scubapro d mask with prescription lenses sitting on my Hollis Prism 2 rebreather.

What is a rebreather?

A diver underwater with a rebreather diving along a wreck — Aiar diving his prism 2 rebreather on the Fu Sheng wreck in Sint Maarten

In Scuba, we have a compressed air tank attached to a diving regulator (a first and second stage). Every time we inhale the regulator provides us (normally) air (or nitrox, or even other gases, depending on the dive) at the surrounding pressure, so our lungs can inflate. Every-time you exhale, all the air in your lungs exits the regulator as bubbles. The human body, however, is not so efficient as to extract all the available oxygen in a single breath of the same gas, so the bubbles contain a significant amount of wasted oxygen. If there was a way to recycle this air, you could extend your time diving.

On a simple level, this is what a rebreather accomplishes. Instead of all your exhaled air exiting as bubbles, you exhale into a counter-lung. The exhaled air then moves across a scrubber removing the carbon dioxide. As the oxygen in the breathing loop decreases, you either manually add, or the rebreather adds pure oxygen to the loop to keep your breathing gas at an ideal mixture.

Prescription dive mask concerns for rebreather divers

If you are a rebreather diver, and like me need corrective lenses, there are a few unique concerns that open circuit divers don’t face.

While heads up displays and computers for recreational divers have recently seen a surge in popularity (like the Scubapro Galileo HUD), they are a mainstay in rebreather diving. Rebreathers either utilize a heads up display (HUD) with a series of different color lights to indicate different rebreather conditions or a computer with a full digital display that can provide more information than the more basic HUDs. The most popular HUD computer is the Shearwater NERD, which I personally use on my Prism 2 now.

The shearwater NERD uses a special lens to focus the display when the diver is looking at a distance, despite the computer sitting inches away from the diver’s face. This allows the diver to be watching his or her surroundings while also having the dive computer screen in focus. If the diver utilizes bifocals or readers in their dive mask, however, the near vision portion of the lens is not suitable for viewing the NERD (While beneficial to a standard light HUD). For rebreather divers who utilize bifocals or reading glass for near vision, we generally suggest using only distance lenses on the side of the mask they view the NERD (normally the right eye). For more information on our bifocal lens scuba mask options, please read my article here.

We are also able to produce fully customized lenses that include a reading section at the top of the lens instead of the bottom of the lens, where the NERD is placed, so the diver can use the top of the lens for photography or other macro work.

Whether you dive a rebreather or open circuit scuba, our diving experience allows us to help you pick the right prescription lens for your needs. Feel free to give us a all or shoot us a message. Our prescription lenses are installed in house in our lab in Houston and are able to provide corrections for astigmatism, double vision, and other unique needs.

The Fu Sheng wreck in 110 feet of water in Sint Maarten- A great dive for a rebreather.

Diving the fu sheng wreck in Sint maarten/st. martin

A dive boat on the surface of the water — Dive Sint Maarten’s boat waiting for us at the surface following our hour long dive on the Fu Sheng wreck.

During my time on St. Martin, I dive the Fu Sheng wreck, a dive I have been trying to do since arriving on the island. The wreck, nestled in about 110 feet off the coast of St. Matin, remains largely in tact. The wreck sank unintentionally, and is one of the older wrecks on the island.

The wreck hosts a variety of marine life including garden eels, moray eels, rays, and a mix of coral.

Diving the wreck on my rebreather allowed me a dive time of just over an hour with only a short deco time of 20 minutes on the way to the surface.

Additional resources

For diving in St. Martin, I have used both of these operations, which have supported rebreather diving (and recreational open circuit). I do not receive anything in exchange for recommending them, and I found them to both be great dive centers.

Ocean Explorers Dive Center in Simpson bay

Dive Sint Maarten in Philipsburg

Posted on 19th April 2020 31st October 2023

Single Vision (Distance) Prescription Dive Mask Gallery

Single vision prescription dive mask examples

Single vision lens dive masks are used to correct distance vision while scuba diving or snorkeling. If you have a relatively simple prescription with minimal astigmatism, the premade stock lens masks may work well for you. If you require astigmatism correction, prism correction, or if your prescription falls outside of the range, you will need our custom prescription dive masks. Our custom prescription lens dive masks can correct for extreme corrections, high cylinders, and strabismus (with prism). Below are examples of our custom prescription dive mask lenses installed in masks we stock and masks sent to us from customers around the world. If you want to see examples of bifocal dive masks, check out the link here.

Single Vision Prescription Dive Mask Gallery

The MP208/Atum freediving mask is very popular with freedivers and spearfisherman. We often do this mask in bifocals, but here it is with single vision corrective lenses. We would discourage the use of this mask for individuals with sphere corrrections greater than +4ish. If you have questions about whether this low volume mask would work for you, don’t hesitate to reach out.

The Atomic Venom Frameless has quickly become our most popular dive mask/scuba goggle- recently overtaking the Scubapro Synergy 2. Here is the single lens dive mask with our prescription distance lenses.

Here is a Cressi low volume mask with our prescription distance lenses. This mask, while a bit smaller can accommodate mild to moderate prescriptions well.

The Scuba Pro Synergy Twin in the older version (since been updated with the Scuba Pro Synergy II Twin) is the all time best selling series of dive masks at See the Sea due to its unique twin skirt seal. Moderate and mild prescriptions will get close to 100% lens coverage. Stronger prescritpions may result in smaller lenses.

This is a mask a diver sent to us for distance lenses. Every pair of prescription lenses we make is custom to your specific mask and prescritpion.

The Hunter mask is one of the less expensive masks we offer (But still a quality mask)- here we installed very strong prescription lenses (Over -20), but in general we recommend a different mask for stronger prescriptions.

Here is a Hunter low volume mask with prescription lenses. The hunter mask is also shown above right, with a much stronger prescription. You can see here how much larger the prescription area is with a moderate strength correction.

The M100, one of our most popular stocked masks, is shown here in the aluminum frame with clear skirt. This is with a fairly strong distance correction, and the m100 is recommended for stronger prescriptions over the Hunter mask for example.

The M100 Color Correction is one of the newer masks we stock at See the Sea. It provivdes a mirror lens and a magenta tint to provide more vivid colors at depth. Here the M100 is outfitted with custom distance prescription lenses.

The M200 pictured here and to the right in the discontinued yellow color, is my favorite mask for smaller faces and also it accomodates strong plus lenses. It features an aluminum frame and is available in clear and black skirts.

The m200 dive mask is also avialable in color correcting mirrored lenses. This is a special order item.

We used to stock the Oceanic Enzo, pictured above. We still can provide it on special requests and it can accommodate mild to moderate prescriptions well.

The Scubapro ghost mask with prescription lenses. We would only encourage the use of this single lens low volume diving mask for very mild prescriptions.

This is the most popular color of the Scubapro Spectra Mini- clear and blue with prescription distance lenses.

Here is a Seac spearfishing mask a diver sent in for prescription lenses. As we make all our prescription lenses custom, we were able to match the shape of the mask for this final product.

The Aqualung Mission dive mask has a unique shape which we matched with the prescription lenses here used to correct astigmatism for this diver.

The Atomic Frameless is a single lens dive mask available on See the Sea. We are able to install our prescription lenses on single lens masks, and you can see the final product here used to correct for distance and astigmatism.

The Atomic Subframe is likely the sturdiest twin lens mask we stock. The lenses installed in this mask are fairly strong, and the subframe can accommodate most prescription lenses. If your prescription is stronger than +/-6 in either way, we may suggest another mask.

If you take your glasses off to read…

If you take your glasses off to read on land, you may want to consider the below option when building out your single vision prescription lenses. This option, a check box in the build out processes, tells us to leave space at the bottom of the mask without prescription so you can see your gauges or computer clearly. If you need further assistance seeing your dive computer, you may want to consider bifocals.

The M200 dive mask pictured here with our “see under” option, leaves space under the prescription lens for the diver to see their gauges without correction.

The scubapro synergy II with see under space. This can be customized to be as high or low as you would like.

Picking a dive mask for prescription lenses can seem to be a stressful task. Hopefully after seeing available options for various prescription ranges, we have made the selection a little easier. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, and be sure to check out our other articles for more information.

Posted on 18th April 2020 31st October 2023

Bifocal Scuba Dive Mask Gallery

Bifocal dive mask lens gallery

Recently, I published a post on different bifocal scuba mask options, but I wanted to create a post with more images, so you can see examples of more options for bifocal lenses in your mask or when ordering a mask from us. Bifocal lenses correct distance vision as well as providing an add power for the near vision section. No more struggling to see your gauges or dive computer. Our prescription dive mask lenses- made custom to your prescription can be produced in as little as three days with rush fees (standard processing is 2-3 business weeks. for more information on our rush options, click here).

Standard and ST35 Bifocals

Below are images of standard and ST35 bifocal masks. The main difference between the two bifocal types is the ST35 gives the diver a bit more near vision room.

Tusa Freedom Ceos Dive Mask with bifocals. These lenses were installed in the customer’s own mask, and due to the smaller size of the CEOS mask the prescription lenses provide almost 100% lens coverage.

The Hollis M3 is a popular twin lens mask. We do not sell the Hollis line, but this mask was sent int by a customer. Twin lens masks are my preffered masks for prescription lenses in general.

This mask was sent to us by a diver for bifocal lenses.

The M100 dive mask is one of our most popular masks on the See the Sea site. The masks costs under $100 before lenses despite its aluminium frame. The m100 is a great average fit mask, and it can accommodate stronger prescriptions.

Many divers are unsure whether single lens masks can accommodate prescription lenses. Here is a scubapro crystal vu with bifocal lenses installed. While the lines are difficult to see in this image, the mask does have the standard lined bifocal.

The Scuba Pro Synergy II remains the most popular mask on See the Sea. We have installed lenses in more Synergy II masks than any other mask in our history. The final lens product comes out near edge to edge on the Synergy, including here on this bifocal.

Seadive masks several mask models with a UV blocking lens. UV blocking lenses are becoming more popular in dive masks to help reduce exposure at the surface. Here we installed bifocals in a customer’s mask.

Here is another Synergy II with bifocal lenses installed. We no longer stock the pink color, but can bring it in on special requests.

As previously stated, the Synergy II is our most popular dive mask. The clear and blue is also the most popular color. Bifocal lenses help scuba divers see their gauges, computers, and camera controls while also correcting distance vision.

The Tusa Paragon is another mask that blocks UV light. Here is a Paragon with lenses from See the Sea.

An Atomic Frameless dive mask with prescription bifocals installed at See the Sea RX in Houston.

This is a Deep See single lens dive mask with traditional bifocals installed. One questions a diver has to answer when picking a new mask is whether to get a black or clear skirt. Clear skirts do allow in more light but tend to yellow over time. Black masks are favored by underwater photographers.

Franklin Bifocal dive masks

Franklin bifocals are custom made by hand in our lab in Houston, Texas. The Franklin is the ultimate custom option for divers that want the most room for near correction. The franklin is fully custimizable, so divers can choose exactly what percentage of the lens they want for near and distance correction. Professional photographers often have more than 50% of the lens corrected for near and only a small portion for distance as the majority of their time is spent looking at a monitor or camera controls within arm reach distance.
Another benefit of franklin bifocals are for those with strong corrections. We can achieve an overall thinner lens design by using high index glass for both distance and near lenses in the mask.
Franklin orders are not available online, and divers should call for pricing.

Another Atomic Venom Frameless mask with prescription Franklin lenses installed here in our lab.

Scuba Pro Synergy II with prescription Franklin Bifocals.

Atomic Frameless mask with Franklin Bifocals to correct both near and distance vision.

Posted on 30th November 2019 31st October 2023

Reading lenses for Atomic Venom Frameless Mask

Reading lenses for atomic venom frameless dive masks

Dive Mask Reading Lenses — Jim’s Atomic Venom Frameless Mask with +2.00 reading lenses

As we age, many of us divers struggle to see our gauges or dive computer (or controls on our cameras for those that take our cameras underwater). One solution, for divers whose distance correction is largely adequate, is installing reading lenses into your dive mask or purchasing a new dive mask with reading lenses. Unlike the stick on reading lenses available at many dive shops or oline, See the Sea installs permanent reading glass (yes real glass) which is guaranteed for the life of the mask.

We were recently asked by our good friend Jim to create reading lenses for his Atomic Venom Frameless Dive Mask, and he was stoked with how they turned out. Jim does a lot of macro work, so large reading lenses were a necessity. In this article, I am going to cover:

The Atomic Venom Frameless Mask
Reading lens options for dive masks
The final lens shape
How to order reading lenses for a dive mask
Other considerations

The Atomic Venom Frameless Mask

The Atomic Venom Frameless mask is probably the flagship mask from Atomic. Based on years of frameless mask design, According to Atomic, “The VENOM Frameless is incredibly comfortable with
low-volume, hydrodynamic construction and exclusive Atomic “Wicked” styling. Co-molded with two silicone materials in two levels of softness and features the exclusive Atomic UltraClear lens. It will change the way you think about dive masks”.

Unlike their other frameless masks (check out my overview of the Atomic mask lineup), the Venom Frameless is only available in a black skirt, and only in the standard size (the non-venom frameless masks are available in clear and medium fits).

Reading lens options for dive masks

Us scuba divers need clear near vision for several reasons:

Most importantly, we need to see our gauges and/or computer to be aware of our remaining bottom time and tank pressure.
Observe small animals or features up close underwater.
See a camera screen or controls for an underwater camera

Types of reading glasses

At See the Sea, we permanently install reading glass into your dive mask (or you can purchase a dive mask from us including the Atomic Venom). Normally install what are called “Executive” style readers which extend all the way the lens left to right, but as everything we do is custom, we can create a custom shape fitting your needs. Often, professional underwater photographers and videographers require larger reading lenses as they spend more of their time viewing macro work.

lens shape used

In this case, we created a unique angle of the reading lenses which maximize reading glass on the periphery, while minimizing disturbance to the distance vision.

Our experience as divers, not just opticians, give us a unique insight on on giving divers the best vision. This is what makes us different. By angling the lenses on Jim’s mask, instead of leaving them level, we can lower the height of the reading glass when he is looking straight ahead, while giving him a taller lens where he may view his gauges.

This effect can be somewhat seen when looking at the second picture below on the right which is taken through the inside of the mask. The effect is more pronounced when actually viewing the lens while wearing the mask.

The lenses are also larger than we do standard reading lenses due to Jim’s needs. In general, if you provide us no instructions as to the size or shape of the lenses you want, we utilize about the bottom quarter of the mask for your near lenses.

How to order reading lenses for a venom frameless mask.

If you want to order an Atomic Venom Frameless Mask with reading lenses, you can either buy one from us or send us your masks. Either way, the first step is to enter our order system here, and select either “I have a mask” or “I need a mask”. If you are purchasing a mask from us, you will find the Atomic Venom icon, and you can select your color.

You will then need to select lens type- in this case it is “Reading Lens”.

You will then enter in your lens power. Reading lenses are available in powers from +0.5 through +4.00.

If you are sending us your own Venom mask, be sure to mark on the lens with a sharpie showing how high up the mask you would like your lenses installed.

Our standard processing time is about 2 weeks from when we receive your order (or your mask), but rush options are available in as little as three days. See the Sea RX- Home of Prescription Dive Masks.

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The view through an Atomic Venom Frame less mask with +2.00 reading lenses

Additional considerations

If you need correction for distance as well, reading lenses alone may not provide you a satisfactory diving experience. For the clearest vision you may want to consider bifocals (which we do more of than any other lens.

Additionally, if your vision has a high amount of astigmatism or any prism correction, please contact us to discuss options for you.