The Auto-Magic filter

The Auto-Magic filter is made specifically for digital compact cameras. We have designed this filter to make the great colours of Magic images simple for everybody produce. Just turn off your flash and take colourful underwater pictures.

This filter can work in two ways. You can either use it with the with the camera’s default automatic white balance and exposure, giving you vibrantly coloured images with point and shoot simplicity. Or you can use it with manual (custom) white balance giving you much more control and images over a wider depth range.

The Auto-Magic filter allows you to take colourful underwater pictures without the hassle and difficulty of getting good results with the internal flash or an external strobe. The Auto-Magic delivers great colours without the risk of backscatter. The before and after images on this page show the effect of adding the Auto-Magic filter while on Auto white balance and Auto Exposure.

These images (straight from the camera) show the effect of the Auto-Magic filter. All these images are shot with Olympus compact digtial cameras set on Auto Exposure and Auto White Balance (the default settings). The only difference between the before and after is the addition of the Auto-Magic filter. Isn't it time you gave your pictures a bit of Magic? ©AM.

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The Auto-Magic filter is also perfect for shooting movies with your compact camera, where a flash or a strobe cannot be used. All compact cameras offer movie functions and the Auto-Magic allows you simply switch between photography and videography during a dive. This 1 minute movie of from West Papua was shot on a Panasonic FX01 compact camera by Peter using a Magic filter:
Another advantage of switching off your flash and shooting stills with a Magic Filter is that it will make your battery last longer and will also reduce the likelihood of your housing steaming up (which is caused by the heat produced by the flash firing).

The Auto-Magic filter works particularly well with wide angle accessory lenses, for scenic and diver photography. The filter is designed for relatively shallow diving in sunny tropical conditions. On Auto white balance it works best between 3m and 10-12m (9-35/40ft) depending on the camera. I tend to shoot the camera on manual white balance, and I find I can shoot it down to 18m with my Fuji compact. Deeper than this depth the colours in the images begin to slowly fade back to a natural blue look. It is less suited to fast moving fish, which may blur.

Both of these images were taken with the Auto-Magic filter WITHOUT strobes or the internal flash. You can see more in the gallery.

Most of the time the filter will give you pleasing images straight from the camera, and if it doesn’t you can usually sort them out by using automated functions such as “auto-color” in Photoshop or “Enhance” in iPhoto. Filter photography isn’t perfect for every dive, obviously it doesn’t work at night! We usually recommend that you do one filter dive and then one dive in flash to build a collection of photos that each technique can give you. Have a look at the tips section of this website for advice on how to shoot with filters.