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Lenses and Filters
One of the best investments you can make as an underwater photographer is in quality lenses. Your lens selection becomes even more important because not all lenses are practical for underwater photography. We have limited the lenses in this section to only the ones that are appropriate to underwater use.
Filters are attachments that go over the front of the lens. They produce photo effects and help reduce certain issues by 'filtering' what the lens sees. With digital photo enhancement the way it is today, many people don’t believe they need filters. However, there are just some things you cannot change, even with a photo editor. Underwater the camera needs the addition of a red filter to help correct your images from being all blue or all green. Every diver has noticed that the underwater environment is one of the monochromatic hues rather than distinct colours. Depending on your location, objects will take on a blue or green cast at the expense of all things yellow, orange, red, etc. This is because water acts as a filter of red light. The deeper you dive the more the red spectrum is filtered from the ambient light. You can, however, emphasise the existing red light by filtering out the blue spectrum with a red filter of the right hue for the water type and depth.
The Scuba Doctor is one of the largest dive retailers and mail order suppliers of new Scuba Gear and Underwater Lenses and Filters. The best combination of quality services, vast selection, knowledgeable staff and everyday low pricing.
Captain Nitro Drop Off
Wall Dive | 
Boat access
Captain Nitro Drop Off
© Ian Scholey
Depth: 16 m (52 ft) to 60 m (197 ft)
Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.
Captain Nitro Drop Off (aka The Drop-Off) is a dive site located on the Western end of Spec Reef, and consists of a series of walls that plunge to over 60 metres in 5 to 10-metre increments. This makes it a great dive for advanced levels.
Huge boulders the size of houses are scattered over the area, lying where the ancient Yarra River deposited them. Midwater, large fish can often be spotted as they make their way into Port Phillip, and if you are lucky seals and dolphins are also occasional visitors.
Look for large Crayfish and Red and Blue Morwong, a rare Victorian sight.
Diving Captain Nitro's Dropoff
from Allie Beckhurst
on Vimeo.
Crayfish Dive Site | © Ian Scholey
Divers have the opportunity to catch Southern Rock Lobster (aka Crayfish) at this dive site. Remember your catch bag, current Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence, rock lobster measure, and cray tags. Once you get back to the dive boat, or shore, make sure you clip the tail and tag your Crayfish as per Fisheries requirements. Please abide by all current fishing regulations if you intend to catch crays. See article-catching-crayfish for practical cray hunting advice from The Scuba Doctor, plus melbourne-cray-dives for a list of other crayfish dive sites near Melbourne. For tips on cooking your Crays, please see article-cooking-crayfish.
Finding Captain Nitro Drop Off
Over the years we've been provided with different GPS marks for Captain Nitro Drop Off. The GPS marks we know of in circulation for Captain Nitro Drop Off are:
- GPS:
Latitude: 38° 17.330′ N (38.288833° N / 38° 17′ 19.8″ N)
Longitude: 144° 39.716′ E (144.661933° E / 144° 39′ 42.96″ E) - Dive Victoria:
Latitude: 38° 17.280′ S (38.288° S / 38° 17′ 16.8″ S)
Longitude: 144° 39.790′ E (144.6631667° E / 144° 39′ 47.4″ E)
142 m, bearing 49°, NE
Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country
Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.
Captain Nitro Drop Off Location Map
Latitude: 38° 17.330′ S (38.288833° S / 38° 17′ 19.8″ S)
Longitude: 144° 39.716′ E (144.661933° E / 144° 39′ 42.96″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-07 23:28:47 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: North Wall, 102 m, bearing 95°, E
Depth: 16 to 60 m.
Dive only on: SWF, SWE.
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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.
The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.
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