Bert Lee shows us his underwater films and filming cameras

At the April meeting of Surrey Border Film & Video Makers, members were fascinated by Bert Lee, an experienced diver, who regaled us with tales of his underwater adventures. He brought along some of his kit to demonstrate, including his video cameras and their underwater housings, and he showed us how the kit was worn and used. His preference was for diving in warmer waters around coral islands and the like, for which members had considerable empathy, but he did describe his bulky dry suit for use in colder conditions. The talk and videos demonstrated how professional he was. He made it all look so simple, although he did emphasize the importance of proper training.

We were shown beautiful video of the seas around a coral island, one of Bert's favourite locations. Shoals of fish were seemingly oblivious of the presence of a diver which resulted in quite remarkable pictures. We saw snorkelling with dolphins in the Red Sea, magnificent Manta Rays majestically swimming by, and various types of shark.

Of particular interest to members was the need for special lighting due to the water filtering out the colours with depth. Consequently some of the best video is taken near to the surface, which is convenient for divers because it removed the need for the decompression associated with deep waters. Of surprise to members was the high cost of the equipment. For example, an airtight container for a video camera comes in at around £4000. In spite of the high cost, the club does have a couple of members who have taken underwater video.