You are here: True View > 100X Sharper View Flat Diving Masks Distort THREE WAYS Above Water View: There is no distortion when air is on both sides of the diving mask. But Underwater... Tunnel Vision: Refraction makes objects appear about 34% bigger and 25% closer than they really are, which narrows your view. So-called panoramic diving masks show only 71-degrees horizontally… not much considering that most states / countries require 140-degree vision to drive a car! Fuzzy Edges: Color fringes on the sides of objects (called lateral chromatic aberration) makes overall water clarity look worse than it is. Warped Shapes: Straight lines warp outward at the corners (called pincushion distortion). Test This Yourself Put yourself in a fixed position underwater, so you won't drift around. Point both your nose and eyes at a particular object; the image is sharpest through the middle of your flat diving mask. Keep your eyes fixed on that particular object and slowly turn your head away so you're now looking through the edge of the front window. Ray Tracings The myth about low volume diving masks... Site Map 5631 Mesmer Avenue, Culver City, CA 90230 TEL: (310) 636-1700 FAX: (310) 390-8401 eMail: info@HydroOptix.com Copyright/Legal Notice, Privacy Statement, and warranty and return info ©2003-2007 HydroOptix LLC, all rights reserved.