Cali Kid Corals

Good filters for tank photography

thesassyindian

Supporting Member
Hello folks,
Looking for suggestions for good filters for taking photos of our tanks.

I have a good phone and a DSLR, but all phone photos come out looking super blue.

Thanks!
 
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I like the polyp lab lens for mobile, it clips on and has a nice tint that can handle heavy blue light like my tank. Here are some with and without filter pics
94FDB209-4FF1-4345-AECB-0BCB85E06693.jpegD8573E54-93CA-4AB8-9BAD-3F0287B1D36F.jpeg
63A068F0-485A-4D11-A9A7-638D460104AC.jpeg1D7B9E05-E3CE-43E4-B916-2B7CF237F952.jpeg
 
They make a bunch of orange and yellow filters but you may have to buy several to test out which works best with your lights.

The bayonet style works well for your dslr. They screw onto the end of your lens but you have to make sure that you get the right size for the lens you want to use. To find the size, look for a symbol that looks kind of like a circle with a line crossed through it. There will be a number next to it and that is the size you want to match to the filter.

good brands usually cost about $50 per filter depending on the size. Cheaper ones will be 1/2 as much. I think it mostly has to do with the build quality and not so much the image quality. I’ve heard stories of poor quality filters stripping the threading on the lens.
 
Some DSLRs have a custom white balance feature. You can use a white or grey card with a specific light setting and save that white balance. You then use that custom white balance with that specific light setting every time you shoot giving you the same look every time.

You can do that in post processing as well.

I use an Expodisc fairly often.
 
Try what @Vhuang168 suggested with custom white balance.

If you want to get more advanced, check out the BAO camera tube from Building and Obsession- I think they still have a link there for orange camera gels (gels are from a separate company but ship pretty fast)

You can also find lens filters tinted in any color (orange or a medium brown helps offset the tank's blue). Just ensure to match your lens mm size. The pics in my journal were with the BAO tube and a Tiffen brown filter (Nikon)
 
What kind of DSLR do you have? You can do a lot more color adjustment in post if you shoot in raw format vs jpeg.

I have a Canon 5D IV, and a 1DX II, but never used the DSLR for tank photos. I've only used my phone thus far - guess im just lazy... haha.

I will try out the white / gray point adjustment that @Vhuang168 suggested.
 
The 5D looks like a high end camera, so you can for sure shoot in raw. The neutral grey card is a good call, but you should also have a lot of room to play with white balance in most decent photo editing software applications.
 
The 5D looks like a high end camera, so you can for sure shoot in raw. The neutral grey card is a good call, but you should also have a lot of room to play with white balance in most decent photo editing software applications.
Yeah - I am well versed with operating the DSLRs :) my questions were specifically about filters and any recommended accessories.
 
The 5D looks like a high end camera, so you can for sure shoot in raw. The neutral grey card is a good call, but you should also have a lot of room to play with white balance in most decent photo editing software applications.

The 1DX mkii is pro level.

I’m using a 1DS mkii myself. Much much older version. Tried the mkiii and mkiv but always came bk to my mkii.

Didn’t get the 1DX. But thinking about the r5 or wait to see if Canon releases a pro mirror less body.


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Specifically for phones, since both my DSLRs are huge, and its just easier to use your phone sometimes.

Get a 100 macro L and a camera tube like this one.



If you do, make sure to tell them you are using a Canon 1D series camera. They have to send extra spacers and longer screws.

Top down with a macro lens on a DSLR is the best! I have extension tubes as well but dof gets really shallow.


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The 1DX mkii is pro level.

I’m using a 1DS mkii myself. Much much older version. Tried the mkiii and mkiv but always came bk to my mkii.

Didn’t get the 1DX. But thinking about the r5 or wait to see if Canon releases a pro mirror less body.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

1Dx MKII god I miss that camera. But I traded down with a Sony, then again I haven’t touched the Sony since I got iPhone 11 Pro


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Here is the polyp lab lens with iPhone 10. I figure this
coral has lots of colorsNothing but lens

no filter
7C602080-F61B-446E-842E-F185A58EC3C5.jpeg

Orange filter
446BEE0A-2683-48D1-AF08-108D7AF6825B.jpeg


Yellow filter
1E3F6DB4-DE0C-48DF-8BE2-72386095921F.jpeg


both filters
8B7C265E-68DA-4610-8C7D-6B2F3F84323C.jpeg
 
Now the same lighting with only the yellow filter, using camera pro app shooting in raw with custom white balance, and exposure setting. Then a bit of editing. It’s definitely more natural looking. Looks like this is person to me.


4E532E9A-AF2F-4ADB-ABA4-87D046D7E1D6.jpeg
 
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