Best Reef Photo Filter for Cell Phones

January 30

Hello People of the Technology World.

Ive been using a cheapo amazon clip on filter for photos. Its ok. Not good or great.

Are there better solutions out there?

How do you take reef pics?

January 31

8 hours ago, geekreef_05 said:

How do you take reef pics?

Since you can't adjust white balance on a cell phone, it's best if you can turn down/off the blue lights when taking cell phone pictures. You can make some adjustments with a good photo editor; but with JPEG images, there is only so much you can do.

Otherwise, consider picking up a cheap used digital camera that has custom white balance capabilities (point it at something white in your tank to set the white balance). You can take some pretty good pictures with a camera like this:

https://www.keh.com/shop/canon-powershot-sx150-is-14-1-megapixel-compact-camera-black.html

January 31

55 minutes ago, seabass said:

Since you can't adjust white balance on a cell phone, it's best if you can turn down/off the blue lights when taking cell phone pictures. You can make some adjustments with a good photo editor; but with JPEG images, there is only so much you can do.

Otherwise, consider picking up a cheap used digital camera that has custom white balance capabilities (point it at something white in your tank to set the white balance). You can take some pretty good pictures with a camera like this:

https://www.keh.com/shop/canon-powershot-sx150-is-14-1-megapixel-compact-camera-black.html

Actually, W/B can be adjusted in some phones (mine can), but it's not too good. Lens filter and a bit of touching up in Lightroom normally works, I think.

Otherwise, I do agree that cameras are the best way to go. 👍

January 31

On 1/31/2024 at 2:15 AM, Snow_Phoenix said:

Actually, W/B can be adjusted in some phones (mine can), but it's not too good.

Thanks, I was wondering that, as I'm not sure about the capabilities of all of the new phones. If I can ask, what phone do you have, and does it have a white balance which you set with a gray card (or something white)? Or does it just have some presets, sliders, and/or software filters? I've seen some pretty impressive phone pics (yours included). But my Apple phones have always left me feeling a little let down when taking reef pics.

For not a whole lot more than a decent set of filters, I've found that a good but cheap, used advanced point and shoot camera (dedicated just for taking reef photos) to be a decent investment. The camera that I linked is $64.40 (almost like new condition). It's got a reasonable zoom, takes AA batteries, and is fairly full featured, so it's something that somebody could use for other purposes too. From time to time, I'll see acceptable used cameras for under $40.

Note: Not all point and shoot cameras have a true custom white balance feature, so you have to check before you buy one. The camera linked does have it. In fact, most if not all of Canon's advanced (not compact) point and shoot cameras typically have this feature. I typically look at Canon, because that's what I'm most familiar with; however, white balance features are available on many other brands as well.

January 31

26 minutes ago, seabass said:

Thanks, I was wondering that, as I'm not sure about the capabilities of all of the new phones. If I can ask, what phone do you have, and does it have a white balance which you set with a gray card (or something white)? Or does it just have some presets, sliders, and/or software filters? I've seen some pretty impressive phone pics (yours included). But my Apple phones have always left me feeling a little let down when taking reef pics.

For not a whole lot more than a decent set of filters, I've found that a good but cheap, used advanced point and shoot camera (dedicated just for taking reef photos) to be a decent investment. The camera that I linked is $64.40. It's got a reasonable zoom and is fairly full featured, so it's something that somebody could use for other purposes too. From time to time, I'll see acceptable used cameras for under $40.

I use a Samsung Galaxy S9. Older model, but still has some nifty features.

^The WB is normally on auto, but in Pro-Mode, you can adjust it manually to get the correct (or close enough) color temp.

Another thing is my adjustments on the main setting itself:

^If I don't set it, the coral colors are off - it doesn't resemble what I see in RL. 😕

So, with a lot of trial-and-error, I found a way to manually set my Pro-mode settings to capture pics of my nano. I have to change it accordingly as I take different pics - eg. my plants, FW tanks, turtles etc.

Even after using all this, pics aren't spot on. The color and shadowing is off, so I have to use Lightroom on my phone for noise reduction, dehazing etc.

It's a bit of a pain, but I don't own a digital cam, and am just a hobbyist - not a pro photographer lol. 😅

January 31

Update: It looks like someone purchased the camera that I linked. Maybe it was geekreef or somebody following this thread. 🤔

Note: Besides KEH, I also check B&H for used camera gear.

January 31

February 1

My Google Pixel 6 does really well with just moving the white balance slider until things look 'right'.

Without adjusting the white balance slider:

White balance slider adjusted:

February 1

It's true, modern smartphones have built-in cameras which are comparable in many ways to high-end dedicated cameras. However, for anybody having problems with white balance on their smart phone, here's another inexpensive camera with a custom white balance setting (for $54.18):

https://www.keh.com/shop/canon-powershot-sx130-is-12-1-megapixel-compact-camera-black.html

But to get back to the original question; those photo filters do help filter out the blue, but the resulting picture might not reflect the subject's true color. It kind of depends on the spectrum of your lights in conjunction with a specific photo filter. So what might work pretty well for one reefer, might not be as good of a fit for another (with a different light, or different settings).

February 1

Brown filter.

February 1

D-D coral colour XL

February 2

8 hours ago, InAtTheDeepEnd said:

D-D coral colour XL

https://www.theaquariumsolution.com/product/8331/411

Thanks for the specific product and resulting pics. That's helpful, and some really nice results. In your pics, you'll notice that the sand is still very blue. I guess it illustrates that filtering out all of the blue light might not always give us the most impressive results.

February 2

Ah, I should say that was with the blues on my lights turned up as high as possible. I'll find some with it on its usual setting (25000k ish) later

February 3

This topic has got me thinking about trying out some color filters. Here's the kit that I'm looking at:

https://www.amazon.com/Orphek-Aquarium-LED-lighting-Extra/dp/B09J1GS88S/

February 3

I've gotten a couple different kits, both come with something like a yellow and an orange filter....all of them leave a tint on the final pic. YMMV whether the tint is acceptable – it's certainly better than blue-washed, but it's not accurate...plus I really need the quick point-and-shoot experience. The lenses in both kits were more useful than the filters – and IMO made the purchases "worth it". I wonder if the brown filter someone else mentioned might be different. I've paid for a couple of "pro" camera apps that had "good" white balance control, but none seems able to compensate past 11K or so.

If it was as simple as dialing in white balance before shooting, IMO that would be great.

The pics posted earlier from a Pixel phone seemed pretty impressive. Judging by that, seems like they may have figured it out? What did you think about those photos?

I may need to pick up one of those Canons you mentioned and just go back to having "a camera". 🙂

February 3

On 1/31/2024 at 10:54 PM, empresto said:

My Google Pixel 6 does really well with just moving the white balance slider until things look 'right'.

Without adjusting the white balance slider:

White balance slider adjusted:

Just wondering what lights you have (or what setup) since they look more purple than "20K" in the first pic?

Is that purplish hue accurate to what you see in person as well?

February 3

I received a used Canon SL1 (with a new nifty fifty lens) for Christmas, which I just started playing with. I like it, and it has an excellent white balance; but I'm still kind of interested in trying these filters (just to play around with and see what they do with and without using the custom white balance). In some posted pics, these filters really seem to make coral colors pop (sometimes maybe a little too much).

Some people also like the Tiffen 85B filter, which you can get in various thread sizes for your SLR, or pair the 52mm filter with a 52mm clip, However, other people don't seem to care for it quite as much. It's like what has been stated earlier, it can be hard to find something which accurately depicts what you see in person. Some filters (or sliders) seem to match up pretty well with a particular light, while another spectrum might not turn out as well.

February 4

On 2/3/2024 at 12:52 PM, mcarroll said:

Just wondering what lights you have (or what setup) since they look more purple than "20K" in the first pic?

Is that purplish hue accurate to what you see in person as well?

That tank has a Radion xr15 with the following wavelength settings (overall schedule intensity is 50%, screen shot below). It definitely has a blue tint in person, not the purple the phone interprets. The shot with the white balance adjusted is much more true to life of what is seen in person.

February 4

On 2/2/2024 at 10:47 PM, seabass said:

This topic has got me thinking about trying out some color filters. Here's the kit that I'm looking at:

https://www.amazon.com/Orphek-Aquarium-LED-lighting-Extra/dp/B09J1GS88S/

I just got this the other day. It sucks. The macro lens makes little to no difference. It doesn't properly fit my 14 pro max as no matter where it is there is a small ring showing. I usually just take pictures through my orange lens glasses and they look better than this kit. I actually just did a return on it to amazon.

That said if anyone has iPhone photo tips I would appreciate it. No. I'm not buying a dedicated camera. I simply don't have time to put them on the computer and adjust.

February 6

On 2/3/2024 at 12:40 PM, mcarroll said:

I wonder if the brown filter someone else mentioned might be different.

Matt, I think we probably lost the OP. However, after researching this for a couple of days, I decided to order a RISE(UK) brown filter:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/163787801670

It cost $4 to ship (so a little over $7 total), and it will take about a month to receive.

You can pair it with any 52mm phone clip, like one of these:

Actually, I ordered the 49mm versions, because that's what fits my Canon SL1(and it should also work fine with my iPhone 14). But the 52mm size is more common for phone clips and reef filters, and 52mm will fit almost any phone.

February 6

Because they're pretty cheap, I decided I'd play around with the graduated brown as well:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255845507236?var=555783931793

At least if doesn't work out, I won't be out of pocket very much.

February 6

Here's a video showing the results of the RISE(UK) brown lens:

Note: This filter showed nice results in this particular video, with his specific lighting. Results with other light spectrums might not be as good (as anybody with multiple tanks, who has ever set their camera's custom white balance for one tank knows, those settings might not be even close to right for their other tanks).

February 7

This is a pretty new topic for me (and maybe, some of you too), so I'm trying to learn a little more about it. I see that many of the name brand filters contain numbers and letters; these are called Wratten numbers. However, the unbranded color filters often don't list a Wratten number and just use the name of the color. Here is a chart which explains Wratten numbers:


Wratten number	Visible color	Filter factor or alternate designation	F-stops correction	Uses and characterristics
1A				Called a ‘skylight’ filter, this absorbs ultraviolet radiation, which reduces haze in outdoor color landscape photography; darkens the blue sky and by contrast lightens clouds.
2B	pale yellow			Absorbs ultraviolet radiation, slightly less than #2A (letters out-of-order). Longpass filter blocking wavelengths shorter than 395 nm. Used for high-altitude photography.
2A	pale yellow			Absorbs ultraviolet radiation and heightens contrast of clouds against blue sky. Longpass filter blocking wavelengths shorter than 405 nm. Used for high-altitude photography.
2C				Absorbs ultraviolet radiation. Longpass filter blocking wavelengths shorter than 390 nm. Used for high-altitude photography.
2E	pale yellow			Absorbs ultraviolet radiation, slightly more than #2A. Longpass filter blocking wavelengths shorter than 415 nm. Used for high-altitude photography.
3	light yellow			Absorbs excessive sky blue, making sky look slightly darker in black & white images. Can be used with carefully chosen color film, or with color balancing during printing, to heighten contrast of clouds against blue sky. Longpass filter blocking wavelengths shorter than 440 nm. Used for high-altitude photography, and in astronomy to mask achromatic lens color-fringing.
4	yellow	Minus-violet		Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 455 nm. Used for high-altitude photography, and in astronomy to mask achromatic lens color-fringing.
6	light yellow	K1		Not a longpass filter.
8	yellow	K2	1	Absorbs more blue than #3. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 465 nm.
9	deep yellow	K3		Absorbs more blue than #8. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 470 nm.
11	yellowish-green	X1	2	Heightens contrast of skin tones in black & white photography. Not a longpass filter
12	deep yellow	Minus-blue	1+1/3	Minus-blue filter; complements #32 minus-green and #44A minus-red. Used with Ektachrome or Aerochrome Infrared films to obtain false-color results. Used in ophthalmology and optometry in conjunction with a slit-lamp and a cobalt blue light to improve contrast when assessing the health of the cornea and the fit of contact lenses. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 500 nm.
13	green		2	Color enhancement. Not a long-pass filter.
15	deep yellow	G	1+2/3	Profoundly darkens the sky in black & white outdoor photography. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 510 nm.
16	yellow-orange		1+2/3	Performs like #15, but more so. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than about 520 nm.
18A	visually opaque			Based on Wood's glass, transmits small bands of ultraviolet radiation and infrared radiation. Used to block visible light from UV lamps.
18B	very deep violet			Similar to 18A but with wider bands of transmittance in both the ultraviolet and infrared, a less 'pure' filter.
21	orange	YA3	2	Contrast filter for blue and blue-green absorption. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 530 nm.
22	deep orange		2+1/3	Contrast filter, greater effect than #21. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 550 nm.
23A	light red			Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 550 nm.
24	red			Used for color separation of Kodachrome transparency film, complements #47B and #61. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 575 nm. Red for 'two color photography' (daylight or tungsten). White flame arc tri-color projection.[5]
25	red tricolor	A	3	Used for color separation and infrared photography. Longpass filter blocking short of 580 nm.
26	red			Longpass filter blocking short of 585 nm.
29	deep red	F	4	Used for color separation, complements #47 and #61. In black and white outdoor photography makes blue skies look very dark, almost black. In infrared photography, blocks much visible light, increasing the effect of the infrared frequencies on the picture. Longpass filter blocking short of 600 nm.
32	magenta	A		Minus-green. Complements #12 minus-blue and #44A minus-red.
33	magenta			Contrast filter for strongest green absorption. For photomechanical color masking.
34	indigo
34A	violet			Used for minus-green and plus-blue separation.
35	navy
38A	blue			Absorbs red, some UV, and some green light.
40	light green			Green, for 'two color photography' (tungsten).
44	light blue-green			Minus-red filter with substantial UV absorption.
44A	light blue-green	Minus-red		Complements #12 minus-blue, and #32 minus-green.
47	blue tricolor	C5		Used for color separation. Complements #29 and #61.
47A	light blue			By removing much light that is not blue, blue and purple objects show a broader range of colors. Used for medical applications that involve making dyes fluoresce.
47B	deep blue tricolor			Used for color separation. It is also commonly used to calibrate video monitors while using SMPTE color bars.[6]
50	deep blue
56	light green
57	green			Green for daylight 'two color photography'.
58	green tricolor	B		Color separation.
60	green			Green for 'two color photography' (tungsten).
61	deep green tricolor	N		Color separation, complements #29 and #47.
70	red			Used for color separation and infrared photography; longpass filter blocking short of 650 nm.
74	dark green monochromat			Transmits 10% of green radiation and virtually no yellow radiation from mercury-vapor illumination.[4]
80A	blue	4	2	Raises the scene's color temperature from 3200 K to approximately 5500 K, which allows use of daylight balanced film with tungsten lighting.
80B	blue	3	1+2/3	Similar to 80A; 3400 K→5500 K.
80C	blue	2	1	Similar to 80A; 3800 K→5500 K. Typically used so that old-style flashbulbs could be used on a daylight film.
80D	blue	1.5	1/3	Similar to 80A; 4200 K→5500 K.
81A	pale orange	1.4	1/3	Warming filter to decrease the color temperature slightly. Can be used when shooting with type B film balanced for tungsten lighting (3200 K) with 3400 K photoflood lights. The opposite of 82A.
81B	pale orange	1.4	1/3	Warming filter, slightly stronger than 81A. The opposite of 82B.
81C	pale orange	1.5	1/3	Warming filter, slightly stronger than 81B. The opposite of 82C.
81D	pale orange			Warming filter, slightly stronger than 81C.
81EF	pale orange		1/3	Warming filter, stronger than 81D.
82A	pale blue	1.3	1/3	Cooling filter to increase the color temperature slightly. The opposite of 81A.
82B	pale blue	1.4	2/3	Cooling filter, slightly stronger than 82A and opposite of 81B. Can also be used when shooting tungsten type B film (3200 K) with household 100 W electric bulbs (2900 K).
82C	pale blue	1.5	2/3	Cooling filter, slightly stronger than 82B and opposite of 81C.
85	amber	1.5	2/3	Color conversion, the opposite of the 80A; this is a warming filter that takes an outdoor scene lit by sunlight (which has a color temperature around 5500 K) and makes it appear to be lit by tungsten incandescent bulbs around 3400 K. This allows an indoor balanced film to be used to photograph outdoors. These filters were used in Super 8 movie cameras that were designed to use Tungsten film.
85B	amber	1.5	2/3	Similar to 85; converts 5500 K→3200 K.
85C	amber	1.5		Similar to 85; converts 5500 K→3800 K.
85N3	amber			Neutral density of 1 stop + color conversion, the opposite of the 80A; this is a warming filter that takes an outdoor scene lit by sunlight (which has a color temperature around 5500 K) and makes it appear to be lit by tungsten incandescent bulbs around 3400 K. This allows an indoor balanced film to be used to photograph outdoors.
85N6	amber			Neutral density of 2 stops + color conversion, the opposite of the 80A; this is a warming filter that takes an outdoor scene lit by sunlight (which has a color temperature around 5500 K) and makes it appear to be lit by tungsten incandescent bulbs around 3400 K. This allows an indoor balanced film to be used to photograph outdoors.
85N9	amber			Neutral density of 3 stops + color conversion, the opposite of the 80A; this is a warming filter that takes an outdoor scene lit by sunlight (which has a color temperature around 5500 K) and makes it appear to be lit by tungsten incandescent bulbs around 3400 K. This allows an indoor balanced film to be used to photograph outdoors.
87	opaque			Passes infrared but not visible frequencies. Blocks wavelengths shorter than 740 nm.
87A	opaque			Passes infrared but not visible frequencies. Blocks wavelengths shorter than 880 nm.
87B	opaque			Passes infrared, blocks visible frequencies. Blocks wavelengths shorter than 820 nm.
87C	opaque			Passes infrared, blocks visible frequencies. Blocks wavelengths shorter than 790 nm.
88	opaque			Passes infrared, blocks visible wavelengths shorter than 700 nm.
88A	opaque			Passes infrared, blocks visible wavelengths shorter than 720 nm.
89B	near-opaque red	R72		Passes infrared, longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 690 nm (very deep red). Aerial photography is one use.
90	dark grayish amber			Used for viewing scenes without color, before photographing them, in order to assess the brightness values. Not used for actual photography.
92	red			Color densitometry. Longpass filter blocking visible wavelengths shorter than 625 nm.
93	green			Color densitometry.
94	blue			Color densitometry.
96	gray		varies	Neutral density filter. Blocks all frequencies of visible light approximately evenly, making scene darker overall. Available in many different values, distinguished by optical density or by filter factor.
98	blue			Like a #47B plus a #2B filter.
99	green			Like a #61 plus a #16 filter.
102	yellow-green			Color conversion for photometry: Makes a barrier-level type photocell respond as a human eye would.
106	amber			Color conversion for photometry: Makes a type S 4 photocell respond as a human eye would.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wratten_number

Since some of the descriptions even tell us what spectrums are filtered, this chart might be particularly helpful.

I also see that many of the "coral" filters provide a Kelvin color temperature instead of a Wratten number. While this might be less confusing to reef keepers, it might also be to help keep their customers from figuring out exactly what type of filter they are using. Or maybe their filters don't match up to any of these Wratten numbers; I'm not really sure. In addition, some companies will use the word "brown" instead of "amber" (which is usually considered a brownish yellow).

February 7

Seems like I've seen some filters with a spectrograph attached.....thought it was Roscoe, but not really sure. Seems like that would make it easier to select something useful.

Found this while looking around just now...interesting, but not exactly what I had in mind:

https://keldanlights.com/products/filters/filters-for-cameras/filters-for-cameras.html

Looks like they are targeting underwater photography:

February 7

This suggests that "merely adequate" photos should be expected with single-filter solutions. Makes sense when it's explained like that.

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Best Reef Photo Filter for Cell Phones

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