seabass Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 While researching colored lens gel filters, I came across the following ad for a liquid lens filter. It appears to have been developed sometime last year in Japan. They must have recently partnered with a distribution company in the states to cover the North American market. It's currently out of stock, but I was wondering if any of you have heard of this or anything similar. It seems to make sense, as people used to use liquid dyes as camera filters in the past. It seems like it would allow us to vary the strength of the color filter to match our unique light settings (potentially changing the way we take reef pictures). They claim that the effect is temporary and ingredients are reef safe. They say that it could even be beneficial for soft corals. __________________________________________________ Variable Liquid Lens Filter Due to the white balance limitations of most smartphones, you've probably been frustrated by their heavily blue saturated pictures. You might have even tried using those cheap synthetic gel filters, or maybe a more expensive lens filter to reduce the heavy blue lighting, only to find that the results didn't work for your particular tank's light settings. The problem is that these light filters are not variable. In addition, they often reduce the sharpness of your photos, introduce vignetting, reflections, and glare, while decreasing overall light transmission. Up until the early 20th century, people used filters made with liquid dyes. And while photographers could adjust the strength of these solutions, they were less portable and more difficult to work with than glass filters. However, while reflecting on the roots of photography, the Mitutoyo America Corp has developed a new (old) solution to photographing reef aquariums. Introducing the Liquid Lens® photo filter. Not only is it variable in strength, but it's clarity is unsurpassed. This variable liquid camera filter actually uses your reef's water as the color filter, eliminating all lens filter artifacts, which can be troublesome, especially when stacking multiple lens filters together. Each drop of Liquid Lens® per gallon decreases the color temperature of your lighting by approximately 500K (warming the photo by adsorbing blue light). Four drops per gallon is roughly equivalent to using an orange #85 filter lens. Variable warming is possible by using more or less drops per gallon. We suggest starting with two drops per gallon and gradually adding more. However, don't go by what your eye sees; it'll look like you are wearing blue blocker sunglasses. But through a camera lens, it will look significantly different; so look at the camera's preview and/or take several sample pictures while increasing the filter effect, until you reach the perfect level of warming. Once you've finished taking photos, the organic reef-safe dye can be removed from your water with activated carbon. We recommend using Seachem MatrixCarbon™ or ROX 0.8 activated carbon for quick removal of the dyes. Running 100g (½cup) of ROX 0.8 carbon (or Seachem MatrixCarbon™) in a reactor for 75 minutes should take out all of the coloration. Afterward, your water will be crystal clear, and your lighting might even show better PAR values. Other types of activated carbon (like lignite or bituminous carbons) might take significantly longer to fully remove the color. Dosing Instructions: Liquid Lens® Photo Filter – Start with 2 drops per gallon, then check your camera's view screen. Continue to check your phone as you add more dye. We find that no more than 4 drops per gallon is usually needed to adsorb the blue light and balance the colors. Liquid Lens® Neutralizer (12% food-grade hydrogen peroxide, various other brands can also be purchased online) - Use 1 drop per gallon to help oxidize the organic dyes. This dosage is well below common dosing recommendations for hydrogen peroxide. Notes: Liquid Lens® contains a small amount of potassium iodide (a reef safe source of iodide, which won't convert to toxic free iodine). The amount of iodide added to your system (even at the highest photo filter strength, and without using activated carbon) is safe to use up to two times per day. This small dosage of reef iodide has actually been shown to improve the health of most soft corals. The optional neutralizer (12% food-grade hydrogen peroxide) is not required. However, it can be used in conjunction with activated carbon to help neutralize/oxidize the dye even faster. This can be particularly effective when using non-premium aquarium carbon. The neutralizer can also be used to lighten the filter effect, should you add too much dye. We feel that typical peroxide dosing instructions are far too aggressive and can be harmful to your reef's ecosystem. However, at our recommended dosages, we have found no negative effects. In fact, micro-dosing peroxide has been shown to improve ORP without damaging pods or other inverts. Limited Time Offer: To launch our product, we are selling an Introductory Starter Kit that includes a free 1 cup sample of ROX 0.8 carbon, and free bottle of our Liquid Lens® Neutralizer. 5 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Dying the tank water – seems like reprogramming the lights would be more direct, where possible, and obviously less intrusive. I wonder if the potassium iodide they mention is the sole active ingredient? Found this adsorption spectra for it: The FWHM of that curve doesn't center at 420nm, but maybe close enough? I suspect there are other additives to tweak that curve, but I could be wrong. There's another spectra I found for something called "MEZ" combined with two potassium compounds: That peak is MUCH MUCH closer to 420nm. Maybe they're dosing their tanks with irritable bowel medication (MEZ)? 😉 Very interesting concept. Makes me wonder if we could use food coloring instead. Calibrating the color balance would be on you of course. I don't know how I feel about adding things like that to my tank just for a vanity purpose like photos tho. Will have to read and think more on it. 2 Quote Link to comment
Justind823 Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 This looks like a fantastic product. I've used a DIY version in the past with products that you can find at home. Diluted bleach for one is a great choice to temporarily reduce coral coloration and get a lower contrast shot, something that I often struggle with. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 17 minutes ago, mcarroll said: Dying the tank water – seems like reprogramming the lights would be more direct, where possible, and obviously less intrusive. I wonder if the potassium iodide they mention is the sole active ingredient? Found this adsorption spectra for it: The FWHM of that curve doesn't center at 420nm, but maybe close enough? I suspect there are other additives to tweak that curve, but I could be wrong. There's another spectra I found for something called "MEZ" combined with two potassium compounds: That peak is MUCH MUCH closer to 420nm. Maybe they're dosing their tanks with irritable bowel medication (MEZ)? 😉 Very interesting concept. Makes me wonder if we could use food coloring instead. Calibrating the color balance would be on you of course. I don't know how I feel about adding things like that to my tank just for a vanity purpose like photos tho. Will have to read and think more on it. Wow, that's pretty neat and quite interesting; maybe there's something to temporarily dying your tank's water. Unfortunately, no product like this (at least that I know of) exists. Yeah, it's that time of year, and another April Fools' by your resident fool, seabass. Here are some of my past April Fools' posts: https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/426926-coral-pigmentation-food/ https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/419013-a-treatment-for-dinos-that-really-works/ https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/412007-genetically-modified-tangs/ https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/405045-a-new-designer-clownfish-nemo-for-kids/ https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/390639-proposed-ban-on-corals-with-palytoxin/ https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/372329-three-ways-to-increase-coral-growth-in-your-tank/ 1 3 Quote Link to comment
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