SuncrestReef Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 For the past year I've been using the AquariClip orange filter for my iPhone to shoot quick photos in my tank or at the LFS when I don't feel like taking the time to break out my full Nikon DSLR & macro lens. The AquariClip does a decent job -- but not a great job -- at filtering out the blue light in photos. I have two complaints about the AquariClip: It only has a single small hole to line up with my iPhone camera lens, but my iPhone Xs has two lenses, so it blocks the view from the telephoto lens. The orange filter causes anything pink or orange to appear yellow in the photos. I decided to shop around to see what other filter clips are available. The two most popular filters seem to be the PolypLab Coral View Lens v2 ($34.95 at BRS), and the IceCap Stackable Lens Kit ($29.99 on Amazon). Each kit comes with a clip that fits modern multi-lens smartphones, and have filters and macro lenses that screw into the clip. The IceCap includes a yellow filter, an orange filter, and a large (bulky) macro lens. The PolypLab kit includes only a single silver-greenish mirror finished filter, and a slim macro lens. Both also include a lens cap and a small cleaning cloth: I only had a few minutes today to test each one out, but tomorrow I will do a more in-depth test of each filter. Here are some sample shots of my pink & purple lobo with each one of the filters. For reference, here is a photo from my Nikon camera showing what the lobo looks like to the naked eye: Here it is with the PloypLab filter: This is with the IceCap orange filter: This is with the IceCap yellow filter: And here I used both the IceCap orange + yellow filters stacked on top of each other: I'm disappointed that none of them accurately show the correct pink color of the lobo. This last photo with the orange + yellow filter seem to most accurately show the sand and coralline algae colors. I also did quick test using the add-on macro lenses. The results are pretty impressive: PolypLab filter + macro: IceCap yellow filter + macro: Tomorrow I'll experiment a bit more with these filters to see if I can get better results. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard972 Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Can't wait to see the rest of your tests. Kinda looks like icecap is in the lead. Been using polyp lab new lenses myself. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I've been using the Polyp Lab filter since I got it at MACNA last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 The photos I posted yesterday were primarily to compare which filter came closest to reproducing the true colors of my pink & purple lobo. Today I snapped photos of several different corals to see how the filters handle a wide range of colors: PolypLab: IceCap with yellow filter: PolypLab: IceCap with yellow filter: PolypLab: IceCap with yellow filter: To my eye, the IceCap with yellow filter seems to show much more accurate colors. I also like the IceCap macro lens better, even though it is pretty bulky: Here are some macro shots with the IceCap: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Hard to judge the color accuracy from just the pics here of course but I do like the overall "look" of the icecap yellow better. Those macros aren't bad either! May have to invest in one of these... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, albertareef said: Hard to judge the color accuracy from just the pics here of course but I do like the overall "look" of the icecap yellow better. Those macros aren't bad either! May have to invest in one of these... At $29.99 it's a no-brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 I have the ice cap also and my pics dont look half as good what phone and any apps involved ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 28 minutes ago, spectra said: I have the ice cap also and my pics dont look half as good what phone and any apps involved ? Just an iPhone Xs with the built in Camera. No apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 1 hour ago, SuncrestReef said: Just an iPhone Xs with the built in Camera. No apps. Well that explains it think mine is a 6 or something................in this hobby I cant afford a real phone................. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 I destroy phones...............metal dust and electronics dont get along.............. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 4 hours ago, spectra said: I have the ice cap also and my pics dont look half as good what phone and any apps involved ? Maybe my corals are just particularly photogenic...🤣 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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