When did online corals become "Instagram vs. Reality" ?

[Dj City]

I started a thread like this a few weeks ago.
It got shut down by the mods because it degraded into politics and capitalism.

Good luck with this thread.

 

[Frogspon]

I started a thread like this a few weeks ago.
It got shut down by the mods because it degraded into politics and capitalism.

Good luck with this thread.

It probably got shut down because the vendors complained and they pay the bills on this forum.

 

[JumboShrimp]

... At least you bought a cool name... Isn't that the "Bombastic Yellow-Bellied Sap-Sucking Plug-Sitter"?

 

[Frogspon]

... At least you bought a cool name... Isn't that the "Bombastic Yellow-Bellied Sap-Sucking Plug-Sitter"?

Nono, this is the Big Mac Attack

 

[Steve Erekson]

Some vendors are better or worse than others. Austin Aqua Farms has a very nice selection and their photos all appear very normal.

I think macro photography and top down photography changes people's expectations also. This is coming from someone who does macro photography for fun. Even without messing with saturation and contrast a coral just looks so different when it's 12" across on your 24" computer screen compared to the 1" piece you're actually going to get. Those tiny variations in color on a rainbow acan are going to disappear when viewed from 2 feet away and from the side and that acan is just going to be orange. It can still be a beautiful orange acan but it can absolutely not meet people's expectations.

 

[Kellie in CA]

I've called them out on it before. Come on, if you're going to call something "Holy Grail" it better be pretty spectacular.

 

[F i s h y]

Unfortunately this has been happen for for a decade+. I’d like to see a vendor offer un-saturated photos under 14k and 20k lighting, personally. Also, being honest is good for repeat biz!

This is why I prefer to buy in person. I can see the coral, see the lights, ask about intensity and water parameters, and make a real educated decision on my purchases...

 

[brahm]

Some vendors are better or worse than others. Austin Aqua Farms has a very nice selection and their photos all appear very normal.

I think macro photography and top down photography changes people's expectations also. This is coming from someone who does macro photography for fun. Even without messing with saturation and contrast a coral just looks so different when it's 12" across on your 24" computer screen compared to the 1" piece you're actually going to get. Those tiny variations in color on a rainbow acan are going to disappear when viewed from 2 feet away and from the side and that acan is just going to be orange. It can still be a beautiful orange acan but it can absolutely not meet people's expectations.

Ehh you can post true representations with macro and top down. This style was something that was popularized here and tbh was the main reason many of us were reluctant to switch to here full time before the other forum crumbled. Go to any show off thread or eye candy thread the most vibrant photos get the most reactions, we used to call people out for that bs here it’s celebrated. Vendors caught on, cashed in and pushed the boundaries. It doesn’t help that leds mean you have to correct to avoid it as the cameras struggle with those spectrum. Used be if your egg crate, plug or rock wasn’t the right color you’d get called out. Sooo they got smart used black backgrounds or photoshopped it out.

I dunno maybe I’m a fault ha I posted this way back in the days before acans were a thing and I was playing with dslrs a lot.. sold a lot of acans the next few years definitely saw others following suite... woops (and this is tame compared to photos now)

 

[brahm]

See too my point egg crate ain’t blue

 

[Lucky Corals]

Macro photo under ideal lighting followed by manipulating contrast and saturation. To top it off I bet they didn’t list the size of the coral or include anything for scale ‍

 

[Nano sapiens]

The image manipulation has been going on for a long time and will continue as long as there is a large pool of newcomers continually entering the hobby. People who have been in this hobby for a while have learned to spot the photography tricks (most of the time) and so know what to look out for if they order online, or they just don't buy online, period.

Personally, after my last online coral purchase that bore little resemblance in real life to what was shown online, I'm done with it. I frag more of my current livestock to fill in the tank and patronize my local LFS's. While they might not always have what I'm looking for at the moment, at least I can see what I am getting and I can also ask them to show the coral under less blue light for a better representation of what the coral will look like in my aquarium.

 

[Thaxxx]

Yes,
It's the newcomers those hype sales vendors are targeting. The see a live sale and under the pressure to pay quickly so they don't loose it to someone else.
Next time you see a live sale here, notice the the date most of the participants joined the forum. I would say 70 to 80% are under a year's on here. I know it's not gonna stop the vendors from theses sale events, but they also know it's trickery.
They are preying on a human weakness.

 

[William Morris]

I just had this epiphany a few weeks ago.
I ordered a beautiful mushroom from an online vendor.
The coral came and it was fine but lacked the color and vibrancy that I saw online.
Not my first rodeo so I let it go.
About a week later I changed my mind and photographed the mushroom with an orange filter on my iPhone.
Wow - looked just like the photo on-line!

Moral of the story is these phone cameras (cameras in general) have sensors that can see colors we can't.
Now I have stopped chasing corals and invest my time and energy focusing on water quality.

I do have a couple of boutique vendors in CA that I will order from. Their photos match what I get from them. So they get my business.

 

[hart24601]

It sadly has been going on a long time. I think if anything reefers are better at calling it out and not buying them then they used to be. I remember at least the early 2010's really bad photoshoped pics because I remember being so impressed with unique corals at that time for great true photos.

 

[Rubberfrog]

Is it though?

If I were looking to buy this ricordea I would know going in that the pic was taken by a very expensive DSLR camera with a macro lens under very strong 420nm actinic lighting. Only 420nm light in fact!

I would know the size and colors are misrepresented by a pic that shows it under perfect conditions.

I would know that any white light would drastically wash out colors.

IMO your expectations were way too high going in.

Welcome to the reality of ONLINE coral buying

So basically, the seller is a con artist, and it's the buyers fault.

I am bothered by this line of thinking and justification for unscrupulous selling tactics.

 

[Mike konesky]

In most states theft by deception is a misdemeanor. However, if multiples are committed it can become a felony. Wonder how long it will take people to report these companies. It's shameful and a crime.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

This thread in general is ok but posts where people start talking negative about specific companies are going to be removed. If you are not happy with what a coral looks like versus what the photo looked like then please leave proper feedback in the vendor feedback forum in accordance with our TOS. This goes for sponsors and non-sponsors. Also let's please be civil and courteous to one another.

Thank you.

 

[William Morris]

This thread in general is ok but posts where people start talking negative about specific companies are going to be removed. If you have a problem with what a coral looks like versus what the photo looked like then you can leave proper feedback in the vendor feedback forum. This goes for sponsors and non-sponsors. Also let's please be civil and courteous to one another.

Thank you.

How do you define "negative"?
I don't think calling a spade a spade is negative.
Is the Jason Fox thread above (#29) not appropriate? Perhaps it will help the unknowing here make a different choice and not have to suffer the painfulness of regret.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

How do you define "negative"?
I don't think calling a spade a spade is negative.
Is the Jason Fox thread above (#29) not appropriate? Perhaps it will help the unknowing here make a different choice and not have to suffer the painfulness of regret.

It is not appropriate in this setting. Please use the vendor feedback forum. Give me a few and I’ll tell you in a little more detail as to why.

 

[ReefBeta]

Basically ever since we fell in love coral with crazy florescence. It's just nature that florescence only shows up in proper blue lighting. I think it's fair to have vendors to showcase that, to really demonstrate the potential of the coral. Also coral in rough condition, like just shipped, look worse. If I give the vendor some benefit of doubt, that piece will look as awesome as the picture when it's thriving and shrines with blue heavy light.

I don't think it's fair to complain a coral color inaccurate when you just put it under white. It's like buying a UV art drawing and never put an UV light on it and call it lame.

I'm sure there are some ill intended vendors that overly PS their pictures, but I don't see it as industry wide scam. Many sellers are just trying to fix the picture to look like what the coral look IRL with its full potential, which is crazily difficult to capture with camera.