What's with all the top down pictures?
 

All the adds for corals for sale that show top down pictures. You guys must spend a lot of time viewing your tank from above... I can't remember the last time I did.

Sure the corals look great from above, but that doesn't give me any idea what the coral is going to look like when put it in my tank and view it like I usually do, sitting in front sipping on a beverage.

Especially "venders" looking to ship their corals nationally. Right now I'm in coral acquisition mode with my new tank, but I find it difficult to pay to ship corals across the country based on such unrealistic photographs. I honestly think you'd have more sales with photos that show what the coral will look like. At least I'd be more tempted to buy :wink:

you get a better pic top down .......

its pretty much the norm for sellers to do now a days considering you dont need to go through 2' of water to get a pic and the majority of people want a clear picture , corals are top down and fish are in palm of hands.

i find with zoanthids all the color is facing up so from a side ways point of view youll see lots of skirts and not much focus on the actual pattern or color which is usually on the face, having a clear shot from the top down gives a better idea if your buying something true to its name or if its a lemon;)

now not all corals are like that but for alot top down is a easy way to get the real patterns and colors up front.


you have to remember most sellers have shallow coral beds so going through the side isnt always the best angles.

at the end of the day you could always pm the seller and ask for a side ways shot but lately theres been alot of complaining about having to do more than the average person has time for so i guess it depends on what category your in lol

hope that helps clear it up a bit


cheers


denny

I think your in the minority feeling this way. As long as the colour representation is good why do you care what angle the picture is taken. in today's world you should just be happy that the picture lines up with real life. How can you hold hold it against someone for trying to show the best of a coral. Under this idea people should be taking pictures of frags from a foot or two back as who sits inches away from a frag

And fyi I did and do spend a significant amount of time watching my aquarium from above. It's the most colourful view.

Also when you go to the store they are set up for top down viewing as well.

yeah same here as i designed it for mostly look down, i agree youll get a diff perspective with alot of corals viewing top down in fact even better , i dont think many sellers would mind doing a sideways pic if a request was made , i know i dont as long as the person is willing and patient to wait for me to take a pic:)

sometimes it never hurts to just send a pm or email asking for.

He sure is!! Top downs are awesome :lol:

I'm with ReeferRob. With the amount of flow required in an SPS tank there's too much surface agitation and reflection of the lights to actually get a good view of the contents in your tanks. I prefer looking thru the front glass. Plus I'd have to be over 7' tall to look down at my tank

It's pretty simple I think. It's easier and clearer when doing a top down for most vendors. If you want a side picture, all you have to do is ask and i'm sure 99% of them would gladly take one for you.

I do prefer top down pics too but I can also understand the importance of side pics (shows the patter, length, height, etc). One of the reason why I don't like buying corals online is due to the fact that pictures never give a true representation of the coral as a whole. On the other hand, front pics are kind of hard to get. If the lens is not parallel by even a degree with the glass, you get a blurred pic.

I think there's only once way to solve the whole problem. Rotatable 3D image of the coral. :razz:

Depends on how you look at it. If a vendor really wants to sell something than maybe they should provide both. If they have so many hours in the day to be sitting on the site I'm sure they have time to take pics.

I prefer top down also. Gives a better representation of the true color. And I have a viewer and a step ladder for in home viewing :) Although, I find most of my pieces look the same through the front glass, as I'm kinda looking down on them anyway.

LOL, I guess I should have included a poll: Would you buy a coral based on a top down picture?

i personally would and do, but i admit for certain corals i would like a front on view:)

I'm in the top-down crowd as well. Let's face it, a lot of corals (most of them) look like crap from the side. I like to take top down pics and use them as desktop wallpapers to remind myself why I go through all the trouble of trying to keep SPS in the first place :biggrin:

Sure, you don't get to see your corals top down every single day, but that's why you take top down pics ! So you can sit down at your desk or your phone or tablet and view them whenever you want.

As for the vendors perspective, their number two priority is to sell stuff (number one would be to keep stuff healthy and alive). They are really no different than any other industry that sells stuff based on how stuff looks. They need their stuff to look as awesome as it possibly can, and that means top downs. Open up catalogue or a magazine. All of those swimsuits sure look good, but in actual practice most of them are crap. They're just photographed very well :-)

I understand why people take pictures top down. They look great, I love them, but they don't in any way influence me whether or not to buy a coral.

I've been burned before buying corals (SPS) based on top downs. Almost any coral looks great from top down, but not so many look good from the front, how I like to view my tank.

I just prefer quality stock, don't really care how it's shown as long as it's shown accurate. I have corals angled towards the front on my tank to view better (lobo's brains etc.) After looking a billion and a half pics on the internet I can tell fairly close how it will look dimensionally when it arrives...lol

What's with all the top down pictures?
 

Iam sure most vendors will provide you with multiple pictures if you request for it, we at MJC always try to provide a close up picture , a sample frag and a mother colony shot!!! Brap Brap !!!

It's sounds more to me that either the coral was misrepresented in the photo or things cha.ged from the time the photo was taken to the point where it reached your door. I have yet to see an ugly coral take a nice top down, the colour has to be there.

What's with all the top down pictures?
 

I love top down views mostly because I'm a zoaholic. My issue with buying online is the colour in pictures always look way better than I can make them look in person lol.

Well it all stems down to ones own preference.
We all try to create a piece of living art in our homes. Some like to look down on it and some directly at at. I guess that's off topic though from OP

Many acroporas are like that. Purple Valida for example is gorgeous from the top, but not that impressive from the side.

Im pretty sure its because most frag tanks that are meant for making frags and selling are lower and not too tall as it is just easier and more efficient to work with. No one will intentionally make a fragtank thats 30" tall.

IDK a purple valida is decent but wouldnt really grab my attention either way. Now if it has bright green polyps (tri colour) that is another story. :)