Phoxle SpectraSnap White Balance Filter and Flash Matching Filters Review

Conclusion

Managing the color balance of your photos isn’t just about getting consistent results. It’s a creative process of managing and manipulating the light that’s available to us. I found Phoxle’s SpectraSnap and flash matching filters to be two innovative tools to assist in this process. They were equally useful whether I was getting neutral look for easy batch processing or if I was skewing the color to try a new creative look.

The SpectraSnap lived up to its potential as a single 120mm disc worked well on all my lenses. I’m always delighted when I find a product that’s clearly designed by someone who saw what was out there and realized that they could do better — and cheaper. The only situation where I found a gray card to be superior was when shooting wide-angle against a small dominant light source, which is not a big enough weakness for me to worry about. Some might prefer the smaller 80mm Mini size, but it wasn’t necessary or useful for my large lens setup. Similarly, the warming SpectraSnap filter didn’t get much use as I prefer to do warming on the computer.

The SpectraSnap Micro Duo was also a fun product. I didn’t even realize my ELPH could do custom white balance, but once I did it really changed how I thought about the camera. I rarely post-process my point-and-shoot photos — in fact, most are directly uploaded to Flickr using an Eye-Fi wireless card. The ELPH’s white balance does poorly with indoor lighting, so having color-corrected photos come straight out of the camera is a nice win. I’m not sure why anyone would get the non-Duo SpectraSnap Micro, though, as for the same price and form factor you get a warming and neutral filter combined.

My opinion of the flash matching filters is also positive but has caveats. My benchmark were gels that you can velcro to your flash: some assembly required, but cheap, durable and easy to use. At first the Phoxle filters did worse because the booklet and case were too cumbersome. They started to pull ahead once I discovered I could stick all five filters to the flash body. They also can work with any flash, whether it be an extra strobe that you’re renting for the day or the tiny flash on your point-and-shoot camera. My final recommendation comes down to price and durability. The $39.95 price tag is affordable, but I’m worried that my flash-body mounting and generally abusive treatment is beyond their design. If you’re not too hard on your gear I recommend them without hesitation.

You never know what sort of situation you might encounter to challenge your camera. You might find yourself in a New York subway station with the sudden idea of trying to make the subway car the same color as the paint. Or a forest fire could unexpectedly give you bright orange, smoke-filled skies. Whether you’re trying to be creative, not mess up the beautiful scene in front of you, or just trying to save some time post-processing, Phoxle’s product line offers innovative and affordable solutions.