As a person that has never been bothered by a lack of color I have never really used filters to bring up color of the planets. Tom Masterson in the other post gives some filters to use. I have a 8"F8 that I use and it gives nice views of the planets. I live in suburban San Diego and am unable to see many of the stars and deep sky objects because of this. It is a nice night when I see M81 as more than a slight brightening of the background in the scope. However, the skies are very steady and thus, I get great views of the planets when they are high in the sky. The steadiness is more important for the planets as it allows for the resolution of the scope to be used. If you want to see the colors to stand out, get a CCD camera and you can enhance the colors to the same as what others have done. The background brightness of the sky actually improves the view of the planets as the contrast between the background and the planet isn't overwhelming for the eye. My preference is to view the planets in town and the other parts of the sky in the desert. As a challenge, try identifying the various parts of Saturn's rings, the satellite shadows going across Jupiter and which side of Mars is showing and if you see the polar cap without filters.