Formatt Hitech filter kit - your thoughts? Alternatives?

L

leeburnett

Active member
I'm in the market for a set of 4x4 filters for a new mattebox, and need 101.6mm x 101.6mm, which seems more awkward to find than I anticipated.

Anyway, one option I've found is this kit of 6 (ND, grad, PL etc) for $295 on B&H.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/752100-REG/Formatt_BF_4X4_KIT1_4x4_Starter_Kit_1.html

What are people's thoughts on these? Any experience, comparisons to higher end brands?

Would I be better of saving my $300 and putting that into 2 or 3 good tiffen filters? I really only need the ND and PL, but a couple grad ND's would be nice too.

Also, what exactly is the skin tone enhancer filter? How does it work?

Thanks
 
Formatt filters are really good. That kit looks good value too. You should be able to pick up a kit like that in the UK, they are Welsh after all.
 
OK good to hear, I think it's a bargain then. Although I bet it will be £300 in UK... considering just buying from B&H america, although I don't like to do that because of customs etc.
 
Do B&H do that at the payment page then? Roughly how much does it work out, or is it different for every product?
 
Yes, it works it all out based on your location and choice of delivery method (duty is based on cost of goods + cost of delivery). Just view cart and hit "calculate shipping".
 
I've tested a few plastic 4x4's. Zero sharpness hit. .3's and .6's, imperceptible color shift. .9's tend to throw color off some (on this cheaper end of things).

Easy to test them with a DSLR that can shoot raw and a steady light source - shoot a raw still of a gray card, open it and eyedropper it, see if the RGB values are within a couple points for each filter (open up a stop per .3 of ND).

If you find some minor casts, just white balance through the filter if it's a concern.
 
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