theprestige
Active member
From their description, they sound Black Pro Mist like, so I was wondering if anybody has ever used the Hoya Mist Filters? I'm curious about them but would like more information regarding user experience.
Has anybody ever used the HOYA Mist Filters?
- Thread starter theprestige
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Chris Santucci
Veteran
Mist filters are mist filters. I doubt there's a major difference between manufacturers. These types of filters create a lot of global flare with heavy backlight and provide varying degrees of diffusion.
JPNola
Veteran
Agree. There is much hair-product type marketing in the filter world. Product names such as "Hollywood" and "Satin" to sell the products. Different products trend for a time and then some other diffusion filter becomes the latest "It" soft filter. There are different types of diffusion among the various soft filters. Were I shooting narrative work I'd likely use softening filters more than I do. But most of my clients prefer the images to be clean, sans any diffusion filtering.
More directly to the question: yes, the Hoya Black Mist filters appear to be very close to Black Pro Mist or "BPM". Of the two, I'd go with Tiffen BPM simply because of Tiffen's well established name and history. It is a name a client will likely know more than Hoya, for the times when that is of any matter.
I've always wanted one of those Schneider "Confetti" filters just because they look fun. But I'd not likely ever actually use it.
Bruce Foreman
Veteran
In the 1980's during my studio days, the best diffusion I ever saw was the Mamiya Sekor 150mm Soft Focus lens for the RB-67. The optics in this lens were designed with the faults that used to be found in old optics blended in. These faults were only designed into the outer parts of some elements. At f8 only the central area of the lens was used and images were as sharp and crisp as any sharp lenses for the RB-67, but as you opened up the aperture from there you began to use more and more of the outer portions and the image got softer.
Wide open, with no control disks used, the lens was very soft and "flarey". I never used it this way. I preferred the #3 control disk for it's effect.
The control disk had perforated openings arranged in different patterns for each disk and each controlled the "mix" of cental area and outer areas used, you unscrewed the front cell of elements and the control disk fit over the back end element, they you screwed it back in. The #3 gave me the softest yet most flare free effect of all 3 of the ones that came with the lens.
My camera room working aperture was f8 and with that disk in place the image was sharp and crisp with no diffusion. Due to what the control disk did to aperture effect going from f8 to f4 was only a half stop difference in exposure but turning the aperture ring from f8 in marked half stop increments gave me a continuously very controllable variable diffusion effect. I loved it and never found a diffusion filter that could match it.
Here's one I did with this lens. The diffusion itself is subtle but does an lot of softening on the skin tones.
Wide open, with no control disks used, the lens was very soft and "flarey". I never used it this way. I preferred the #3 control disk for it's effect.
The control disk had perforated openings arranged in different patterns for each disk and each controlled the "mix" of cental area and outer areas used, you unscrewed the front cell of elements and the control disk fit over the back end element, they you screwed it back in. The #3 gave me the softest yet most flare free effect of all 3 of the ones that came with the lens.
My camera room working aperture was f8 and with that disk in place the image was sharp and crisp with no diffusion. Due to what the control disk did to aperture effect going from f8 to f4 was only a half stop difference in exposure but turning the aperture ring from f8 in marked half stop increments gave me a continuously very controllable variable diffusion effect. I loved it and never found a diffusion filter that could match it.
Here's one I did with this lens. The diffusion itself is subtle but does an lot of softening on the skin tones.
theprestige
Active member
Well to be honest, I have only ever tried one soft/mist filter, the Zeiss Softer 1, and from what I understand that is completely different to the effect you get with mist filters.
theprestige
Active member
That's a nice shot, but maybe a bit too hardcore for what i'm looking for. Looks more like Zeiss Softar 2.
Mike Krumlauf
Award Winning Filmmaker
I used them on this video along with a Tiffen UltraCon 1 and Tiffen Pola
theprestige
Active member
That looks great, dude.
Just a question - the Hoya Mist filters do not seem to come in any strength, unlike the Tiffen ones, which are 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and so forth. So with their fixed strength, is the Hoya closer to Tiffen 1/8 or 1/4 or 1/2?? Because I am seriously thinking of investing.
theprestige
Active member
??
Chris Santucci
Veteran
A "mist" filter has suspended particles in the filter that cause halation and diffuse the image. The other popular softening filter type that I know of has small circles of what appear to be tiny lenses that don't cause halation as much while also providing subtle diffusion.