HVX and M2 Match

Ryan Patrick O'Hara

Ryan Patrick O'Hara

Veteran
Hi, I am looking at a Tiffen Pro Mist filter to add to the stock lens to match my M2 footage (when my M2 arrives) They have a .5,1,2,3,4,5 range in promist. I do not want to buy excessively strong or weak. I was curious if anyone knows the best filter strength to buy in order to match the footage. I really don't want to just guess on this.

Thanks in advance
 
After shooting with the HVX M2 combo I personally wouldn't recommend this route as the pro-mist filter is intended to do two things lower the contrast of the image and soften it slightly. The M2 is going to soften the image already even with the detail on the cam cranked all the way up, so adding the filter to the front of that will more than likely make the footage too soft to the point of undesirable. The low contrast can be pretty well set in cam and then fine tuned in post if thats what your after as well with the M2 I would keep as little glass in front of that thing as possible as you will need every ounce of light for interior work.
 
LighthouseMedia, I think you misunderstood. He wants to put the promist in front of the stock lens to lower the contrast and soften the image to help match that footage with m2 (no promist) footage. I think it could be a good idea, but I can't say which promist to get. Doing some camera tests is really the only way to find out.
 
NOAH,
AH, yes I c that..I misunderstood the question. And actually that might get you close to matching the softness and low contrast of the M2.
 
In most edit systems (I use Final Cut) it's so easy to add your filter effects in post, control and adjust the amount of diffusion, contrast, etc.
Using a Promist on your camera, I'd be concerned with potentially overdoing it.

I did talk to Brian at Redrock about this, and he mentioned someone using a Black Promist 2 to match M2 footage.

I still think it's safer and more flexible to add your filter effects in post.
 
A promist #2 is way too strong. He recommended a 1/8 which is barely noticable. It may not be noticable enough, but it will help. A 1/4 may flare highlights too much, but might also be the ticket. I haven't experimented yet, but those 2 are a good start. A very weak softefx may also be interesting.
 
Thanks guys. I might just look into post correction, although I am a supporter of getting the closest result desired in the camera (not relying on post). I do not have access to a dealer where I can go compare filter strengths.. :( . So it looks as if I will wait to hear future M2 production reports on what they used. Lenilenapi, I will try to find a 1/8 or 1/4 promist.... I think the smallest I could find on the web was a 1/2, but I'll keep looking! Thanks again!
 
Noah said:
Yeah, come on. Just fix it in post. Everyone else is doing it. :D
Click to expand...
This is one case where the old "fix it in post" cliche may be the wisest thing to do.

Keep in mind that the sharpness of your M2 footage can vary from shot to shot depending on whether both your film lens and HVX lens are wide open (which will be softer) or at an ideal aperture for maximum sharpness (f/5.6), or somewhere in between.

I've found that the quality of M2 footage (contrast and sharpness) can also vary quite a bit from lens to lens, so there is not one filter or filters that will always be a perfect match all the time. Adding filters in post allows matching the look on a shot by shot basis.
 
There is a vhs and it may be a DVD now by Tiffen. Its called "What Filter Should I use".

Its old on vhs, but everything still holds. There is also at the end (not all the earlier vhs have it) a technical overview of filters and how to check them. This is done by Peter Fasciano. Peter is a technical whiz. I took his now famous course (no longer does it) ELECTRONIC CINEMATOGRAPHY at Rockport Maine at the INTL TV FILM campus.

The filter numbers don't have anything to do with strength of the filter. Its a weird numbering system.

The vhs shows many popular filters and their effects.

You have to TEST filters.

However if you have access to scopes and watch Peter's instructions you will learn how filters work, AND you will learn if the filter you bought actually works and the glass is correct. Not all are.

Sidney Tawl
 
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