GH3 Tiffen Black Pro-Mist 1/8

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Polaroid22

Well-known member
Hello,

I own a GH3, and for people close up's, it sometimes a tad too sharp. Therefor I think investing in a Tiffen Black Pro-Mist 1/8 might be a good idea.

Any experience with this? Or advice/thoughts?

Cheers
 
Can't tell a lot from the "simulated" images on the B&H listing (they do try). But I would be afraid the 1/8 strength would be too little. Looks like 1/2 or 1 might be more what you're looking for. I used diffusion a lot in my studio days with Hasselblad, Mamiya RB67, and the Camerz electric advance 70mm long roll cameras, I had assembled (and still have) a set of 5 Cokin diffusion filters. All are marked either #1 or #2 but I found the actual effect varied a bit so the #1 or #2 didn't really indicate what they did.

So what I wound up with was a set of 5 almost "graduated effect" diffusion filters ranging from so subtle you almost couldn't tell it had been used (used it mainly on men's portraits - gave a bit of "life" to skin tones) to one so soft I never even tried to focus through it.

So what I'd recommend is the Tiffen Soft/FX 1/2 and 1. Shouldn't cost too much (from B&H) and there should be no color shift. I would avoid the Warm, Gold, Glimmer and other variations, you basically want to take the "edge" off sharpness and allow skin tones to glow a bit. If those two work out you could add the Soft/FX 2 for an even softer look if wanted.
 
Well, stills are one thing, video's another. Many portrait shooters want the diffusion to be consciously visible to some extent.

David Mullen's LONG thread on RedUser goes into diffusion often (http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?2714-Ask-David-Mullen-ANYTHING/) (google site search may zero you in). Whenever hollywood cinematographers talk diffusion for digital softening, they're most often in the 1/4 - 1/2 range. Black pro mist and black warm seem to be faves from my unscientific research.

I've been reading everything i can find, as 4x4 diffusion is pricey. Some text I saved:

"True diffusion though involves through an out-of-focus area over an in-focus area. In digital post, it's like doing a Gaussian Blur overlay on a sharp image.

"For example, most of "Iron Man" was shot with a 1/8 ProMist but most people do not think of that as a diffused movie, yet the filter effect is deliberately visible. If all you want to do is invisibly soften details without getting any traditional artifacts like halation around light sources and loss of contrast, then the Tiffen Black Diffusion-FX is the filter for you. It's very subtle, even as you go heavier. There is a pattern of Black dots that help to keep the contrast normal, and the pattern and shape of lenslets are very random and small.

"I also tested some diffusion filters in heavy backlight, which always tends to wow people in dailies... I compared a GlimmerGlass 2 to a Classic Soft 1/2 to a Soft-FX 1, which are all rather similar in strengths. The halation was the most subtle with the Soft-FX; the Classic Soft sort of produced a fuzzy fringe whereas the GlimmerGlass produced a ProMist-type glow. I might use a lighter Classic Soft for smoked scenes (because it holds contrast better) and then the GlimmerGlass in a few unsmoked scenes (because it lowers contrast a little)." (David Mullen)
 
Keep in mind that wider focal lengths often have a more pronounced filter effect. I have had good luck with Black Pro Mist 1/2 with my GH3, though I wanted the effect to be noticeable. My hunch is 1/8 would be too little, and 1/4 might be what you want. Here are two GH3 images using a Black Pro Mist 1/2. Notice how the wide shot (a 35mm Nikon at f2.8) has more pronounced effect on highlights like her dress. The close-up (a 50mm Nikon at f2) has less of the effect, but perhaps because there are no specular highlights.

Screen-Shot-2014-03-01-at-8.16.44-PM.jpg
Screen-Shot-2014-03-01-at-8.17.59-PM.jpg
 
I've done quite a few tests with different Tiffen filters. The pro mist filters really are what they say, "mist" filters. They create diffusion by scattering light. 1/8 or 1/4 are really nice for reducing the digital processed look. When you reach 1/2 or 1, you will get a noticeable hit on resolution, but you will also get a far more pronounced effect of color and texture bleed and halation. If you want to just soften the image, a soft fx or black diffusion fx is better. 1/2 or 1 will you get a subtle softening while a 2 or 3 will start to visibly remove skin blemishes but also start to look diffused on wider shots. I actually really love the gold diffusion FX on canon cameras is it helps to remove the really reddish tints it can give to people with fair skin. I haven't used any of the newer filters like glimmer glass as I've never found them used.
 
dvbrother said:
Here are two GH3 images using a Black Pro Mist 1/2. Notice how the wide shot (a 35mm Nikon at f2.8) has more pronounced effect on highlights like her dress. The close-up (a 50mm Nikon at f2) has less of the effect, but perhaps because there are no specular highlights.
Click to expand...

Strong but not "harsh" lighting makes for a nice "romanticized" look in the wide scene. Quite a nice effect without going too "soft". It has a lot of "life" in it, very glamorous look. I like it.

The close up appears to have different lighting, broader, subdued, yet I can see the diffusion in the eyes. skin tones, and some hair detail. Needs a tad more lighting contrast.

cpreston said:
I've done quite a few tests with different Tiffen filters. The pro mist filters really are what they say, "mist" filters. They create diffusion by scattering light. 1/8 or 1/4 are really nice for reducing the digital processed look. When you reach 1/2 or 1, you will get a noticeable hit on resolution, but you will also get a far more pronounced effect of color and texture bleed and halation. If you want to just soften the image, a soft fx or black diffusion fx is better. 1/2 or 1 will you get a subtle softening while a 2 or 3 will start to visibly remove skin blemishes but also start to look diffused on wider shots. I actually really love the gold diffusion FX on canon cameras is it helps to remove the really reddish tints it can give to people with fair skin. I haven't used any of the newer filters like glimmer glass as I've never found them used.
Click to expand...

This is very useful information to me. Most of my experience with diffusion was with Vericolor II Professsional color neg film shot in Mamiya RB67 and Hasselblads. I did run some quick tests of my Cokin set of diffusion filters and a Tiffen Black Diffusion #3 on one of my GH2's but only in still mode. I found the Black Diffusion #3 to maybe be too much, seemed to make skin tones a bit dull.

Thanks, Preston. Very valuable information.
 
I should mention that all my tests have been with APS-C size sensors. The combination of lens and sensor size is going to change how the strength of a filter affects the overall image. In general, though, anything over a strength of 1 of any of the filters is going to be noticeable to the average viewer. Even at 1080P, a black diffusion #2 starts to look at little mushy, so I'm not surprised that a #3 was a bit too much for photography. The black diffusion is actually a mix of a low grade black pro mist and an upgraded Soft FX style filter so you kind of get the best of both worlds.
 
The Tiffen Black Diffusion #3 was recommended in another discussion on this site some time back as a good way to "knock the edge off" the sharpness you got with the Lumix 20mm f1.7. I ordered one to try out and it does but at the expense of "life" in flesh colored skin tones on the GH2. Resulted in a kind of "greyish" cast to Caucasian skin tone, I had to kick contrast and brightness up a "notch" to bring some "life" back.

Besides some tests I never really used it.
 
I can see why you would get a suggestion for the Black Diffusion 3. It would seem to be good for glamour shots. Both the promists and the black diffusion tend to take the edge off of highlights on skin and that can make skin look pretty dull under certain lighting. The also tend to take the dominant colors in the environment and diffuse it over various points in the frame frame. For example, around trees and grass, everything starts to feel a little green. That's why I like the gold diffusion FX it takes the highlights and gives them a golden skin tone for interviews. I also like a low grade white pro mist when I want to add in a little atmosphere and diffusion and still have a little pop in the skin tones since the white pro mist doesn't mute the contrast.
 
That would look to be a black pro mist 1 or 1/2. It's hard to tell since the video is at 240p and the contrast is so high. It looks like they have a single blue gelled spot almost directly overhead and then a soft fill on one side. I tend to use a 1/8 or 1/4 BPM when I shoot bands. The polish on the instruments flares out the filter whenever a spot light hits the instrument from the right direction. A black pro mist will enhance the color of the light source which creates a nice effect if the lighting designer has gelled the lights in order to create some modeling. A white pro mist will just tend to bloom white. I also like to use Vector Stars to really create some flash, but that can backfire if the lighting is too harsh.

In short, get a black pro mist 1, throw bits of reflective material on your performer, and then hit them with a spot.
 
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