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Moment’s Variable ND filters for mirrorless and DSLRs offer great quality at an affordable price

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Variable neutral density filters have become invaluable tools for many photographers and filmmakers. They allow us to carry less kit to be able to extend our shutter speed in a variety of lighting conditions vs big holders and multiple square format filters. In recent years, their prices have fallen quite dramatically, too, while their overall quality has greatly improved.

Moment’s recently released variable ND filters have come in at a very attractive price, but do they hold up to scrutiny? With the lockdown in Scotland, I haven’t been able to get out to play with them properly in the wild yet, but I have been able to do some testing to get an idea of their capabilities. So, here’s what I think.

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Here is when you should use filters instead of Photoshop

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As a landscape photographer, I find it both a convenience and an inconvenience to use filters. For example, using filters for balancing light in a scene,  eliminates the need for bracketed shooting. This saves space on my memory card and on my hard drive. On the other hand, sometimes things happen so fast that mounting filters spoils the moment. There are also instances when using a filter to smooth the water in a waterfall will save me from blending exposures in Photoshop. On the negative side, adding filters to the backpack takes up space and adds weight.

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I wanted to see if K&F’s variable NDs can stand up to a regular neutral density filter

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about the creative benefits of using ND (Neutral Density) filters in photography. This can be viewed here. Although I love ND filters they can require a larger initial investment which could be a barrier for people who want to play around with long exposures photography.

What if there was another option that let you adjust the strength of the light reduction which costs less and still offers decent image quality?

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This is the Lensbaby OMNI Creative Filter System

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Lensbaby’s OMNI Creative Filter System was announced earlier this year for pre-order and is now shipping. It’s an interesting system offering some very unique creative options for both photographers and filmmakers. We stopped by the Lensbaby stand at PhotoPlus 2019 to see it in person and find out all about it.

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Chinese vlogger busted for using face filters to make herself look younger

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A Chinese vlogger known as “Your Highness Qiao Biluo” recently came under fire after she was busted for using a face filter to make herself look younger. Thanks to a glitch during a live stream last week, Qiao Biluo appeared without her usual filter. And as it turned out, she is much older than she presents herself to be online.

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Aurora’s new drop-in mirrorless filters save time in the field and space in your bag

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Although many filters are no longer required with digital photography, thanks to the power of applications like Lightroom, Capture One and Luminar, there are some that can still be very useful. Particularly neutral density filters. But filters that go onto the end of your lens can be a pain, especially when it comes to keeping them clean.

California-based Aurora, though, has developed a drop-in filter solution for mirrorless camera lens adapters that not only keeps the filter clean and protected but also means you don’t have to swap it out when changing lenses. They kicked off recently on Kickstarter, and have already more than doubled their goal.

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My review of Lensbaby’s new OMNI filter system

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Lensbaby has become a bit of a household name in recent years and for those of us searching for a more unique look to our images, Lensbaby has been there to provide a whole host of creative solutions. Their latest product is no different, but this time around they aren’t producing a new lens, but instead a ‘creative filter system’ called the Omni.

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one of these Omni’s prior to launch and I also had chance to test it out on a couple of portrait shoots recently so I thought I would share my thoughts on it here.

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A Pakistani politician accidentally uses cat filter during live press conference

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Last Friday, Pakistani official Shaukat Yousafzai addressed the public in a press conference which was live streamed on Facebook. It wouldn’t have been anything unordinary if his face hadn’t been modified with the “cat filter.” During the live stream, the politician appeared with digital cat ears, whiskers and rosy cheeks, which turned the press conference into a sort of comedy.

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Lensbaby’s new OMNI filter system isn’t like any kind of filter system you’ve seen before

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Shooting through stuff like crystals and whatnot isn’t a new idea, but it’s not one that’s really been developed, commercially. Sure, you can go on Amazon and buy a crystal to shoot through, but it’s not easy to work with unless you want to build some kind of custom rig or just hold it yourself in front of your lens.

Lensbaby, though, has been working on this idea, and they’ve created the new OMNI Creative Filter System. At the moment, it’s essentially a ring that screws onto your lens with magnetic… divots, I suppose, into which you can mount one of several different “filters”.[Read More…]

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