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NiSi scales down their filter system for their new Smartphone Filter Kit for iPhone

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If we take away all the egotistical hyperbole, one of the big things that stops a lot of people from shooting more (and more serious) photos with their smartphones is the lack of available filters. Sure, there are some polarisers and NDs out there, but when have you ever seen a square filter system comparable to that which you’d use on a DSLR or mirrorless camera?

Well, NiSi’s solving that today, at least for iPhone users, with the release of their new Smartphone Filter Kit for iPhone. Technically, there are three kits. There’s the Landscape Kit, the Filmmaker Kit and the Cinema Kit, each tailored to a different type of user. And the filters themselves appear to be exactly the same (only smaller) as those which NiSi makes for regular cameras, too.

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Hoya has launched their new Mist Diffuser Black series No0.5 and No1 filters

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Hoya has announced their new Hoya Mist Diffuser Black creative series filters. Designed to give a “stylish cinematic effect”, Hoya’s new Mist Diffuser Black No1 and No0.5 filters are of the screw-on variety, available in 49mm, 52mm, 55mm, 58m, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm and 82mm diameters. The “No” denotes their strength.

The goal of these filters is to create a soft and diffused look that’s often seen in cinema while retaining the sharpness where it counts. Essentially, it gives your light sources a nice soft glow while diffusing the often too-sharp image of modern lenses.

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Everything you ever needed to know about circular polarising filters

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I remember when I first started out in photography I found all the different types of filters to be a bit confusing. I honestly didn’t know my ND Grad filter from my UV filter. And I had no idea about when and why you might want to use a polarising filter. Of course, since then, I’ve studied and learnt a lot.

These days the post-processing options are so good that there are really only a couple of filters that are truly indispensable. One of these is the circular polarising filter. In this video, Christopher Frost walks you through exactly when, why and how to use one.

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These are the only three types of lens filter you probably ever need

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Filters – no, not the Instagram kind – have been a part of photography and filmmaking for decades. Back in the days of film, particularly with black and white, they were often used to eliminate issues like excess UV light from the sun, to wrangle the brightness of the sky down to the relatively dark land for an even exposure, they were used to add contrast between different colours to black and white film or one of a multitude of effects.

These days, most of the problems we used to solve or effects we used to create with filters are done in post, on the computer. Now if you want to add contrast or alter the balance of colour in a shot, you just drag a slider. But there are some filters that are still valuable and useful in this digital age. And in this video, Mitch Lally talks about three of them and why he brings them to every shoot.

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Benro Aureole – Yet another lens mount adapter with a built-in proprietary filter system

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Oh, look. It’s another established company jumping on the Kickstarter train to try to launch a new product. This time, it’s Benro, with their new Aureole, a “modular 3-in-1 drop-in filter adapter system”. Essentially, though, it’s just another Canon EF lens to whatever camera mount adapter with filters you can slot in between the two – a bit like Canon’s own EF to RF drop-in filter adapter.

Except, this one comes in options to let you mount those EF lenses to Canon RF, Sony E, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon Z, Leica L, Fuji X and Fuji GFX cameras. There’s also a Nikon F lens to Nikon Z camera body version and they say that more will be on the way in the future. And all of them use the same filters – which are proprietary to the mount making it kind of limiting.

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The Revoring Swift is a magnetic filter ecosystem for both photographers and filmmakers

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H&Y Filters, the company behind the Revoring magnetic filter system are releasing a new “Swift” modular magnetic filter system that they say works for both photographers and filmmakers. They even have a magnetic matte box! They’re claiming it to be a world’s first system that targets both types of user, which is probably accurate as most only seem to focus on photographers, but I think some video guys are going to need some convincing.

The system isn’t available just yet and is launching on Kickstarter later this month, but they’ve already put up the promo video for it, along with a few bits of information (not much, though). So, here’s what we know about it so far. Like I said, not much. We’ve got a rough idea of what’s included in the ecosystem, but there are no specific details yet and no prices.

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H&Y’s new REVORING Black Mist fits on any lens without step-up rings

The REVORING from H&Y filters is an interesting concept. Instead of having to buy multiple step-up rings for all your different diameter lenses to use larger screw-on filters, you just buy one “variable” diameter REVORING that fits on a whole bunch of different filter diameter lenses. And you can attach and detach it much more quickly than a standard screw-on filter, too.

The system was first launched in June of last year with a VND + CPL combo. Now the company has just announced a new Black Mist filter, available in three strengths, that you can use either on its own or magnetically attach to your existing REVORING VND+CPL filters.

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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’s how to figure out which ND filters you need

If you need ND filters, it may be a tough choice which ones to buy since there are so many of them in the market. And if solid ND filters are what you prefer, how do you know which ones you need? Let Griffin Hammond help you with that. In this video, he explains how solid ND filters differ and how you can calculate which one would be perfect for your current shooting situation.

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Why you might want to use red or other coloured filters with your digital camera

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Coloured filters have been popular amongst black & white film photographers for decades. Typically, these are blue, red, orange, yellow and green. They help to increase contrast in skies and reduce the appearance of blemishes on skin, but are they still useful today with black & white digital?

That’s what photographer David Bergman explores in this video. He thinks that they are still valuable.

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