Wow, the only person on UA-cam to actually do a Flare test. Tiffen Promist filters are the worst with Flares, if a subject is backlit or light directly in front it gives really bad Green reflective flare. My Dream FX filter does not have this Issue, I also have a Kase mist filter which doesn't Flare either. I chose these 2 filters just for that characteristic.
Hey hey Diminish! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! So glad to know that some people would like to know about Flaring through a mist filter! It was just something I noticed during my mist strength tests so I just decided to add it in for anyone looking :) Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Wow, that Freewell 1/8 and 1/4 are much stronger than their marking suggest. The 1/8th is much closer to a 1/4 mist filter, and the 1/4 is closer to a 1/2, but the bigger issue for me is that they are for the most part more expensive than the Tiffen equivalents, and the Tiffens are one of the two most recognized and used mist filters out there. In my opinion if one is trying to compete in a given market like this with some well established existing products one can't over price and under preform like this. Honestly outside the 82mm Tiffen most of their slightly smaller mist filters are a much better value than almost any of their competition.
Hey Bill, "Expensive" just for you to know to make a threaded filter takes less than 5 mins in the production line vs. 30+ minutes for the magnetic filter, which eventually brings convenience to users switching the filters in seconds; our filter has over 20+ parts whereas threaded filter just 2-3, So thats where that cost increases. On 82mm, we are cheaper than our competitor. When it comes to MIST strength, there is no industry standard, unlike the ND filter, which has set rules mist doesn't, so it becomes subjective what you may do not like others like it. Thanks for writing this feedback; sure, we collect all the feedback to bring improvement to our product. Thanks
Hey hey again Bill! Thanks for clarifying Freewell! The magnetic set is really nice with these filters for sure, it feels much stronger than the XUME rings I had. Indeed the mist arena doesn't have a standard yet, most user comparison tests will definitely be helpful in the space to see how each filter compares to some golden standards that have been around a bit longer. Hopefully in the future I can get my hands on some of the other mist filters for a big shoot out. Moment and K&F concept are the others that I can think of for this comparison video.
@@TLDR_filmmaker I had started a response to Freewell with similar thoughts, but got pulled away from finishing my reply at the time. I'm in agreement that while we don't have any set standards laid out for diffusion filters at the current time, both Schneider's Hollywood Blackmagic and Tiffin's Black Pro-Mist both have been out for well over a decade, and are pretty much the two gold standards known to most film makers. The thing about those two filter sets is while they don't match, they also work differently so provide a very different look and feel depending on which one uses. The Black Pro-Mist has a very gradual falloff, where as the Hollywood Blackmagic remains very consistent out to a specific point then falls off fairly rapidly. That said there is an area where they do seem to match fairly closely, and that is their general effect radius. The radius of each filters effect it roughly the same distance from the center of a small point light source at the same marked rating as the other brand. Also as each of these two brands increases in numeric value, the next filter in its line is roughly twice the previous filters effect radius. With these two points in mind looking at the Freewell filters they look to match the diffusion style of the Black Pro-Mist with a very gradual fall off, except the radius of that fall off is significantly larger at the equivalent numeric step, and to compound the problem the 1/4 Freewell doesn't appear twice the effect radius of the 1/8 version of their own filter. Given the Tiffin filters, due to their age, should have given us something of base for what to expect as a given look for a given rating for a filter Deviating from that long established look because it isn't documented only aids in preventing their from being standards. Simple tests, like the ones in this video, of any filters that predate these by over a decade would not only have reviled some of the inconsistencies in trying to create a standard, but also the inconsistencies between ones own series as part of the R&D phase. Claiming after the fact that the numbers are meaningless, in my opinion, doesn't help strength the argument for this system. While I do see and agree that the convenience factor of the magnets do add some value, the other issues, to me, out weigh that convenience.
I’d also recommend that when buying a filter, get the largest thread size. So like an 82 or 77mm size. And then buy step up rings. I made the mistake of buying a couple black pro mist filters at smaller thread sizes, making them virtually unusable for my other larger lenses. 😅
@@theDanDeleon Lol, doubt that world's strongest man could remove a cross threaded aluminum ring without damaging the lens or filter. Often requires a grip pad, lens wrench, in the worst cases, cutting the ring off the lens or filter. ua-cam.com/video/jMyUi_umDZg/v-deo.html Brass rings can still become stuck, but the brass also tend to have knurled edges, adding to their benefit.
@@frankinblackpool Yes, have used that technique to good effect. Any sheet of grippy material, rubber pads, even jar openers will work. Place the grippy pad flat on a table, place the lens on top, push and turn.
Hey hey again Mike! In these tests I feel the Freewell 1/8 is very close to the Tiffen Black pro Mist 1/4 in terms of their bloom. So if you feel that is too much, than you would want to go with the Tiffen as their 1/8 will be more subtle than the Freewell 1/8. However if you do like that bloom of the former, then I would say the Freewell (82mm) will be cheaper and you have the added benefit of it being magnetic, which allows you to dive into the freewell magnetic system which is quite nice and super fast to swap. The magnets are also much stronger than the XUME magnet filters I use to use. With the freewell system as they come out with more types of filters, the magnetic ones are stackable, which is how I was doing the freewell 1/8 + 1/4 stacked. Hope this helps!
I accidentally left my Tiffin Pro Mist filter on while doing some Astro photography. Even though it was a 1/4 filter, this turned out to be a very happy accident with atmospherically glowing stars rather than pinpoints of light. I later discovered that the Big Boy Astro photographers use even stronger mist filters. Kind of funny that we spend fortunes on razor sharp lenses only to soften them deliberately with fuzzy glass. 😀
Hey hey again Frank! That is very interesting and that you enjoyed those results! It makes perfect sense to me, most posters of stars in the sky I feel do have that aura around the stars. Haha it is kinda funny, but also makes complete sense. We have these awesome sharp lenses for the projects that need it and then we fuzz them up to give a more vintage feel if that projects needs it. We get the best of both worlds. Unlike older vintage lenses where we might not really get the full edge sharpness that we get with modern lenses.
The Freewell Glow Mist is quite a bit stronger than the industry standard Tiffen and it looks like it's not a black mist, that is, it raises the blacks a little which the Tiffen doesn't so much. It would be smart of Freewell to create a black version that matches the Tiffen. I'd switch to their new matte box system if they had all my filter needs covered. That 'Versatile Mist' has a lot of colour shift. Thanks for these useful tests!
Nice video- The blue space light with two figured looks great! Like Blade Runner. I always considered mist filters on a $2500 lens kinda like a Billionaire trying to keep it real by wearing a Walmart shirt. hahah. thanks
Hey hey again Beau! God love some Blade Runner! Haha that is a great analogy. It is funny how we have a lot of great modern lenses but we try to muck them up to bring us that grit feel of older optics. The good thing is that we do have options to go backwards with modern lenses. We can't make a vintage lens look like a modern clinical lens.
MrHeeeeeng! Them legendary FD's! I like using mist filters more for versatility with my modern lenses. I can use the modern lens for sharp looks, or slap a filter to get a slightly more vintage look. It's probably the only thing stopping me buying up every vintage lens brands out there cause man do I love vintage lenses!
The Moment Cinebloom mist filters are probably the best value for money now. Have tried a few and don't see much difference between them and the higher priced mist filters. The Moments are less than half the price of the better known brands.
Hey hey again Michael! I really want to get my hands on some moment filters too and try them out. Another one is K&F Concept mist filters. I saw a comparison review against Black Pro Mist and they looked very very similar. I'll see if I can get my hands on a few mist filters and do a brand shootout or something.
In case you didn’t know, you missed what is IMO the most important reason why you may NOT want to use a mist filter (or any other diffusion filter). Diffusion filters are pieces of clear glass filled with tiny tiny particles (almost microscopic) so the light gets broken down and spreads in the image (lifting the shadows and also midtones). The major downside is that those particles get clearly visible in bokeh balls.. no matter the type of filter. Some add a super defined horseshoe shaped specks pattern (and the shape differs depending on the filter used). As long as you don’t have bokeh balls in your shot, you won’t really notice that effect.. but when you do, it makes the shot unusable IMO. A solid but expensive solution for that is Scatter, by Video Village. It’s a 499$ plugin that accuratly recreates all popular diffusion filters (and their different strenghts) with none of the downsides (speckled bokeh, flaring and ghosting).
@@stu9000 First of, not every Hollywood movie has been made using diffusion filters.. this is the choice of the cinematographer (I could point out hundreds of movies that have clean bokeh). Second, they didn’t use diffusion filters to get those artifacts.. they just accepted them because they can’t remove them. You’d be shocked to know how many people won’t ever notice things like that while watching a movie. If you like that, then use them.. I don’t. I prefer to do it in post and have total control over it, with just the desire effects and none of the downsides.
For clarity, when you're testing the Freewell 1/8 + 1/4 are you using the 1/8 base Mist from the Versatile system and then adding at 1/4 Freewell GlowMist? Or are both of those filters separate from the Versatile system -- just a 1/8 GlowMist + 1/4 GlowMist? I'm a new owner of the Versatile Magnetic system, and I'm enjoying it so far, but I was considering adding a Freewell 1/4 GlowMist to the mix. I was wondering if it would work with the Versatile System. Could I pop the 1/4 Glow Mist on top of the Versatile's 1/8 mist base layer for heavy mist or remove the 1 stop base 1/8 mist layer and just use the 1/4 GlowMist by itself inside the Versatile System's magnetic base ring?
Hey hey stoneylama! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! When I tested the Freewell 1/8 + 1/4, I was using two mist filters and stacking them on top of each other. Both of these are separate from the versatile magnetic system. You can use a 1/8 glowmist inside the versatile systems base ring however you can not stack the versatile base mist filter along with a 1/4 glow mist filter, the two systems can't mix like that. Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker thanks for clarifying. My 1/4 glow mist just arrived and I suppose it’s a win that I can at least use the same magnetic ring from the versatile system. It will be great if Freewell eventually makes a 1/4 mist x VND base filter. In the meantime I’m more likely to use the 1/4 at night anyway so happy to have it minus ND.
Hey hey Jesse! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! While I haven't had much experience with the glimmer glass, from what I saw when I was researching is that the glimmer glass's aura does not reach as far out as the black pro mist does and you are more able to see the source lights shape (light bulb) more so than the black pro mist where it would cover it up with the aura (halation?). So for me I'd probably use glimmer glass for a neon cyber punk setting (Blade Runner) and use Black Pro Mist for a character searching through a dusty old basement. Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hey hey EFormance Engineering! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! Haha, nah I prefer the suntan lotion filter, it'll really get your that nice soft out of focus look with some crazy vignettes lol! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hey hey salat! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! They are definitely a somewhat special tool that I feel narrative filmmakers will get more out of them than most, it will come down to the context of the shots. But of course its also a bit subjective in terms of if people like that older vintage look on their modern sharp lenses. What I Like about them is that I can purchase a modern lens for sharp videos that need it, but also slap on this filter if I want to give more of a vintage lens vibe, say 50s-60s film kind of look. Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
2:33 I love how the glow mist removes the digital sharpening. The image looks much more natural while still having plenty of detail. 🔥
The Sony A7sIV will feature a built in variable mist filter
Wow, the only person on UA-cam to actually do a Flare test.
Tiffen Promist filters are the worst with Flares, if a subject is backlit or light directly in front it gives really bad Green reflective flare. My Dream FX filter does not have this Issue, I also have a Kase mist filter which doesn't Flare either. I chose these 2 filters just for that characteristic.
Hey hey Diminish!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
So glad to know that some people would like to know about Flaring through a mist filter! It was just something I noticed during my mist strength tests so I just decided to add it in for anyone looking :)
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Great video, liking the broll shots, a water fountain is of course a perfect subject 😁
Thanks Heather! Haha perhaps this water fountain will become a main staple in my lens/optics reviews 😁
Wow, that Freewell 1/8 and 1/4 are much stronger than their marking suggest. The 1/8th is much closer to a 1/4 mist filter, and the 1/4 is closer to a 1/2, but the bigger issue for me is that they are for the most part more expensive than the Tiffen equivalents, and the Tiffens are one of the two most recognized and used mist filters out there. In my opinion if one is trying to compete in a given market like this with some well established existing products one can't over price and under preform like this. Honestly outside the 82mm Tiffen most of their slightly smaller mist filters are a much better value than almost any of their competition.
Hey Bill,
"Expensive" just for you to know to make a threaded filter takes less than 5 mins in the production line vs. 30+ minutes for the magnetic filter, which eventually brings convenience to users switching the filters in seconds; our filter has over 20+ parts whereas threaded filter just 2-3, So thats where that cost increases.
On 82mm, we are cheaper than our competitor.
When it comes to MIST strength, there is no industry standard, unlike the ND filter, which has set rules mist doesn't, so it becomes subjective what you may do not like others like it.
Thanks for writing this feedback; sure, we collect all the feedback to bring improvement to our product.
Thanks
Hey hey again Bill!
Thanks for clarifying Freewell!
The magnetic set is really nice with these filters for sure, it feels much stronger than the XUME rings I had.
Indeed the mist arena doesn't have a standard yet, most user comparison tests will definitely be helpful in the space to see how each filter compares to some golden standards that have been around a bit longer. Hopefully in the future I can get my hands on some of the other mist filters for a big shoot out. Moment and K&F concept are the others that I can think of for this comparison video.
@@TLDR_filmmaker I had started a response to Freewell with similar thoughts, but got pulled away from finishing my reply at the time. I'm in agreement that while we don't have any set standards laid out for diffusion filters at the current time, both Schneider's Hollywood Blackmagic and Tiffin's Black Pro-Mist both have been out for well over a decade, and are pretty much the two gold standards known to most film makers. The thing about those two filter sets is while they don't match, they also work differently so provide a very different look and feel depending on which one uses. The Black Pro-Mist has a very gradual falloff, where as the Hollywood Blackmagic remains very consistent out to a specific point then falls off fairly rapidly. That said there is an area where they do seem to match fairly closely, and that is their general effect radius. The radius of each filters effect it roughly the same distance from the center of a small point light source at the same marked rating as the other brand. Also as each of these two brands increases in numeric value, the next filter in its line is roughly twice the previous filters effect radius. With these two points in mind looking at the Freewell filters they look to match the diffusion style of the Black Pro-Mist with a very gradual fall off, except the radius of that fall off is significantly larger at the equivalent numeric step, and to compound the problem the 1/4 Freewell doesn't appear twice the effect radius of the 1/8 version of their own filter. Given the Tiffin filters, due to their age, should have given us something of base for what to expect as a given look for a given rating for a filter Deviating from that long established look because it isn't documented only aids in preventing their from being standards. Simple tests, like the ones in this video, of any filters that predate these by over a decade would not only have reviled some of the inconsistencies in trying to create a standard, but also the inconsistencies between ones own series as part of the R&D phase. Claiming after the fact that the numbers are meaningless, in my opinion, doesn't help strength the argument for this system. While I do see and agree that the convenience factor of the magnets do add some value, the other issues, to me, out weigh that convenience.
I’d also recommend that when buying a filter, get the largest thread size. So like an 82 or 77mm size. And then buy step up rings.
I made the mistake of buying a couple black pro mist filters at smaller thread sizes, making them virtually unusable for my other larger lenses. 😅
Agree, specifically the brass step-up rings. The aluminum rings can be difficult to remove and can even become stuck.
@@Trevellian gotta hit the weight room then. 💪
@@theDanDeleon Lol, doubt that world's strongest man could remove a cross threaded aluminum ring without damaging the lens or filter. Often requires a grip pad, lens wrench, in the worst cases, cutting the ring off the lens or filter. ua-cam.com/video/jMyUi_umDZg/v-deo.html Brass rings can still become stuck, but the brass also tend to have knurled edges, adding to their benefit.
@@Trevellian You could place a cork mat against the filter or ring and rotate it to try and remove the filter.
@@frankinblackpool Yes, have used that technique to good effect. Any sheet of grippy material, rubber pads, even jar openers will work. Place the grippy pad flat on a table, place the lens on top, push and turn.
thanks, great review!
For my upcoming beach photo and videography I want to use a mist filter would you choose the Freewell or Tiffen 1/8?
Hey hey again Mike!
In these tests I feel the Freewell 1/8 is very close to the Tiffen Black pro Mist 1/4 in terms of their bloom. So if you feel that is too much, than you would want to go with the Tiffen as their 1/8 will be more subtle than the Freewell 1/8. However if you do like that bloom of the former, then I would say the Freewell (82mm) will be cheaper and you have the added benefit of it being magnetic, which allows you to dive into the freewell magnetic system which is quite nice and super fast to swap. The magnets are also much stronger than the XUME magnet filters I use to use. With the freewell system as they come out with more types of filters, the magnetic ones are stackable, which is how I was doing the freewell 1/8 + 1/4 stacked. Hope this helps!
I accidentally left my Tiffin Pro Mist filter on while doing some Astro photography. Even though it was a 1/4 filter, this turned out to be a very happy accident with atmospherically glowing stars rather than pinpoints of light. I later discovered that the Big Boy Astro photographers use even stronger mist filters.
Kind of funny that we spend fortunes on razor sharp lenses only to soften them deliberately with fuzzy glass. 😀
Hey hey again Frank!
That is very interesting and that you enjoyed those results! It makes perfect sense to me, most posters of stars in the sky I feel do have that aura around the stars. Haha it is kinda funny, but also makes complete sense. We have these awesome sharp lenses for the projects that need it and then we fuzz them up to give a more vintage feel if that projects needs it. We get the best of both worlds. Unlike older vintage lenses where we might not really get the full edge sharpness that we get with modern lenses.
The Freewell Glow Mist is quite a bit stronger than the industry standard Tiffen and it looks like it's not a black mist, that is, it raises the blacks a little which the Tiffen doesn't so much. It would be smart of Freewell to create a black version that matches the Tiffen. I'd switch to their new matte box system if they had all my filter needs covered. That 'Versatile Mist' has a lot of colour shift. Thanks for these useful tests!
Nice video- The blue space light with two figured looks great! Like Blade Runner.
I always considered mist filters on a $2500 lens kinda like a Billionaire trying to keep it real by wearing a Walmart shirt. hahah. thanks
Hey hey again Beau!
God love some Blade Runner! Haha that is a great analogy. It is funny how we have a lot of great modern lenses but we try to muck them up to bring us that grit feel of older optics. The good thing is that we do have options to go backwards with modern lenses. We can't make a vintage lens look like a modern clinical lens.
I’m gonna skip on the mist filters and go for the vintage glass instead. I’m digging the Canon FD look.
MrHeeeeeng!
Them legendary FD's!
I like using mist filters more for versatility with my modern lenses. I can use the modern lens for sharp looks, or slap a filter to get a slightly more vintage look. It's probably the only thing stopping me buying up every vintage lens brands out there cause man do I love vintage lenses!
The Moment Cinebloom mist filters are probably the best value for money now. Have tried a few and don't see much difference between them and the higher priced mist filters. The Moments are less than half the price of the better known brands.
Hey hey again Michael!
I really want to get my hands on some moment filters too and try them out. Another one is K&F Concept mist filters. I saw a comparison review against Black Pro Mist and they looked very very similar. I'll see if I can get my hands on a few mist filters and do a brand shootout or something.
In case you didn’t know, you missed what is IMO the most important reason why you may NOT want to use a mist filter (or any other diffusion filter). Diffusion filters are pieces of clear glass filled with tiny tiny particles (almost microscopic) so the light gets broken down and spreads in the image (lifting the shadows and also midtones). The major downside is that those particles get clearly visible in bokeh balls.. no matter the type of filter. Some add a super defined horseshoe shaped specks pattern (and the shape differs depending on the filter used). As long as you don’t have bokeh balls in your shot, you won’t really notice that effect.. but when you do, it makes the shot unusable IMO. A solid but expensive solution for that is Scatter, by Video Village. It’s a 499$ plugin that accuratly recreates all popular diffusion filters (and their different strenghts) with none of the downsides (speckled bokeh, flaring and ghosting).
Look at any Hollywood movie and you will see diffusion texture in the bokeh balls on most closeups.
@@stu9000 First of, not every Hollywood movie has been made using diffusion filters.. this is the choice of the cinematographer (I could point out hundreds of movies that have clean bokeh). Second, they didn’t use diffusion filters to get those artifacts.. they just accepted them because they can’t remove them. You’d be shocked to know how many people won’t ever notice things like that while watching a movie. If you like that, then use them.. I don’t. I prefer to do it in post and have total control over it, with just the desire effects and none of the downsides.
For clarity, when you're testing the Freewell 1/8 + 1/4 are you using the 1/8 base Mist from the Versatile system and then adding at 1/4 Freewell GlowMist? Or are both of those filters separate from the Versatile system -- just a 1/8 GlowMist + 1/4 GlowMist? I'm a new owner of the Versatile Magnetic system, and I'm enjoying it so far, but I was considering adding a Freewell 1/4 GlowMist to the mix. I was wondering if it would work with the Versatile System. Could I pop the 1/4 Glow Mist on top of the Versatile's 1/8 mist base layer for heavy mist or remove the 1 stop base 1/8 mist layer and just use the 1/4 GlowMist by itself inside the Versatile System's magnetic base ring?
Hey hey stoneylama!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
When I tested the Freewell 1/8 + 1/4, I was using two mist filters and stacking them on top of each other. Both of these are separate from the versatile magnetic system. You can use a 1/8 glowmist inside the versatile systems base ring however you can not stack the versatile base mist filter along with a 1/4 glow mist filter, the two systems can't mix like that.
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker thanks for clarifying. My 1/4 glow mist just arrived and I suppose it’s a win that I can at least use the same magnetic ring from the versatile system. It will be great if Freewell eventually makes a 1/4 mist x VND base filter. In the meantime I’m more likely to use the 1/4 at night anyway so happy to have it minus ND.
Do you have any thoughts on the promist vs the glimmar glass?
Hey hey Jesse!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
While I haven't had much experience with the glimmer glass, from what I saw when I was researching is that the glimmer glass's aura does not reach as far out as the black pro mist does and you are more able to see the source lights shape (light bulb) more so than the black pro mist where it would cover it up with the aura (halation?). So for me I'd probably use glimmer glass for a neon cyber punk setting (Blade Runner) and use Black Pro Mist for a character searching through a dusty old basement.
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker This answers my question perfectly. thank you for your thoughtful reply!!
Wow, no Jessica Fletcher vaseline filter? ;-)
Hey hey EFormance Engineering!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
Haha, nah I prefer the suntan lotion filter, it'll really get your that nice soft out of focus look with some crazy vignettes lol!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Mh. I really don't get the vibe of mist filters and actually dislike the effect - They just make the image look like if I had dirty glasses on :)
Hey hey salat!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
They are definitely a somewhat special tool that I feel narrative filmmakers will get more out of them than most, it will come down to the context of the shots. But of course its also a bit subjective in terms of if people like that older vintage look on their modern sharp lenses. What I Like about them is that I can purchase a modern lens for sharp videos that need it, but also slap on this filter if I want to give more of a vintage lens vibe, say 50s-60s film kind of look.
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
👍🏾🙏🏾
Thanks as always Eugene!
Blask pro mist 1/4
Veri meni gud filter.
Hey hey again Henri T!
The Black Pro Mist is definitely a nice one out of the bunch and helping me keep a little more of the blacks.
@@TLDR_filmmaker gives nice haze around light and if actor(es) is back lighted, light wraps nicely around