Written by For a long while I was completely unsatisfied with my ND filter setup. I had been rocking Tiffen filters for some time and as I developed as a cinematographer over time I became increasingly unsatisfied with my ND’s. With an overall green color cast on the lower ends and a slight magenta shift on the higher end. Having to compensate in camera and or hoping that whoever was coloring in post would sufficiently take care of any color cast over time began to become an increasing point of anxiety in the back of my mind during every shoot. Don’t get me wrong early on especially at the price point I was okay with the compromise because it was a big leap in the quality of my previous productions. But as years went by and my standards got higher, and to be real I began making more money the thought of spending a large amount of money on filters went from being what I thought was an unnecessary extravagant purchase. To a necessary investment that not only improved the quality of my images but also allowed me to more confidently operate with piece of mind on set. As well as renting them out onto productions confidently, knowing I was giving my clients the best I could offer. So I set off to find my next set of IRND filters.
I was looking for something with minimal to no color shift, while maintaining sharpness, in the 4×5.65 format. I began looking at all the mainstays like Schneider as well as some newer filter companies one which I almost bought a set from until I had to deal with there horrible customer service. During this search I remembered a conversation with one of my gaffers where he told me about these ultra thin ND’s from Format Hitech that were shown to him by an an AC he was recently on a production with. After a quick google search there they were, the Fircrest Ultra Cine Superslims. Half the thickness and weight with no color shift and maximal sharpness retention. To good to be true? Well after four months with these babies they are everything they are advertised to be.
Filter Overview
The Firecrest Ultra Cine Superslim 4×5.65 IRND filters are designed not just for your average professional production usage but also for when you need a cinema camera setup with minimum weight, whether that’s for drone, Steadicam, gimbal, or hand held operation. Initially I wondered if cutting the weight of the filters would really feel like that big of a difference. But working with both traditional 4×5’s and the super slims you can definitely tell the difference. Also no worries when buying a set or sold separately, they have filter trays that fit your classic ARRI 4×5.65 matte boxes while holding the thinner filters. Making them compatible with most Bright Tangerine, Chroziel, Wooden Camera and ARRI matte boxes. Also you can stack two filters in a regular filter tray allowing you to stack more filters.
I personally decided to buy the entire line up from .3 to 2.1. However if you didn’t need the entire line up they also offer smaller sets with well rounded line ups of ND’s. In my case I bought the largest kit that included the .6,.9,1.2,1.8,2.1 then bought the .3 and 1.5 as well as an extra filter tray; the package originally comes with one.
I bought my set during a fantastic Christmas sale so I spent 1.5k not only for the full set of ND’s but also Formatt’s equivalent to black promist which also comes in both traditional and super slim as well as a circular pola! Yeah! I fantastic deal. As of today the entire line up from .3-2.1 with 1 filter trey is $1,575 which still isn’t bad at all!
The filters come in fantastic well padded cases that actually feel like they protect your filters. Each filter is also wrapped and signed off with a seal of approval showing that they actually did quality control to make sure your filters are in great shape. The edges of the glass have a great bezzle and the identification print is clean and can be easily seen.
Test Parameters
In this test I’ll be looking for any color shift in the filters and measuring for accurate exposure compensation. Eventually I will do a separate sharpness test, I just know if I try to do everything all at once I’ll never get this article done. Best to eat an elephant one bite at a time. To do this I will be using the Spyder checker 24 color calibration chart and Davinci resolve to test for color shift caused by the filters.
Ill be using the Nikon Nikkor-S auto 55mm f1.2 as the control mainly because its fast and I like it. All shots will be exposed for 18% grey using the EL zone system and I’ll be using the lens aperture to compensate for exposure. This will also allow me to check if the filters are giving me the proper shifts in exposure. Just a little heads up the 55mm gets super dreamy when wide open, another reason why I’m separating the sharpness test into another post. Also I’ll be shooting these tests on the Panasonic Varicam LT.
Results
Judge for yourself but this is pretty damn impressive. Little to no color shift with accurate changes in stop. The only one that was slightly darker by 1\3 of a stop was the 2.1 ND but still with no color shift. Which becomes more difficult as the ND increases. Also for these photos I simply applied a rec.709 lut for VLOG with no additional color grading.
Customer Service
Normally I wouldn’t even mention something like this but Formatt Hitechs impeccable customer service combined with the horrendous customer service I had just received earlier that same day from another Filter company compelled me to mention it. Customer service a lot of times can be an after thought but soon after purchasing my filters, I received an email (from a real human employee by the way) that they ran out of the .3 and 1.5 ND filters and that they would have to send them separately.
Throughout the process they stayed in communication and promptly mailed the filters within about a month. This was exactly the opposite of what I dealt with the other company who I originally attempted to buy filters from. This company had a sale going but when I added the filters to my cart the sale price would not apply. So I sent them an email with screenshots explaining the situation. I was promptly told that the discount had already been applied in cart and that I couldn’t apply an additional discount. All of which I was not only not doing but if they had even looked at the screenshots they would have seen wasn’t the case. So I emailed them back again explaining further that they’re was no discount applied, and that’s when I was accused of trying to scam them into getting additional discounts and that if I could not afford it I should go somewhere else. After I responded with more emails and a bit more of an aggressive tone they emailed me back saying there was a glitch in there system and that the sale was no longer valid and that I would have to pay full price. I promptly went back to there website and they removed the entire sale. Having screenshots of the website, and emails before the “glitch” as well as after they promptly removed the Christmas sale and all associated advertising I was about to take my complaint public to Instagram when I remembered the conversation about Formatt Hitechs super slim filters.
A part of me wanted to still go on the attack but after calming down I realized it wasn’t worth giving any more of my time to. It seems small but its easy to take for granted a company that does all the small things right, and this situation was a perfect example of a company that still cares not only about the quality of there product but the way they treat there customers. They have a life long customer now as far as I’m concerned. I still have those screenshots though so one day if I’m feeling petty and got the time I might air they ass out.
Conclusion
In conclusion I am absolutely impressed with what Formatt Hitech did with these super slims. Fantastic performance and quality through and through, from the filters to the pouches. Bravo! If your in need of ND’s definitely check these out. Also if your not sold on the ideal of the super slim line up they also offer the full line up in the original 4mm thickness. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comment section, and if your interested in a sharpness test keep an eye out. That will be my next adventure when I get a break in my schedule.