Pro Mist vs Black Frost

[Janis Huber]

Hello

I want to get a diffusion filter for my experimental (≠everything must be bloomy) film and photography art. I can't find good comparisons between the Black Promist (1/4) and the Black Frost (1/2). Has anybody tested both or could provide test results? I just want to get one 4x4 filter.

Thanks for the help.

Cheers

[Nick Morrison]

Hello

I want to get a diffusion filter for my experimental (≠everything must be bloomy) film and photography art. I can't find good comparisons between the Black Promist (1/4) and the Black Frost (1/2). Has anybody tested both or could provide test results? I just want to get one 4x4 filter.

Thanks for the help.

Cheers

They are basically the same thing/idea. They are a black spec used to bloom practicals, and soften details. One is just made by Tiffen, the other by Schneider.

BPM is more popular on its own.

But Black Frost is what's in Hollywood Black Magic - which is very popular (used on "Game of Thrones" for ex, last I remember) where 1/8 Black Frost is sandwiched in with different strengths of Classic Soft.

[Mike P.]

Yeah, what Nick said. I think the Tiffen stuff can be bought more affordably in the form of threaded lens filters though (e.g. a 77mm 1/8th BPM is like a ~1/3rd the price of a 4x4). Also a lot of youtubers have caught wind of the benefits of filtration and now new comers, like Moment and Prism, are offering even cheaper versions of similar filters (I haven't tested any of them though, but I certainly want to since they're half the price of Tiffen).

Just a heads up (I believe it was Mullen who pointed this out), but because the HBM is essentially two filters together to provide a different diffusion effect, it's also twice as strong (hence why people opt for 1/8th, which I believe is similar to 1/4 strength of the others by themselves).

Also, I've been told (and agree with the logic) that using a weaker strength filter and then tweaking/amplifying/augmenting the effect in post usually leads to a sweetspot where the digital+practical allows for a huge amount of customization while still feeling "real". That might be moot if you're not going to edit the film photography at all, but it's worth mentioning.

[Jon Dishler]

As also mentioned by Mullen, it is nice to have both a 1/8 HBM for the wide shots, and a 1/4 for the close ups and they work well together because they both have the same Classic Soft component.

[Blair S. Paulsen]

+1 to Mike P.'s comments. My go to diffusion is a 1/8 HBM.

Since the OP wants to feature the blooms/halos to achieve a particular look, it might make sense to try some heavier filters - double fogs, full glimmer, white mist variants, etc. However, such experimentation would require either renting a box of filters or buying several candidates. I would argue for a weekend non-commercial rental deal to keep costs down and then purchase the ones you like best.

Alternatively, there are a lot of digital filtration options out there - many are pretty ugly, but some are quite nice. If nothing else, playing around with the digital options offers an opportunity to get a better feel for various diffusion effects to aid in selecting optical filters.

Cheers - #19

[Janis Huber]

Thanks for the fast answer.

I also looked at the HBM and it's raving reviews. Why I'm hesitating is, that I don't plan to use it much on people. More on objects and mostly nature. I was wondering wether the softening part of the HBM would come in as a disatvantage / looking out of focus with a longer lens on e.g. a landscape shot. Any comments on how softening works apart from talents?

@Blair: while I wish a dreamy / organic look I still want it to be subtle and not to expressionistic :)

[Maira Fravel]

I saw a video about this on YT, but I thought BF filters look stronger.