Comparison of soft/diffusion filters
 

Here is a review of some soft/diffusion filters.
Special-Effects Filters: Diffusion Filters

Reviewed filters are
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Hoya Duto, Tiffen FX, Cokin Sunsoft, Cokin Diffuser
B+W Soft Focus 1, B+W Soft Focus 2, B+W Soft Image
>>

There is also a description..

I cannot paste images but the background of an image is compared.
Would anyone care to post on the findings ?

Nice comparisons. Personally, I like the Hoya filter best for anti-aliasing. It seems to filter everything without adding much glow. That said, I have no idea if the Hoya would be too strong or too soft for our application.

The good news is that Hoya filters are usually pretty cheap. It's definitely worth a try...

Diy filter solutions
 

Make your own diffusion filter
Why invest in a diffusion filter when you can make one yourself? Here are five D.I.Y. diffusion filter ideas...

* Blow on your lens and let your breath condense there. Quickly press the shutter release before the condensation evaporates--it works surprisingly well.
* Crumple a piece of cellophane, flatten it out, and hold it in front of your lens or secure it there with a rubber band.
* Take a clear or skylight filter and spray it lightly with hair spray, add dabs of clear nail polish, or a spread a thin layer of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) over it.
* Take a clear or skylight filter and use a fine-point black permanent marker to cover the entire surface with tiny dots.
* Stretch taut a piece of black net or panty hose over your lens. Secure it with a rubber band.

You set the focus and depth-of-field so the target object is in focus and the background object with the moire is out-of-focus.

Changing focal length can accomplish the same thing if you change your distance from the subject and change the focal length to get the same framing. Of course this has the problem of the perspective change.

Both changes affect the overall look of the scene though, so I would probably just reset the scene so the object with the moire isn't in it.

My argument for these techniques is simple. I want NOTHING to reduce the sharpness of my target object.

Hi Mark. Please bear with me as I try to understand what you are saying.
First, the moire effects only the background. However, the 3-line readout employed by the 5D also effects whats in focus - causing artificial sharpening effects..

So, when we are talking of modifying DOF, are we going to open or close the iris ? So, we go to a higher ISO and we reduce from say f4 to f2.8 or vice versa..

I am unaware of another direct effect on DOF. Here we can maintain focus and focal distance.

What you are talking about is to keep the ISO constant, change the f-stops and refocus to (hopefully) remove the moire artifacts.

Another problem is that the moire may not show in the Live View or external and may turn up on the recording. The recording format is 4:2:0 AND heavily compressed. This causes the moire to look worse.

So we need to record and review the recording on a big enough screen, and then reshoot if necessary..

Hmm! Have to think about that..

That is worth a try as soon as I get my 5D.

this thread is (was) beautiful.
Hope someone likes to share his find on effective soft/diffusion filters.
Or you all just end up living with it?











.

I'm curious too... did anyone end up buying any of these soft filters? I'd love to see some before/after shots.