Blackmagic Forum

Soon, maybe, some day, in a very distant future, I will be the proud owner of a BMPCC.

Should I buy a bunch of filters for the camera, or just a bunch of ND's?

I'm on Tiffen right now looking at all the beautiful filters they have. But just wondering. Is it worth it? Or can I color correct everything in post?

I understand ND filters are inevitable. But what about FX filters and the likes of such?

???

With all due respect I think you need to research and educate yourself first on what different filters actually do. You are mixing up ND with other 'effects' filters just for starters.


Personally I would first focus on ND filters and how you want to do it. Some use plain ND filters but once you go past .9 your likely to have problems with infra red leaking into your image.(makes the image look red) The solution for most is to either 1. Buy ND filters with built in IR. 2. Use ND and a separate IR filter. 3. Use a variable ND filter which most find you don't need an IR filter but others would argue you still need one.



In a nutshell, post processing is how people are getting the different colors in their footage generally. Filtering 99% of the time is about getting a good neutral image to work with.

Focus on ND filter options would be my advice and educate yourself before you buy anything. The Internet is your friend so don't push me to post a letmegooglethatforyou link.

there ARE other filters but i expect MOST shooters don't use them past ND filtering and it seems you need to prioritise...

I use a LightCraft Workshop Variable ND filter on My MFT lenses.

The only reason I use an ND filter is to allow me to have a fixed aperture and shutter speed of my choosing and then using the ND filter to get my exposure correct.

This allows me to shoot at 1/50 shutter speed (180 degrees on the BMPCC) and have whatever aperture I like and then control the amount of light that's hitting my sensor by dialing in the fader

I would piggy back that and say I also will use a variable ND, probably get the Heliopan. It's all I expect to need.

If you go to any serious ND, I would strongly suggest to use a filter with added IR filtration, otherwise you're going to have brown sauce in post...

Why would you need an nd filter with added IR filtration more so on the BMPCC than say a GH2?

I had never heard of an nd filter with added IR filtration until the BMPCC came along?..I thought a standard Tiffen or Heliopan Variable ND would suffice and give you hardly any loss of sharpenss or colour casting?

You even need it on other digital cameras. All digital sensors are susceptible to IR pollution. Anything over 3 stops of ND would begin to be visible.

You need more ND on the BMCC vs the GH2 as the sensor is rated at 800ASA vs 160ASA. As a result IR pollution is more likely on the BMCC.

LMACKREATH wrote:Why would you need an nd filter with added IR filtration more so on the BMPCC than say a GH2?

I had never heard of an nd filter with added IR filtration until the BMPCC came along?..I thought a standard Tiffen or Heliopan Variable ND would suffice and give you hardly any loss of sharpenss or colour casting?

like I said you can get away without ir filters using a variable ND, that is a separate issue to plain vanilla ND's. I still repeat that people need to use to internet to educate themselves on this issue before asking more specific questions as it's not complex and the info is readily available online.

So in other words, buy a good variable ND filter with IR (or no IR) and forget about the ''FX'' filters?

Max Normandin wrote:So in other words, buy a good variable ND filter with IR (or no IR) and forget about the ''FX'' filters?

You can't buy a variable 'with' IR you need to use another separate IR filter. Yes forget about FX filters for now.


Think of NDs like wearing a pair of sunglasses on a sunny day, it's not reaaaaly more complex than that. Then work out how you want to deal with the IR problem, but it sounds like you should just get a variable ND and be done with it for now.


Some might chime in with how crap variable ND filters are, I won't disagree with them, but it is a solution to a problem.

This is probably in the FAQ, but ...

Q. Why do some digital cinema cameras need an IR cut filter?

A:

-

As soon as you shoot outside with the camera and want at least a little bit of DOF, you'll probably be using NDs way beyond 2-3 stops, in which case the footage is kind of hard to fix in post unless you dealt with the IR problem through a filter.

Been there, done that... after my first outside shot, I went out and got decent IRND filters. You can start without, but IF you use NDs on the BM(P)CC, you'll likely buy them pretty quickly after you see your first footage...

I've attached a sample of how it can look WITHOUT a proper IR filter (the guy had a BLACK suit) ...

remopini wrote:As soon as you shoot outside with the camera and want at least a little bit of DOF, you'll probably be using NDs way beyond 2-3 stops, in which case the footage is kind of hard to fix in post unless you dealt with the IR problem through a filter.

Been there, done that... after my first outside shot, I went out and got decent IRND filters. You can start without, but IF you use NDs on the BM(P)CC, you'll likely buy them pretty quickly after you see your first footage...

I've attached a sample of how it can look WITHOUT a proper IR filter (the guy had a BLACK suit) ...

What filters did you get???

Also, is this something I should buy?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/8 ... V_and.html

Even variable NDs exhibit IR pollution.

Here is an example:
viewtopic.php?p=47657#p47657

adamroberts wrote:Even variable NDs exhibit IR pollution.

Here is an example:
viewtopic.php?p=47657#p47657

Sure but don't forget so do IRND's, or at least they have some form of colorcast. I believe there has been some IRND recently made by a Japanese firm that have no IR leakage at all but are only the square type and cost A LOT!!!


Personally I've seen perfectly good footage using just a .9 and even a 1.2 without IR filtration.

Not saying you "need" IR filtration. All depends on how it's affecting your image. Adding an IR cut filter to you variable ND is simple and effective when needed.