Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:36 am
My two cents on this issue: Any filter, or additional glass you add will let less light in and will distort or damage the image that hits the sensor. There's no way around that.
The point is, that sometimes some of these filters help with the final look we want, particularly if we're shooting 8-bit. I have 5 Canons and 1 Panasonic GX85 (apart of my BMPCC), and these cameras are 8 bit. Lifting the shadows with the filter, letting me get 1/4 stop of highlights back, letting me underexpose slightly to save even more highlights, while enabling highlight recovery in-camera (in Canons in the D+ feature, and on Panasonic is the Shadows/Highlights feature), and finally, using the right picture profile with the right settings.
Let me give you an example: The GX85 has 2 stops less DR than the GH5 (using the Natural profile, since it doesn't come with Vlog or Cinelike D). Between the hack that adds CineLike D, the right settings, and the Tiffen Ultra Contrast 3 filter, I'm able to squeeze 1 more stop of DR (at the expense of contrast, of course -- the camera has a fixed DR). This adds value to my recent purchase of the GX85.
Now, you might say, "but it makes your shadows look like mash, you lose detail". And that would be true. But since I'm personally after the vintage 16mm film look, where (depending on the stock used) most of the shadows were without much detail anyway, I don't mind losing them. What matters to me is the highlights. Raising the black point slightly, can make for a VERY pleasant video experience AS LONG AS the highlights aren't burned. You can bring the highlights down to midtones too, however, that will look less good than not having clean shadows. And even if you get grain, you can either denoise, or you turn it to B&W, so it looks like film grain. But for highlights, you can't do much. From the moment they're gone, they're gone forever and they look like a sore thumb.
I understand that my case, looking after a very specific look, AND because these cameras shoot 8bit (so it's best to get the right look in-camera), the Ultra Contrast filters and lowering highlights in-camera, is worth it. For people who are after the crispy-clean video look, such a filter is a bad idea.
Tiffen has a special version for low light btw, the same daylight filter shouldn't be used for low light situations.
Collage artist, illustrator, filmmaker: https://vimeo.com/eugenia