 BetterPhoto Member |
Particular Kind of Soft Focus Filter Many years ago, while doing wedding photography, I owned a Hoya soft focus filter (A or 1) that softened highlights and produced great photos. This particular filter had small (what looked like) bubbles as opposed to other soft filters that may use nylon or frosted lens. The only one I have been able to look at is a Zeiss Softar I that has the same effect. I have called around and Hoya no longer makes this style. I am not familiar with B+W , Hoya, or Sunpak. Can you help me out? My current equipment is a Nikon 995 and I am going to us a 2x teleconverter (because there is little selection for 28mm filters). I would appreciate any help. Thanks
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Ken Pang |
Hoya still make those filters, I bought one just a few months ago. They are made of a very soft acrylic, and have tiny little "water-drops" or the bubbles you describe. The A filters have the bubbles smaller and further apart, and the B filters have them larger and denser (to get a larger softening effect) Keep looking! Most big camera stores should stock the Hoya range of filters. Or maybe you would consider mail order. Ken.
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John A. Lind |
Rick, Check also about Heliopan's filters. The site is in German only. If you need translations you can use AltaVista's Babelfish. If you see a B+W or Heliopan labeled "WZ", this is a soft filter using concentric prism rings (WZ = weichzeichner). Heliopan makes the WZ, the Zeiss Softar (style you are looking for) and a Fog (nebel), which has a "frosted" surface. B+W is part of Schneider-Kreuznach, a premier German lens maker. B+W has a "Soft Focus" (WZ as described above), "Fog" (similar to Heliopan's fog), Zeiss Softar, and a "Soft Image" which looks similar to the Zeiss Softar and perhaps what you are seeking (and may be less expensive than a Softar). Don't know exactly what the difference is between the two, but may be worth looking at. -- John
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