Ever diffuse your glass?

[Christopher Barrett]

I'm not sure if I'm in the right subforum, but was wondering if anyone ever uses diffusion over the lens, or if you have any examples to show? When shooting digital cinema, I often use a Tiffen 1/4 Black ProMist on my Red Epic and it makes the digital capture feel much more organic. I think I might try it out on some 4x10 landscapes I'll be shooting this week.

Cheers,
CB

[Willie]

"it makes the digital capture feel much more organic."

What?

[Christopher Barrett]

One of the things that's really beautiful about film is how it halates around very high contrast areas. Those tonal transitions are typically pretty ugly in digital capture. Diffusion helps render a more filmic esthetic there... that's what I mean by 'organic'.

[Alan Gales]

I don't with large format. I used to do it occasionally for landscape with 35mm and Cokin filters. I also used a Softar 1 with a Hasselblad for portraits of women.

My suggestion is to try it out with 35mm to see if you like it first. Different filters give different effects too. Too much and it looks like mush.

There are also the soft focus lenses too which I think look better.

[jp]

For LF, I prefer a soft focus lens to get diffusion. They are good and reward those who practice with them.

When it comes to diffused images, if it's a high detail scene (such as in grand landscapes) sharp is good and leave the diffusion for another time, and if you are trying to show simply shapes and mood rather than detail, diffusion is a good option.

[Mark Woods]

I shoot with Imagons, pinhole lenses, clean lenses, and whatever diffusion I think is appropriate (I own quite a few diffusion filters). It's all about the image and what it conveys.

[jcoldslabs]

Here is an example from our own pages, using a nylon stocking over the lens:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?60812-soft-focus-landscape&p=1008951&viewfull=1#post1008951

JP: correct me if I'm wrong, but one advantage a diffusion filter has over a traditional soft focus lens (for landscape work) is that the amount of diffusion is independent of f/stop. Shooting a landscape with a Verito stopped down will look pretty much like a photo taken with a "normal" lens, but a landscape shot with a sharp lens can be softened at any aperture when diffusion is added to the front. Personally, I like the look of SF lenses better, but when shooting landscapes other considerations might be at play.

J.

[Tin Can]

Pinhole will be soft all over, but equally sharp. Perhaps I mean DOF will be large.

137129

[Emil Schildt]

Here is an example from our own pages, using a nylon stocking over the lens:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?60812-soft-focus-landscape&p=1008951&viewfull=1#post1008951

JP: correct me if I'm wrong, but one advantage a diffusion filter has over a traditional soft focus lens (for landscape work) is that the amount of diffusion is independent of f/stop. Shooting a landscape with a Verito stopped down will look pretty much like a photo taken with a "normal" lens, but a landscape shot with a sharp lens can be softened at any aperture when diffusion is added to the front. Personally, I like the look of SF lenses better, but when shooting landscapes other considerations might be at play.

J.

I'll correct you... you're wrong - many SF lenses are dependant of the aperture - many are not.... So it just is a matter of choosing the right type... :)

[StoneNYC]

One of the things that's really beautiful about film is how it halates around very high contrast areas. Those tonal transitions are typically pretty ugly in digital capture. Diffusion helps render a more filmic esthetic there... that's what I mean by 'organic'.

Well as you know, those "black magic" (I think that's the common name? Also called gold diffused I think?) filters have been used since the film days for cinema but they help the HD digital more, especially with headlights and bright stuff in the background, but I think it helps with faces too, makes the skin a little softer, especially for HD.

So I guess what I'm saying is that it's been done before digital, so I'm sure it would probably help slightly, though you'll have to tell us if it's significantly noticeable.

[Mark Sawyer]

I'll correct you... you're wrong - many SF lenses are dependant of the aperture - many are not.... So it just is a matter of choosing the right type... :)

Emil, which soft lenses keep their softness regardless of aperture? I don't know of any...

[Emil Schildt]

Emil, which soft lenses keep their softness regardless of aperture? I don't know of any...

Oh Dear - I hope I got it right... but if you don't know of any then I may be mistaken...

Untill now I would say Cooke and ex Universal Heliar (they create the diffusion by moving an inner lens (I hope)) - so diffusion will still be there regardless of aperture (maybe less prominent?)

[jp]

Imagon strainers let you vary softness independent of depth of field.
Lenses with a soft dial separate from the aperture. (As Gandolfi says)
My 7.25 verito has plenty of dof at 5.6: https://www.flickr.com/photos/13759696@N02/18366849375/in/dateposted-public/ (Note front and rear tires of car are focused; way more than I'd expect out of any other LF lens at 5.6)
If I wanted big dof and softness for landscapes, I'd probably choose pinhole, but it hasn't been a combination I've seriously explored.

[Mark Sawyer]

Oh Dear - I hope I got it right... but if you don't know of any then I may be mistaken...

Untill now I would say Cooke and ex Universal Heliar (they create the diffusion by moving an inner lens (I hope)) - so diffusion will still be there regardless of aperture (maybe less prominent?)

Changing the spacing in those lenses (and a few others) creates spherical aberration, which goes away when the lens is stopped down. Diffusion is just random scattering, and while it can be a nice effect, it's not the same as the more defined softening from spherical aberration.

[Mark Woods]

The Imagon does become more sharp as one stops it down -- even with the diffusion rings totally open. As the rings are closed, the lens' effective stop is deeper. As to diffusion in general, there are many types. Some do just randomly scatter the photons, but others can raise the black level and lower the contrast of the image. This diffusion can also cause the highlights to "bloom" and not diffuse the image much at all. A little known fact is that this diffusion can increase the effective EI of the film since it raises the black (Dmin) level. BTW, the Tiffen Gold EFX filters have only existed since the mid 90's I believe, at least that's when I remember buying a set of them.

Enjoy the glass and make images you love.

Best,