Review - Black Mist Filter 1/4 with comparisons
Always wondered what a black mist filter could do for you? I’ve tested the Tiffen 1/4 pro-mist filter in several different conditions and summed up my test results below.
Brief
Black mist filters are well-known in the filming industry and are occurring more and more in photographers kits these days. The filters create the following effects:
Reduces highlights
Lowers contrast
Creates a soft light
Slight Pastel effect
Reduces imperfections
In the test, I’ve taken photos of day, night, colors, blacks and other light conditions to check the befores and afters. Also, I tried to create the same effect in Lightroom/Photoshop to see if the filter can be easily replaced. Check the results below.
Test results
Check the without filter (left/top) and with filter (right/bottom) comparisons below.
Nightscene (without / with)
Colors (without / with)
Bright sunlight (without / with)
Artificial light (without / with)
Backlighting (without / with)
Editing black mist effect
I asked myself: is it possible to achieve the same effect in Lightroom/Photoshop? And is the black mist effect still relevant when you apply extensive editing? Check out the results below.
Black mist effect (no edit, left) – vs – edited version without filter (right)
Editing wise, you’ll get close to the black mist effect. Though, the soft light that is created by the filter is hard to master without retouching the entire photo.
Recovering highlights with filter (left) - vs - without filter (right)
Adjusted the highlights -100 and contrast +28 on both pictures. The result of the filter can be clearly seen here. Both the background and shadows are better preserved.
Conclusion
So when do you use a black mist filter? I noticed the following:
Flatten image by reducing highlights and lowering contrast
Colors turn less vibrant
Highlights and shadows are better preserved
The filter creates a unique soft light
In conclusion, this filter is ideal when used during harsh sunlight (daylight) to capture as much detail as possible. The highlights and shadows are preserved and skin tones are softened. In post-editing, highlights and contrast can be brought back to your own liking.
In other situations, I personally wouldn’t recommend using this filter. Unless if it is a style you would like to go for. Just remember, something that was never there won’t come back in post-editing. Use a filter like this when you know the light conditions. Good luck!
Cheers, Mike
More Reviews
GOOD TO SEE YOU!
My name is Mike Tesselaar, in short MiTe. I’m a photographer from The Netherlands with a heart for traveling and adventuring.
I write blogs about photo- and videography, travel, freelancing and personal related stories. Hope you’ll find inspiration and feel welcome to stick around a little longer!
Recent posts
@Mitevisuals
