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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

First Look: Breakthrough Filters Direct Drop-In Filters (behind the lens)

Phil Holland

Phil Holland

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Something I am pleased to finally share and talk about that I've been testing for a long, long time now.

Been using Breakthrough Filter's X4 NDs in front of my lenses for a bit now and their performance is very, very good. They teased and even shipped Direct Drop-In NDs and other filters as well.

But we need to talk about DSMC, DSMC2, and Komodo.

The urge for internal NDs and behind the lens ND solutions has been rather high in the RED community, which is one of the reasons I've been testing these things so aggressively.

So to that end, let me be the first to announce and share the RED DSMC2 DDI PL Mount:



And yes, that's on RED Monstro 8K VV. Those of you with keen eyes you will notice that is a Variable ND in there. If you've known me you know I've been highly critical of various VNDs on the market due to many of the things just don't work or create ideal results when compared to straight NDs. Color shifts across the density range, X-Patterns, weird artifacts, inconsistency in sharpness, etc.

Whelp. Let me show you one of my first test sets:



That's an effective 11 stop range with no discernable shift on RED Monstro 8K VV. Only thing I can really see is a very subtle vignette at near maximum density. At the moment there's a subtle color shift between "clear" and VND, but as you can see by the Color Temperature divergence, it's an extremely minimal correction.

The direct drop-in concept will work with various other cameras which also occasionally have not-so-great built in ND solutions. These guys make very, very good straight ND filters as well as currently the best performing VND I've ever tested. Not to mention other fun things you can possibly place behind the lens. This is huge news for RED shooters, but it's been something on the minds of other camera shooters as well.

This is one of a few prototypes I've been testing and a few others have been testing as well. I don't screw around with NDs and feel it's a pretty important one to finally be able to share. It's close, real close.
 
I too have been testing this mount. The mount Phil and I have (the only two right now) are the 3rd iteration of full prototypes I have tried. as Phils VND test shows - we have some very color neutral results but the images speak for themsevles. back to testing, I hope to share some stuff here on this thread too as time goes on, albeit my tests are probably not as good as Phil heh. Its pretty exciting seeing these filters for more than just RED KOMODO :)
 
Exactly: it’s great to know that my inversion in filters for my Komodo would work too in my DragonX.
Thank you Phil and Tim for the testing.
And it would be cool to have the EF version for DSMC2 too
 
I have used Breakthrough filters in still photography for many years and have been convinced that they are the most color neutral option I have been able to find, do I am not surprised that they would have a great solution for DMSC2. On the other hand, I currently use Kippertie and love the quality of their PL mount and find the removable filter set they offer along with their unique diffusion filters for indoor work to be fantastic and cover most all scenarios. But a variable filter option is an interesting and potentially very useful consideration, although I have not found variable filtration to be as good overall as fixed value filters, but this might be an exception.
 
SNAP .... Well sort of. The BM Ursa Mini camera family has a screw-in anti-reflection cone which fits inside of the camera throat. I had a spare from a two-into-one wrecked camera rebuild so have tried a Formatt Hitech Prostop IRND3 cut disk mounted on the rear of one cone which screws in conveniently through the EF-Mount ring itself. This is not as conveneient as a drop-in but can be changed in about a minute. The EF-Mount had to be shimmed forward to compensate for the thickness of the filter. Drop-ins that the RED family enables would be so much more convenient. I imagine some cool experimental effects would be enabled with special slides, maybe even faux-cinemascope flares with a fine clear monofilament thread.
 
Is it compatible with DSMC1? Is there EF coming? And what's the price?

I presume this thing rocks better than the Motion Mount (*11* stops! No discernible resolution loss! Yowza!)

Also are they planning on making a standalone vND? In 77mm~82mm? (Cause again, 11 stops; if it's similarly priced to Tiffen, why would you go elsewhere?)
 
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Peter Lyons Collister said:
This is exactly what my Monster has been missing Phil!
Click to expand...

Yep. A whole bunch of people have been looking for something like this. Outside of the VND I'm pretty fond the straight NDs as well. There's more coming on this front too.


Jon Dishler said:
I have used Breakthrough filters in still photography for many years and have been convinced that they are the most color neutral option I have been able to find
Click to expand...

Agreed. I've seen spectral as well as put them against every other filter out there. They are very good. It's nice to see a company tackle filtration this hard in the cinema space.


Dan Kanes said:
Neato!

Any limitations in terms of lenses which can be installed to the PL version ? In terms of rear cone depth allowable for these ?
Click to expand...

Yes and likely. Don't take this as hard information because this is still a prototype, but at the moment it's about 24mm from flange to filter, which should give you an idea once everything is locked.


Mike P. said:
Is it compatible with DSMC1? Is there EF coming? And what's the price?

I presume this thing rocks better than the Motion Mount (*11* stops! No discernible resolution loss! Yowza!)

Also are they planning on making a standalone vND? In 77mm~82mm? (Cause again, 11 stops; if it's similarly priced to Tiffen, why would you go elsewhere?)
Click to expand...

Yes to DSMC compatibility. Other things are coming in terms of mounts. Their RF>PL is about $700, final price on DSMC2 likely hasn't been fully locked, but I'd expect it around there.

More range than the Motion Mount, but obviously doesn't do any of the shutter related things like Soft or Square.

They make stand alone VND stuff, but part of why this works so well is where the filter is in the optical chain.
 
Phil Holland said:
They make stand alone VND stuff....
Click to expand...

You mean as an upcoming product? I've never seen a Breakthrough screw on vND and I don't see any on their website now either.

What have you observed with polarization effects. Aside from color, sharpness, and vignette, the other big downside of vND is the built in polarizer. With a rotating vND such as SLR Magic, you can adjust the amount of polarization by rotating like a CPL. With a drop in, that can't be done. Have they simply designed it to be permanently in the position with the least amount of pola going on?
 
Am I right in thinking this is an alternative to the Kippertie Revolva?
But more flexible, as all kinds of drop-in filters will be available?
And at a much lower price?
What's the catch?
I want one.
 
Want. :)

PS - A Nikon version for my Otus glass would be stellar.
 
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