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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 :)

Group Buy - Formatt-Hitech Firecrest ND Filters

I've spoken to Formatt regarding this. This is more or less a company doing something "not good". Like really not good. Like might not be a supplier soon not good.
 
Also another interesting thing.

The "kits" have been discontinued by Formatt and 2filters only has the 2mm filters from what I've been told.

Fascinating development, but this is more or less a dealer trying to offload and I think Mike got the 2mm, not 4mm.

If you are going 4x5.65" or any rectangular filter you'll want the 4mm. The reason I've focused on the 4mm for this GB is due to the extra thickness of the filter itself not "warping" in the filter tray when clamped in. The screw-in filters can handle it because they "float" in the metal ring.

I've done a lot of testing on this particular thing.
 
Phil Holland said:
If you are going 4x5.65" or any rectangular filter you'll want the 4mm. The reason I've focused on the 4mm for this GB is due to the extra thickness of the filter itself not "warping" in the filter tray when clamped in.
Click to expand...


I'm 95% behind Phil's reasoning on using 4mm thick filters versus 2mm. Ditto with larger 6.6x6.6 filters.

The only exception (that 5%) is reserved for when you are going into an unfriendly environment where the filter becomes a disposable expense instead of an investment.
 
Actually, I can confirm that this is not the case. I certainly have the 4mm Firecrests, not the 2mm. 2filter special ordered mine directly from Formatt Hitech, and they took about 2 or 3 weeks to arrive. 2filter does not stock any Formatt Hitech filters in house, so this was not a case of a dealer "trying to offload."

Just got off the phone with Andrea, and they can still order the 4mm. She also told me that she can pretty much guarantee they can offer a more competitive discount than purchasing directly from Formatt Hitech, making the assertion that "they don't mess around in NH."

She also just mentioned to me that they're running a 20% discount on all Nisi filters for the next couple of months.

Been purchasing filters from Andrea/2filter for years, and their customer service and prices are second to none. Again, each Firecrest ND cost me just about $300.

Mike

Phil Holland said:
Also another interesting thing.

The "kits" have been discontinued by Formatt and 2filters only has the 2mm filters from what I've been told.

Fascinating development, but this is more or less a dealer trying to offload and I think Mike got the 2mm, not 4mm.

If you are going 4x5.65" or any rectangular filter you'll want the 4mm. The reason I've focused on the 4mm for this GB is due to the extra thickness of the filter itself not "warping" in the filter tray when clamped in. The screw-in filters can handle it because they "float" in the metal ring.

I've done a lot of testing on this particular thing.
Click to expand...
 
Investigating further Michael. Something here isn't adding up in regards to what I'm being told and what they can provide.

They won't be able to order the kits though, they are indeed being discontinued.
 
Cool. Curious to know what you come up with!

Phil Holland said:
Investigating further Michael. Something here isn't adding up in regards to what I'm being told and what they can provide.

They won't be able to order the kits though, they are indeed being discontinued.
Click to expand...
 
Nick Morrison said:
Anyone know how the Firecrest compare to the Nisi?
Click to expand...

The comparisons on the NiSi website show their neutral density filters being more colour neutral than the Formatt Firecrests, but I haven't checked it out for myself. I haven't had any problems with colour casts with the Formatt Firecrest ND's I've already been using though, so even if the NiSi filters are more neutral, I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make in reality.

The NiSi ND's have their coatings on both surfaces of the filter, whereas the Formatt Firecrests have their ND filter material layered inside the glass. That was a factor for me when choosing between them, seeing the Formatt's as being less susceptible to scratching of the coating.

At one of the trade shows recently, NiSi were showing some as yet unreleased ND's that have a new scratch-proof coating on them. They might be worth considering if they turn out to perform the same as their current ND filters and are reasonably priced.
 
Anyone else have first hand experience comparing the Firecrest filters to Nisis? Ugh...tbh it's annoying to hear that "the Nisi filters are even better than Firecrest," given I invested in the Firecrest because it seemed like they were "the best" even though they were pricy.

Please, someone tell me that the Firecrest were in fact the better investment :/
 
MichaelJQuill said:
Please, someone tell me that the Firecrest were in fact the better investment :/
Click to expand...


There will always be something better shortly after you purchased the best. :) I have not tried the NiSi myself, but I have a set of 77mm Firecrest and I am going to purchase 95mm from this group guy. I do miss the motion mount ND.

There have been some comparison(s) done of the two, I recall. You really need the comparison done on the camera you are using though.
 
MichaelJQuill said:
So with this group buy
Click to expand...

Well all of this investigation was a glorious waste of time today. Time I should have spent shooting diffusion tests for this gb.

Short answer. The kits have been discontinued. Their sku exists and if you find one you are indeed ordering something that no long exists. All of the filters for this group buy are individual filters with their own cases and/or pouches.

This group buy is through Formatt directly and only for REDuser. If a retailer is telling you their price will beat this group buy's price who isn't the manufacturer I wouldn't put much weight in it. This thing was a long time in the making and took a great deal of effort to put on.

In the case of the kits, Formatt does not supply them anymore. There will be some additional communication between Formatt and the retailer in question, but this got very strange as I've seen in the past with a couple other retailers attempting to snipe in the past not knowing what "the deal" actually is.

If you find a kit out there, go grab it up. They've been discontinued for the better part of a year now.

As for those participating in the group buy, yes, you are still getting the best possible price from the manufacturer themselves.

I'll try to find more time to shoot the diffusion test on Wednesday at this point.
 
Phil Holland said:
Well all of this investigation was a glorious waste of time today. Time I should have spent shooting diffusion tests for this gb.

Short answer. The kits have been discontinued. Their sku exists and if you find one you are indeed ordering something that no long exists. All of the filters for this group buy are individual filters with their own cases and/or pouches.

This group buy is through Formatt directly and only for REDuser. If a retailer is telling you their price will beat this group buy's price who isn't the manufacturer I wouldn't put much weight in it. This thing was a long time in the making and took a great deal of effort to put on.

In the case of the kits, Formatt does not supply them anymore. There will be some additional communication between Formatt and the retailer in question, but this got very strange as I've seen in the past with a couple other retailers attempting to snipe in the past not knowing what "the deal" actually is.

If you find a kit out there, go grab it up. They've been discontinued for the better part of a year now.

As for those participating in the group buy, yes, you are still getting the best possible price from the manufacturer themselves.

I'll try to find more time to shoot the diffusion test on Wednesday at this point.
Click to expand...
Don't stress, no worries ... thanks for all the help. Also you might need to decompress a bit with all that you have going on, so I wouldn't rush a lowcon test on account of this group buy.
 
Hi I'd like to order the following:

Firecrest ND for Matte Box 4x5.65" =
1.2
1.5
1.8
2.1

Black Supermist 4x5.65" =
1/4

I'd also like to get 3 extra individual filter pouches for my .3, .6, .9 set I already own if possible.

Thanks Phil

Mitch
 
Thanks for all your work on this Phil. Order coming soon.
 
Has anybody gone 4x4 in the past, regretted it and moved up to 4x5.65?
 
Mitch Mommaerts said:
Hi I'd like to order the following:

Firecrest ND for Matte Box 4x5.65" =
1.2
1.5
1.8
2.1

[Black Supermist

Thanks Phil

Mitch
Click to expand...

Hi, is this black supermist is equivalent to tiffen black pro mist ? Or is it entirely different ? Sorry, if this was answered already.
I read thru a few pages and could not find the answer
 
Does the optically clear cut IR or is it just a protection filter?
 
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