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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

Stacey Spears said:
Phil, if I wanted to shoot at 1.4, on the Otus, in LA on a bright sunny day, what strength ND would I need? Obviously a lot of variables, just take a swag. I really miss the motion mount! :)
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Using the sunny f/16 rule, we have a starting point of ISO 100, 1/100, f/16.

ISO 800, 1/50, f/1.4 is 11 stops ND (3.3). In my experience, usually something between 8 and 10 stops is what you'll want to cover most of outdoor wide open scenarios!
 
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BIG NEWS for the Group Buy. After a bit of back and forth we now have this open to Formatt-Hitech Firecrest NDs for Mattebox and Screw-In sizes as well as some more cinema minded Matte Box filtration like Linear Polarizers, Circular Polarizers, Optical Flat/Clear Filters, Black Supermist diffusion, and Firecrest ND Horizontal Grad.

Take a look at the first post as I've added the prices and size options available for those.


Some answers to questions.


Kristopher Colavecchio said:
Does anyone have any tests up or experience with the black supermists? I cant find much online. If anyone can let me know how they compare to to the Tiffen's it would be greatly appreciated! :)
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They are "remarkably similar" is what I'm told. I have yet to test these, but I'm gonna grab a set and see what they are all about soon. Hopefully before the GB is over to help you out here.


Scott Pultz said:
Are these sufficient for IR protection on a Dragon sensor or is additional IR filtering needed?
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Yes Scott, click that link where I tested the densities .3-2.7 on Dragon. These are all I've been using at this point.


Les Hillis said:
Thanks Phil, I've been hoping another discount for these would show up.

I'll be in for something, as long as Formatt are over their supply issues. Waited nine months for some ND's before getting a partial refund recently, wouldn't want to do that again.
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Everything here is "in stock". After I did that test a couple years ago Formatt-Hitech had a demand that was much higher than expected. Worsened still by some rather insane manufacturing material issues. Since then they have straightened out in a big way. There's a few odd ducks I can see causing havoc. Like if everybody orders 13 and 16 stop NDs, but at the moment they will have us covered fairly well.


Jack Shanahan said:
Any word on Horizontal ND grads?
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Yes sir. Added.

Nathan Grubbs said:
Wow, great deal. Phil, how do you feel about getting a larger set and using step down rings on various lenses? Any downside, besides it being kind of a pain?
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Nearly all of my still lenses I've had Cine-Modded are 80mm fronts and 77mm threaded with step up rings. It just seems to be the best way to simplify that whole process. I mostly use 4x5.65" filters however.


Tomorrow I'll start wrangling precise orders. Who ordered, what was ordered, and in what order who ordered.
 
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Ah. Too bad. The nicest group buys always have shipping and customs to add for us Europeans. And here I hoped with formatt we'd get lucky. ��. Great group buy though.
 
Thanks for putting this together Phil.

Put me down for a set of 4x.5.65 0.3 up to 1.8 and a clear. (6 ND's and the clear, 7 total)
Might do a couple more but I think that's a good start...
 
Thanks for the extra info Phil.


Put me down for -

1x .3, .6, .9, 1.2, 1.5 Firecrest ND (4x5.65")

There's one little odd duck (range-finder-lens-sized) filter that looks like it's still out of stock on the Formatt website though (52mm .3ND). I'll leave that one out, couldn't get it last time either.


Btw, for those comparing prices, with the 20-35% Group Buy discount, that particular combination of filters above is about $275-$520USD cheaper than B&H prices.
 
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  • #50
Good morning all, I've updated the first post with the current group buy participants. A couple days in and we have 14 orders with a few people who have to decide which filters they want. Which means we'll hit that 30% discount fairly easily if all goes smoothly.

Les Hillis said:
Btw, for those comparing prices, with the 20-35% Group Buy discount, that particular combination of filters above is about $275-$520USD cheaper than B&H prices.
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Yep. You've hit the nail on the head Les. This is a very good group buy discount, especially if you need a few filters.

I'll reach out to Formatt-Hitech and see if the individual filters that aren't currently in the group buy can be added, but they certainly have allowed for more already, which is great. At the moment we are dealing with the things they have available and in stock. This will likely effect what is part of this, but we'll see.
 
Formatt-Hitech is located in the UK. Will they ship from the UK? Or do you have a reseller in the USA? I am in Europe, I would prefer UK...
 
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Norbert Niederacher said:
Formatt-Hitech is located in the UK. Will they ship from the UK? Or do you have a reseller in the USA? I am in Europe, I would prefer UK...
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Oron Cohen said:
US buyers always get the best deals :smile5:
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Bigger news for UK and EU peoples today. I have confirmed with Formatt-Hitech that we can indeed include shipping from the UK to UK/EU for $40 flat rate. Hope that helps.

And with Matthew's order we have reached our tier goal in 48 hours! That means at this point everything is at the maximum discount of 30% off. If you are ordering 5 or more filters, you get the additional 5% off.
 
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Phil Do you mind switching my orders to 4x5.65. Probably going to pick up supermists and maybe a circular pola as well but I'll let you know once I decide. Thanks again!
 
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  • #56
Kristopher Colavecchio said:
Phil Do you mind switching my orders to 4x5.65. Probably going to pick up supermists and maybe a circular pola as well but I'll let you know once I decide. Thanks again!
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No worries Kristopher. Updated.

Don't know if this applies to you, but I thought I'd give some advice for those who are kitting up for the first time. 4x5.65" filter size, also known out here as Panavision size, is pretty much the most common filter size on set. They balance size, expense, and coverage nicely. Most modern 4x5.65" Matte Boxes allow use of that size and cover ultra wide angle primes and zooms even on larger formats like Dragon 6K. It's a good size to start with really. Pretty much everything in my main filter case is this size.

The larger 6.6x6.6" are desirable for the bigger zooms in particular with very large front elements.

4x4" are a bit of an odd duck for me in practice as they will cover smaller diameter lenses a good amount of the time, but certainly don't have the surface area for larger lenses and wides.

A good set of filters can last you a career that spans decades if treated right. Make sure you have a hard case of some sort or a hard padded solution in your bag and you'll be good to go. In my filter case I have a small compartment for cleaning tools (canned air, small flashlight, kim wipes, and pancro) when I don't have an AC handy or when their cart isn't around it's nice to be prepared. Also useful during prep honestly.
 
Thanks for the info, Yeah thats basically what made me switch. I figure spend the more cash now and get something more future proof for myself. I usually shoot personal projects with my Leica R's right now but I'm going to invest in some proper cinema glass eventually and it would be silly for me not to plan for that.
 
Phil Holland said:
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A good set of filters can last you a career that spans decades if treated right. Make sure you have a hard case of some sort or a hard padded solution in your bag and you'll be good to go. In my filter case I have a small compartment for cleaning tools (canned air, small flashlight, kim wipes, and pancro) when I don't have an AC handy or when their cart isn't around it's nice to be prepared. Also useful during prep honestly.
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What is a good filter case for a full/large set? I normally just use the sleeves they come with and keep them in a camera bag, but for this set I could see keeping them for 30 years.
 
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  • #59
PatrickFaith said:
What is a good filter case for a full/large set? I normally just use the sleeves they come with and keep them in a camera bag, but for this set I could see keeping them for 30 years.
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A custom ATA style case is standard for most larger DPs I know who have their own sets.

I've gone rogue as of late and reinforced the dividers of a Nanuk case and keep each filter in their own pouch in tidy columns/rows. When I need to pack lighter I have a 8 slot Panavision pouch that lives in typically my camera bag if necessary.
 
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