Looking for experiences from people who have used some of the following, regarding which gave the best results for portraiture:
Tiffen Black Diffusion FX (3 or 5?) and/or Gold Diffusion FX
Tiffen Soft FX
Hoya Portrait filter
Hoya Softener (A or B?)
others?
My following impressions are just based on the sample images on the various websites like B&H, Adorama, 2filter, etc.
I'm leaning towards the Black Diff FX because it seems to improve contrast and balance, very slightly improves skin tone and saturation, and doesn't diffuse/soften too much. The Gold Diff FX looks like it would warm the image more than I'd like, but might be more useful if using a lesser flash setup (I'm currently just using an SB-600 and will probably get a Lightsphere for now).
The Tiffen Soft FX appears to make images softer than I'd like. I'm really looking for mild softening overall but good skin blemish/wrinkle hiding (which, again, the Black Diff FX seems to do well).
The Hoya Portrait filter looks like it just enhances skin colors but does not soften at all.
The Hoya Softeners also look like they might make the image softer than I'd like, but maybe not as soft as the Tiffen Soft FX.
If anyone has hands-on experience with these, preferably some side-by-side comparisons, I'd be most grateful. I've got a Black Diff FX on backorder at Adorama so it wouldn't be too late to change my mind. |
