Cinematic Footage with Diffusion Filters | Moment CineBloom vs Prism Lens FX Comparison

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another video. My name is Mario So, and in today's video, I'll be talking about diffusion filters and why you need them. I'll be comparing the CineBloom 10% filter by Moment, and also the Subtle Dream effects by Prism Lens Fx. It's great to see you back here again in another video. If you're into filmmaking, photography, gear, and all of that fun stuff, make sure that you subscribe to be in-the-know of future content. If you're already subscribed, thank you so much for showing up again.

A diffusion filter or a mist diffusion filter is a filter that you put in front of your lens, and what this filter does is it softens your image. It lifts your shadows a little bit, and it also gives halation or blooming to your highlights. Except for this video right now, 90% of the videos that I've shot recently, especially for YouTube, were shot with a diffusion filter in front of my camera lens. It softens the image, and it actually takes away some blemishes away from my skin. I do not have a diffusion filter on my lens right now, but I'll discuss what it looks like with, without, and comparisons between these two filters.

Another reason why I have been using diffusion filters a lot, especially for these type of talking headshots, is because I like the blooming and the halation effect that I get from my highlights, more specifically, some of the lights that I place in my background. For example, with a tube light that I often use, with the diffusion filter on I get to see the light bloom a little bit from the source of the light.

Halation is the spread of light beyond its boundaries, producing a fog light effect surrounding that light source. Today, we'll be comparing two filters. I will not be talking about the Black Pro Mist because I don't have it and there's also tons of videos that talk about that filter. Instead, I'll be doing a direct comparison between the Prism Lens Fx and the CinemBloom filter by Moment.

The one I have from Prism Lens Fx is the Subtle version, which is pretty much the equivalent of the 10% CineBloom filter by Moment. There is a regular version of the Dream FX filter that increases the strength of the diffusion as well as a 20% version of the Moment CineBloom, which again increases that strength of the diffusion for a softer look and even a dreamier look. A little disclaimer is that I purchased both filters, so this is in no way sponsored by anybody. I purchased them for myself just to test them out.

Let's first talk about the offerings from these two companies. Moment offers this filter in a bunch of different thread sizes all the way from 37 mm to 82 mm, which is a huge variety, so you can get one that specifically matches your lens. The Prism Lens Fx only has three versions, a 77 mm, an 82 mm, and a 4x6 for Matte Box.

For this video, I got myself 77 mm thread sizes for both of these filters. For some of my lenses that have a smaller filter thread size, I use step up rings so that I can adapt these filters to those lenses. If you don't want to get specific filters for all of your different thread sizes, then you can just get the biggest size, the 82 mm or 77 mm, and get step-up rings, so they work on every lens.

In terms of packaging, the Moment CineBloom filter comes in a tiny box that looks really sleek, a matte black box. Inside you get the filter in a round case that looks like a makeup case. The Moment filter also has a red accent, which makes it look really sleek and it's really on-brand with Moment. On the other hand, the one from Prism Lens Fx comes in a soft pouch, and the filter looks like any standard UV filter that you would get in the front of your lens.

In terms of build quality, both of the filters feel pretty durable, but with the Moment one looking a little bit more sleek because of the red accent. The Moment CineBloom filter also tells you in the filter itself the strength of the diffusion that that filter is, whereas on the Dream FX filter from Prism Lens Fx, you only see the name of the company and that's it.

It would have been useful if they had included that information on the ones from Prism Lens Fx in case you had many diffusion filters lying around of different strings. Both of the filters come with grooves, making it easy to attach and detach from your lens. One benefit of having the filters, too, is that you can stack them so you can increase the strength of the diffusion once you put them together.

At the time of the making of this video, the Dream FX filter comes at about $69 (prices may change) for the regular one and about $59 (prices may change) for the Subtle one. Both the 77 and 82 mm sizes for the Prism Lens Fx are the same price. The Matte Box version of the filter is about $149 (prices may change). The Moment's CineBloom filters are a little bit different in the way that they're priced. Their price is based on the size of the filter, as opposed to the strength of diffusion. Both 10% and 20% diffusion filters are the same price.

The 77 mm is sitting at about $74.99 (prices may change) and the 82 mm at about $79.99 (prices may change). If you're getting a smaller filter, the price is going to decrease. The Moment's CineBloom filters are a tad more expensive than the ones from Prism Lens Fx, but the good thing is that you get to pick the filter that suits your lens if you wanted that. Again, I would recommend just get the biggest size so that you can use it for other smaller thread sizes with step-up rings.

For this comparison, I'll be using the Tamron 28-75 lens, which is a very sharp, modern lens, and the second comparison will be with a more vintage lens that is inherently softer as well, and that is going to be the Helios 44-2 lens that I have. I'll use some test shots to compare the two filters.

See a few comparisons from 5:48 to 7:10.

In my opinion, they are both very close, and they both make the image look very good. I have been using these two filters interchangeably the last few months, and I've been very satisfied with how they both look. If you want to save a little bit of money, then I would go with the ones from Prism Lens Fx, but if you have a little bit more to spend and you want it in a hard case as opposed to a soft pouch, then I would go with the CineBloom filters by Moment. I like the subtle diffusion and halation that I get from both of these filters, and because I have two, I like that I can stack them up to increase the strength of that diffusion. As usual, I'll be including links if you want to check these out.

That's it for today's video. If you found today's video useful and informative, make sure to like the video and let me know which filter you think looks better. If you haven't subscribed, make sure to subscribe. That will be greatly appreciated. I'll see you next time.