Filters are relatively inexpensive attachments for camera lenses that can be used to spice up the images or videos that come out of any camera, be it a smartphone or a dedicated body. I’ve long been of the belief that hardware-based filters yield better results than those software-based ones you can add in post-production, so I use them frequently.
But as you might come to expect, choosing the right filter for your use case can be a challenge, and that’s because they come in many different sizes and styles. Making the filter choice even more difficult is the fact that different brands tout various advantages to their filters over others, while often charging a premium for them.
How Moment filters stand out
Personally, I’ve always flocked to Moment for this sort of thing. Moment camera lens filters strike the perfect balance between quality and price without tipping the scale too far in either direction. What this means is that you can acquire a satisfying collection of filters that will provide opportunities in diverse shooting conditions without breaking the bank.
If I’m being honest with everyone, the first thing that attracted me to Moment’s filter lineup is the design. The iconic red ring that encircles the black build materials of each filter looks so good on the end of all my camera lenses. I’ve always shot with Nikon cameras ranging from DSLRs to mirrorless bodies, every one of those use the same black and red color tones that Moment’s filters do. The same can be said about most Canon cameras.
But while the aesthetics certainly attracted my eyes, they weren’t the only reason that I made the choice to go with Moment. The company uses only the highest-quality glasses in their filter construction. Some utilize top-grade Japanese filter glass, while others utilize fused silica optical glass or Schott B270 Pro Cinema glass. These are not cheap materials, and they’re harmonically mated with multi-layer coatings that protect the glass and the images they produce.
And then there’s the cost factor… Moment’s filters are priced extremely well. They stack up against some of the most expensive options on the market, and yet they’re affordable on almost any budget. Better yet, they go on sale all the time.
Moment makes filters not only for DSLR and mirrorless camera lenses, but also for smartphones by way of a special case attachment or a universal connector. Better yet, the same filters that you use for your camera can be used with your smartphone if you just get the correct adapter to use it with.
Different filter types
As we mentioned earlier, filters come in many different styles, and we’re going to show you several of the ones that I use regularly with my camera. Oh and… spoiler alert… they’re all made by Moment.
CineClear UV Filter
The first and most simplistic filter in a camera bag is Moment’s CineClear UV filter. It’s basically a clear piece of German Schott B270 glass that Moment touts as having a 98.5% light transmission rate, and it’s finished with 16 layers of optical coatings.
UV filters are designed to block harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching the internals of your camera. Once extremely popular with film photographers to protect their film rolls from the Sun’s harmful rays, UV filters are rarely used for this purpose anymore. Modern sensor-based digital cameras generally lack this problem, but people still use UV filters today because they let the highest amount of light through their lens with minimal image quality loss while still protecting the glass of their expensive lens from particles, moisture, fingerprints, and more.
As you can see for yourself in the before and after images below, Moment’s CineClear UV filter makes virtually no discernible difference in the image:
Moment’s CineClear UV filter is built with aircraft-grade aluminum and features a grippy surface that makes it easy to twist onto the end of any camera lens or adapter. Better yet, the front of the filter is threaded, allowing you to stack multiple filters or even to put the camera lens’ stock cover on the end of it so that you can keep the filter on the lens full time.
You can get Moment’s CineClear UV filter in most standard sizes, including:
- 49mm
- 52mm
- 58mm
- 62mm
- 67mm
- 72mm
- 77mm
- 82mm
You can learn more about and purchase your own Moment CineClear UV filter on Moment’s web page.
AntiGlare CPL Filter
Next up is quite possibly my most-used filter of all, and it’s Moment’s AntiGlare CPL filter. CPL stands for circular polarizer, and it’s effectively a piece of polarized fused silica glass that cuts unwanted glare, and it’s finished with 16 layers of optical coatings.
CPL filters are designed to improve the dynamic range of your photographs by cutting glare and reflections. Doing so boosts the colors you see in your image and tones down some of the excessive shadows but can also make transparent surfaces such as windows and bodies of water easier to see through in bright conditions where Sun or light reflections would ordinarily be an issue for photographers.
With a CPL filter, you can make a dull gray or washed-out sky look completely blue and vibrant. If you’re outdoors on the sunny day and you’re taking pictures of cars or animals at the zoo, CPL filters can make your images more pleasing to look at by making glass surfaces see-through rather than overly reflectively.
In the before and after images below, you can see the huge difference that Moment’s CPL filter makes in the glass surface:
Like the UV filter discussed above, Moment crafts its CPL filter out of aircraft-grade aluminum, but what sets it apart is that the CPL glass can be rotated freely of the threaded section that sits on your camera lens to adjust the polarization in real time. The free-spinning section rotates so incredibly smoothly, aided by the fantastic grips on the edges that your finger just seems to stick to. You can also use lens covers with this filter.
According to Moment, the CPL filter only imposes a 1.25 stop loss of light, which isn’t a huge deal if you’re shooting in a bright environment anyway.
You can get Moment’s CPL filter in most standard sizes, including:
- 49mm
- 52mm
- 58mm
- 62mm
- 67mm
- 72mm
- 77mm
- 82mm
You can learn more about and purchase your own Moment CPL filter on Moment’s web page.
CineFlare Streak Filter
This one is a bit more of a creative filter, and it isn’t one that I use as often as the others, but it gets its use in the right scenario. It’s the CineFlare Streak filter, and it’s effectively a piece of Japanese optical glass infused with either blue or gold-colored wires that reflect against light sources, and it features 30 layers of optical coatings.
CineFlare Streak filters are used to incorporate an anamorphic effect into your photographs and can make any image look so dreamy that it may as well have come from a cinema recording studio. When pointed directly at certain light sources, it creates what look like streaks in the color of the filter you choose (blue or gold).
I’ve always felt that these types of filters look best when taking pictures of cars, especially when the headlights are turned on. When taken at the correct angle, a CineFlare Streak filter makes a vehicle look sportier, and in some cases, can make it look like it belongs on the front of an auto magazine.
The before and after images below showcase the streak effect that can be achieves with the CineFlare Streak filter:
Just like the AntiGlare CPL filters above, the CineFlare Streak filter is built from aircraft-grade aluminum and supports hand-turning via a free-spinning front piece with finger-friendly grips so that you can adjust the angle of the streaks to your satisfaction. The filter is fully compatible with lens covers.
You can get Moment’s CineFlare Streak filters in the following sizes:
- 67mm
- 77mm
- 82mm
You can learn more about and purchase your own Moment CineFlare Streak filter on Moment’s web page.
Moment CineBloom Diffusion Filter
The Moment CineBloom Diffusion filter is another one of those creative additions that you might only use in certain situations but is well worth adding to your camera bag. Comprised of a layer of NanoBlack particulates sandwiched between two layers of Japanese filter glass, the CineBloom Diffusion filter helps make your shots look more cinematic by removing the ultra-sharp aesthetic that most modern digital cameras provide.
CineBloom Diffusion filters work by utilizing those NanoBlack particles to capture and bloom light in addition to softening hard edges and smoothing skin tones. Without any optical coatings, you get the fill clarity of raw glass combined with the special effect that you can only get with NanoBlack. The bloom in lighting helps make imagery come to life, looking more realistic than through the lens of an ultra-sharp digital sensor.
Moment’s CineBloom Diffusion filter comes in different flavors of diffusion, depending on how strong you want the effect to be. For minimal effect, there is a 5% density, while for medium effect, there is a 10% density, and finally for maximum effect, there is a 20% density. It’s one solid piece with no moving parts like some of the other filters.
In the before and after images below, you can see what a difference that Moment’s CineBloom Diffusion filter makes with respect to light sources:
The CineBloom Diffusion filter is built out of aircraft-grade aluminum and features the same positive grips on the edges for threading the filter onto your lenses. As you might come to expect by now, you can use all your lens covers with this filter too.
You can get Moment’s CineBloom Diffusion filters in the following sizes:
- 37mm
- 49mm
- 52mm
- 58mm
- 62mm
- 67mm
- 72mm
- 77mm
- 82mm
You can learn more about and purchase your own Moment CineBloom Diffusion filter on Moment’s web page.
Moment VND Filters
You might say we’ve saved the best for last, and that’s because we did. Moment’s VND filters are something that every serious photographer and videographer should consider adding to their kit, as it serves as a fourth way to change your camera’s exposure in a pinch.
VND stands for variable neutral density, and it’s effectively two polarized pieces of glass sandwiched together such that you can rotate them to control the amount of light that enters the lens without touching your camera’s native exposure settings.
VND filters are frequently used by videographers who want to add more motion blur to their projects for a more realistic video viewing experience, but even photographers can take advantage of the exposure benefits of a VND filter by maximizing their bokeh effect without whitewashing their image in large aperture situations.
VND filters are variable by nature, hence the name, which means they can be adjusted by rotation. Moment’s VND filters come in two flavors, including a 2-5 stop version that utilizes ND4-ND32 to adjust light and a 6-9 stop version that utilizes ND64-ND512. As you might come to expect, the higher the ND number, the less light the filter lets into the lens, allowing you to slow down the shutter speed or increase the aperture without letting in too much light when your surroundings are bright.
Each of Moment’s VND filters are built with Schott B270 Pro Cinema Glass and finished with 16 layers of optical coatings that drop reflections, behave hydrophobically, and resist static and scratches.
One of my favorite features of Moment’s VND filters are the hard stops at each ND number, which you can feel with your hand as you rotate to prevent over-rotation. This means you won’t get the same nasty cross polarization you might get from cheaper VND filters. More than that, however, is the flared edge of the filter, which lets you see your current ND setting from behind the camera:
In the transition images below, you can see what a Moment VND filter can do for the exposure of your images:
You can get Moment’s VND filters in the following sizes:
- 49mm
- 52mm
- 58mm
- 62mm
- 67mm
- 72mm
- 77mm
- 82mm
You can learn more about and purchase your own Moment VND filter on Moment’s web page.
Finding the right filter size
The number at the business end of your camera lens, represented in millimeters (mm) and right next to the circle with a strike through it, denotes the size of filter you need for that particular lens. This millimeter number should not be confused with the focal range of the lens (such as 50mm, 105mm, 400mm, etc.).
Here is an example:
Adapting filters
You might think that you need to buy one filter for every one of your lenses, and that isn’t necessarily the case unless you’re just buying clear UV protection filters to protect each of your lens’ glass from external factors. However, despite being reasonably priced, buying several of these filters can quickly run up and expensive tab.
If you’re planning to purchase any of the specialty filters that we’ve demonstrated for you, then we strongly recommend buying the largest one available (82mm) of each. Upon doing so, you can use step-up rings to adapt these larger filters to smaller lenses, and yes, even your smartphone (with the correct adapter).
Since 82mm is one of the largest common filter sizes, you can rest assured that it will fit almost all your camera hardware, especially if you get a set of step-down rings. This is a much more affordable option than buying several of each filter to fit all your differently sized lenses, and it also takes up less space in your camera bag.
The step-down ring brand that I personally recommend are those from Breakthrough Photography because they’re made from brass – a fantastic metal for threaded applications. But if you’re on a budget, then a cheaper all-in-one set like the one by K&F Concept is just as capable and may be more convenient for people who have lenses of several sizes.
Wrapping up
You can get filters from any brand that fits your budget, but I’ve personally had so much hands-on experience with Moment filters and the fantastic results they produce that I wouldn’t waste time recommending others.
If you were looking for a great way to enhance your photography skills on the cheap, then consider picking up a few of Moment’s filters instead of splurging on another expensive camera lens. You just might surprise yourself with respect to what these cheap and efficient tools can do for you.