MPS Sticky Filters, Self Adhesive Flash Gel Filters, Sized for Most Flashes
Sticky Filters are a little more sticky than a 3M Post-It note and are used to correct for the strange background colorcast of photos taken when using a flash – empowering you, the photographer, over the final “look” of your photos.
Today’s computerized exposure control systems balance fill flash exposure with ambient light exposure very evenly, giving rise to a mixed color temperature in the photographs. We have all seen it – the green background and the subject’s goofy yellow hair of images shot under fluorescent lighting; the orange glow of the background of images shot under tungsten light sources; even the aqua-blue color cast of images shot with a flash outdoors in the shade or under a hazy overcast sky at the beach.
Digital cameras have the unique ability to correct for these various lighting conditions by using a feature called “Auto White Balance”. But only if you don’t use the flash! When the flash is used it automaticly introduces a 2nd light source of a different color temperature (the white light of the flash) into the scene. Auto White Balance can only correct for one light source. But don’t turn off your flash! The #1 professional photographer’s trade secret is: “always use a flash”, even when shooting outdoors in full sun. (Certainly, the pureists will argue.)
The MPS Stcky Filters convert the color temperature of the flash into the same color as the existing ambient light source so there will only be one color for the camera’s software to correct for. The result is an image with natural looking colors throughout the scene, even where the flash didn’t reach.
Until now, this flash filtering technique had been used by only the most serious professional photographers. Filter availability and issues related to attaching the filters to the flash greatly prohibited its use.
Sticky Filters are made of a tough polyester material that is tear resistant and durable. If the sticky surface of the filter accidently gets stuck back to it’s sticky surface, (as stickers and tape sometimes do) they can very easily be pulled apart without damage.
Unlike other manufacturer’s color gels, Sticky Filters were designed from the ground up specificly for the digital flash photographer. Each filter’s color was determined individually based on modern indoor lighting technology and color. Other filter manufacturer’s products don’t always get you the results you are looking for.
Each batch of Sticky Filters is quality checked for color accuracy using an X-Rite precision color densitometer insuring batch to batch consistency.
Sticky Filters come in five different colors: Tungsten Bulb, .5 Tungsten Bulb, Cool Fluorescent, Unknown Fluorescent, and Hazy / Open Shade. The newest version (not shown) is also labled with white balance icons just like the ones found in your digital camera. This makes camera settings more easily understood.
The amber colored Tungsten Bulb filter is calibrated to a standard screw-in type incandescent light bulb. It is also useful for any tungsten or tungsten halogen type source. The .5 version will still allow a pleasing “warm glow” effect of the existing tungsten light source.
The pale green colored Cool Fluorescent filter is calbrated to a standard 40 watt industrial type cool fluorescent tube.
The Unknown Fluorescent filter is for those times when you don’t know what type of fluorescent lighting is used or when there is a mix of warm and cool fluorescent lighting. It is also used for other types of indoor industrial lighting such as mercury vapor lamps and some metal halide.
The pale blue colored Hazy / Open Shade filter is used outdoors on a cloudy day to warm up the cold looking background of images when using a fill flash. It is also useful for warming up the background of images shot in total shade when you have a blue cloudless sky. An example would be the shady side of a building under full sun. The idea here is that the scene is primarily illuminated by the blue sky, therefore you should make your flash blue also then pre-set your white balance to the scene and shoot away!
