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Panty-hose diffusion… does anybody still use that today?
This came up in an editing forum when someone was looking for a certain diffusion effect, and I mentioned how in the 80’s and 90’s some shooters would stretch a piece of women’s white or black nylon stocking over the rear end of the lens and then re-attach their lens to the camera body, to get a certain diffusion effect that was considered “filmic”.
Does anybody still do that today?
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5 Replies
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Wow Mark! I used to do that all the time and forgot about it! Different sheers & colors for different effects. Always got some good looks at the drug store when making a selection. I eventually went on to buy good lens filters and today there’s less time spent on setups and heck, my EX1 doesn’t have a removable lens.
Thanks for the memory!
Steve
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So far that’s one vote for: “old and busted”:-)
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Man, I haven’t thought about that in, oh, 20 years or so either.
I couldn’t say if anyone still does it, I haven’t heard of it being done in a long long time.
I never diffused with pantyhose myself, but I knew guys who did. And for SOME reason I still remember the exact brand/style of choice, the one that people used to swear by… “Liz Claiborne Ultra Sheer Black.”
WHY would I remember that? Who knows… sometimes a tiny piece of insignificant knowledge sticks in one’s brain.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I never tried to do it myself, on the reasoning that the more I left the space between sensor and glass alone, the less danger my wallet faced. But some guys used to swear by it. There was a trick done using old 35mm still photo storage cannisters (another trip down memory lane – those used to be ubiquitous) as the hold-down “ring” around the material, anchoring it to the lens back.
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Works great. For neutral (no color shift) effect, use material with opaque black thread – no sheen – as this will disperse light over your image killing the contrast.
The idea is to soften the image without effecting inner lighting and contrast ratios.
The only Glass that approximates the effect is Tiffen Black Pro Mist Filter. Start with lower grades*It’s about Light*
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