I got fooled into buying several diffusion filters over the years, all in order to achieve “cinematic shots.” I think the tipping point was when I got a Tiffen Smoque 2 filter. It was so extreme, I couldn’t stand it. Ironically, some of my most liked shots, are from that filer. People think that the softness, the light diffusion is cinematic, and to a degree it could be true… but it’s a very small degree.

I quickly grabbed several shots from very random movies/tv shows:

Light and Dark

While diffusion is used in some of the shots, it’s very light, nothing too heavy. What gives more of a cinematic look (beyond the content) is the use of light and the absence of light. Shadows painting themselves into the shot makes a still look very cinematic. The first and last stills in the top row above, make heavy use of shadow. The bottom row left still (Reacher TV) has a backdrop in shadow and darkness, isolating the character.

Color Grading

In the last image of the set above (from Reacher TV series), the shot isn’t heavy to shadow, but it is color graded. That’s the other component. The colorization is cinematic in these shots. “White” isn’t digital white. In that shot the white point has a cream color.

Lenses

In the stills above, diffusion occurs in maybe one shot. The rest rely on color, exposure, color grading and potentially a very nice lens. In the digital camera age our lenses are mostly sharp, tack sharp. Optically we see review after review about “how sharp is this lens?” The Fuji XF 27mm is hailed as being an extremely sharp lens… and looking at various shots taken with it, it’s amazingly sharp, able to identify individual threads right off a shirt.

When I started using my Lumix camera for video, I had a chance opportunity to put a vintage lens on the body. I threw a Takumar 55mm 1.8 on the body and immediately fell in love with the smooth richness. Even the colors seemed to render differently. I was looking at my camera’s screen and it appeared to have the smooth silky texture of film.

I’ve since tried to recreate that look with modern lenses and to be honest it’s a hard sell. I can’t do it. The Lumix 50mm 1.8 is very sharp, fast autofocus and extremely light weight, yet it lacks the beauty of the Takumar.

Photographic Cinematic Looks

From my own collection, I consider these cinematic:

The Work of Others

I love the work of Ricoh GRIII and the GRIIIx. It’s not a massive camera, in fact it’s fairly small. It’s also has a fixed lens, yet that little color engine has a ton of capability. It tends to paint lovely shadow and darkness.

Here are some wonderful examples:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBeG08noIg_

https://www.instagram.com/p/DHEJlsGzXHF

https://www.instagram.com/p/DD32FWUP75Q

Other Views

The filmmaker Cam Mackey posted his own take on diffusion filters. It’s well worth a view. There was a time I didn’t necessarily agree with this sentiment, but I’ve come to see those scenes I love in movies are rarely due to diffusion and more due to exposure, light and shadow.