Formatt-Hitech 100x100mm Firecrest Neutral Density 1.5 Filter

This is a very colour neutral filter.The 16 Stops is great.My problems with it are three folda) The foam gasket comes with no instructions how to put it on. Putting it on was a disaster. Very hard to put it on straight or evenly. It's too floppy. Getting it wrong leaves residue. They should either put it on from the start or provide a simple mechanism for putting it on straight.b) Maybe it fits the Formatt filter holder but it doesn't fit the Lee Filter holder with the Gasket on. It's way too tight. This is probably to force you to use the Formatt Filter holder but it's a nonsense. Alot of their customers have Lee Holders they should have made it thin enough to fit.c) I've treated it well but it's broken already. It's very fragile - very disappointed with that.Lee filters are fragile too. Could they start making it with a sturdier glass. They are very expensive to buy. You want them to last.

Firstly, the bad. I had to have 3 copies of this filter because the first two had tiny scratches on the glass. Nothing massive but if you're paying the best part of £80 for a square bit of glass then you want it right.Luckily, both Amazon's replacement process and Formatt-Hitech's customer support are fantastic. Geerish, the man I spoke with from FH was incredibly helpful and even offered to replace the item with their own stock even though it was bought from Amazon! Top marks there.I haven't done anything extensive with the filter from an image quality point of view but just wanted to share my customer service satisfaction.I shall update this review at a later date if the quality of the glass is not up to par, but I doubt that very much.

Purchased the 100x100mm 16-stop filter to fit in the LEE Filters holder. It fits perfectly, quite tightly actually but I see that as a good thing. There is very little in the way of colour cast, although out of the shots I have taken so far I have converted to black and white as I like this style. I have used the filter to take numerous 6 and 10 minute exposures on dreary days. It really does add a nice feel to water, as it smooths it out a lot more than using a 10-stopper and getting a 30-sec exposure. Most impressive has been the lack of vignette to images. I am using a wide angle lens and usually with circular ND filters I get very dark corners. This could be as the filter is sitting further away from the lens, I don't know. I use with an additional one or two LEE grad filters.

Okay so the heading is only partly true. I could just about afford the filter let alone the company BUT I was definitely impressed :)By the way this review is for Formatt Hitech 67 x 85 ND 3.0 (10 Stops). I'm stating that because when I went on here to read a review of THIS product I found myself scrolling through reviews of just about every other size and density of filter that just happened to be made by the same company....what's that about?Okay sorry about that....so then here's basically the only bit you need to know ...Yes it is very well made and No there is isn't any colour cast :) At this price (£47.70 at time of purchase) that is an absolute steel.If you are hesitating on this one, don't worry, just do it, I promise you will not be disappointed :)

This purchase was not be passed... greatest deal made! Price tripled after I bought last piece in stock (I guess).Allows for multiple minute long exposures even in bright sunlight! No color cast whatsoever, easily cleaned....

Great filter, i had a bit of trouble with the gasket though. At first i just stuck it on and tried it in my Lee holder.I found it didn't make a light tight seal at the top and bottom - it had about a 3mm gap between the gasket and the holder.But worse you could see the gasket when using my 10-22mm lens (crop sensor) and i am using the Lee wide angle adapter ringI managed to very slowly peel the gasket off the filter without leaving any residue.While peeling it off i found the gasket although square is stretchy in one direction but not the other, i stuck it back on stretching it so that it is tight against the top and bottom but left a gap at the edges so it slides in the holder - no light leakage this time and no vignetting!I am not sure if its because i am using the Lee holder that it didn't seal to start with?The filter itself is very neutral, i went for a 8 stop version because together with a polariser it is approximately 10 stops.I was surprised to find that in anything other than very low light levels live view on my camera (Canon 550D) will show the image just fine and focus and meter correctly, even though the viewfinder is completely black!One last thing, the box that the filter comes in is huge, it took up far too much room in my bag so bought a Lee tin for it.I plan on buying more of these, perhaps a 3 or 4 stop and the 13.

An absolute steal compared to similar quality 10 stop filters.Its glass.It is near neutral (slight magenta cast) and much better then a LeeIt does lose a bit too much contrast compared to the LeeIt is British made.It comes with a plastic box for storage and carrying but would be better with a pouch.I use it with a Cokin holder (because I like them).This maybe the BEST 10 stop filter?!

Received this to add to my collection of Formatt-Hitech filter products, and again I was not disappointed.Really well packed and protected, the filter arrived with gasket ready to fit. This was straightforward, and drawing an outline to help line up filter and gasket made sure it was bang on position first time.The optical properties of the Firecrest filters are outstanding and after several test shots, this one seems to be no exception. Can't wait to get out and use it more in the field!