What is Colour Cast? Freewell Magnetic Filter System
Have you ever wondered what is colour cast, or been concerned that your filters suffer from it? Today we’ll look over what causes filter colour cast and how to identify what colours are introduced. Additionally, if you’re interested in how to remove this in Photoshop, please watch here.
Firstly, understand that every filter added to the front of your lens will introduce the colour cast. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, the more expensive the filters, the less colour cast that’s added. However, this is not always true, be cautious and test this out in the field.
The test filters are from the Freewell Magnetic Filter System. Filters for testing:
Interested in long exposure photography? Therefore, the Freewell 6 Stop and Freewell 10 Stop will produce high-quality results compared to the Variable ND.
Freewell Magnetic Filter System
Firstly, the Fujifilm X-T3 produces a definite green tint straight out of the camera. Therefore, it’s not only filters that provide inconsistent colours. Also, it’s important to understand your photography gear inside and out for future comparisons.
Secondly, the Freewell Magnetic Polarizer produces a warmer tone. Below are comparison images captured with and without the Freewell polariser filter. Clearly visible in the rock to the right-hand side, the blue has been reduced with an increase of overall warmth.
Additionally, a polarizer effect can only be achieved in-camera. Understand how to use a polarizer by reading this or watching this. Therefore, we have to accept the colour cast in the image and learn how to remove it in post-production for the best possible results.
Finally, demonstrate the test below yourself to understand what colour (s) are being introduced to the image from your filter system. Start by taking a base image without any filters, then add a polarizer to the front element.
Key focus points while conducting the test:
- Shoot in aperture priority so the shutter speeds updates automatically.
- Lockdown the white balance down, e.g. daylight or cloudy
- Shoot on a tripod, so the composition is the same.
- Use one filter at a time; proceed by testing all the filters you own.
- Try the same test in different conditions, e.g. sunset, indoors and forest.
DOWNLOAD THE RAW FILES HERE TO COMPARE!!!
How to remove Colour Cast?
Paying $10 or $1000 for filters will generally be some form of the colour cast introduced. Personally, the balance provided by Freewell of price, quality and function is perfect for my photography needs. However, I do not suggest any cheap filter systems, don’t by expensive lenses to destroy the quality with poor filters.
Removing colour cast is extremely easy these days, with multiple top quality post-production software available. As a result, I discuss the simplest and most effective ways to remove it through Lightroom and Photoshop in a vlog.
- Below you can see the results with a few simple steps to combat colour cast in post-production. As a result, we can achieve the in-camera effect of using a polarizer, then negate the colour cast from software in the editing process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, filters are an important asset to landscape photography. However, cheap filters will degrade the image's quality through colour, sharpness and valuable time in post-production. Therefore, buy the first time and save your money; I can highly recommend the Freewell magnetic system.