Director of Photography Ed Andrews has carefully developed an impressive set of overlay flare effects that capture the trademark charm of vintage Olympus Zuiko lenses.
Matching Footage Shot With Vintage Lenses Can Be Challenging
Andrews’ Zuiko Flares effects asset pack targets a specific, although not uncommon, use case.
“I’m a DoP but also edit a lot. I always love shooting with my set of Zuiko lenses primarily for the flares but when you’ve got to cut in drone shots, fixed lens cameras, camera phones, etc. there can be an obvious mismatch,” Andrews tells PetaPixel. “This flare pack can help give that extra classic character to those more modern and clinical shots and smooth over the cracks in post! They also work as transitions too.”
At its core, the Zuiko Flares effects pack solves the issue of matching the look of footage shot with Zuiko lenses, which offer a characteristic flare that many filmmakers love, with video clips shot using other equipment.
Why People Love Zuiko Lenses
The classic Olympus OM Zuiko lenses — the 35mm format ones — remain popular for modern photographers and filmmakers because they are small and lightweight, easily adapted to modern camera systems, and full of character.




They aren’t as sharp or high-contrast as modern lenses, like OM System’s (Olympus) Micro Four Thirds lenses that are very popular with aerial filmmakers today, but old Zuiko lenses are charming. Cinema lens designers today continue to spend considerable time and money to chase the look and feel of old lenses like the Zuiko primes Andrews uses.
Andrews notes that the Zuiko lenses deliver “wonderful warm arcs,” and the entire Zuiko series of lenses features pleasing bloom across the frame, mainly when shot wide open.
“Stop them down and they are a lot more subtle. I shoot a lot of drone stuff, and those shots tend to have minimal flare — very clinical — so these overlaps help add that extra classic character to them.”


Creating the Zuiko Flares
Creating these Zuiko flare effects was a labor of love. Andrews shot each lens in a homemade studio.
“I shot using an Alexa Mini LF open gate as these are full frame lenses I was capturing. I made a studio in my living room! I had a dedo tungsten Fresnel, lots of black cloth to shoot against black. The dedo was on the side of the camera about a meter away and I pointed it at the lens at varying angles (frame side, corner, and top) and intervals: one, three, and five seconds,” Andrews tells PetaPixel.
Andrews created flare overlays using his 21mm, 28mm, 40mm, 50mm, and 85mm Zuiko lenses, each shot wide open and at f/2.8. He created overlays with extra bloom using Glimmer Glass and amber color using a gel on his Fresnel light. With his different flare angles, intervals, and styles, video editors have “a huge amount of options.” He says he even threw some “wildcards” in the pack, too.


“They’re very easy to use. Just drop them on the timeline, select ‘screen’ opacity, and then adjust the opacity levels to taste,” Andrews recommends. “A spot of gaussian blur can help at times too if you want to soften some features out.”
As a director of photography and editor himself, he knew what people would want — they’re what he would want to use for his own edits.
“I shot [the flares] with editors in mind,” Andrews says. Since he shot them at 4.4K resolution, they’re flexible overlays that should adapt to most modern workflows.


“I’m pretty happy with the results,” he says, although he did burn himself on the Fresnel during shooting and the entire process “took way more time than I thought.” So far, he has gotten a good response from other DoPs, colorists, and editors.
“I’d say they’ve got pretty wide appeal — content creators, indie filmmakers, editors, colorists, and VFX people [can use the Zuiko Flares],” Andrews says. “I’d like to think these would come in handy for anyone shooting Zuikos who’d like to help match other cameras in the edit. But also more generally, they can add that extra character and interest to any shots. I feel they’re pretty classy.”
Although Andrews wanted the flare effects for matching footage across camera rigs, the appeal of Zuiko lenses means his flares can add vintage charm to any video project, whether it requires look matching or not.


An Accessible Price Point for Over 180 Assets
He also aimed to keep them accessible to a wide audience. Despite spending a lot of time making these flares — and even getting burned in the process — the Zuiko Flare pack is just £25, or about $31.
Image credits: Ed Andrews / Zuiko Flare