PolarPro’s Latest Lens Filters Color Way Outside the Lines

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Three circular camera lens filters in orange, red, and blue are arranged in a row against a plain white background, with the text "EMANATE," "EMBER," and "EVOKE" printed on their respective frames.

PolarPro is nothing if not insistent that capturing a look in-camera is better than using digital filters and editing to achieve the desired results. This means the company sometimes launches filters that seem more puzzling than practical. The latest filters to fit that mold are the colorful Radial Gradient Filters.

These new filters come in 49mm, 67mm, 77mm, and 82mm sizes, plus a variant for the PolarPro Helix filter system. So these are designed for serious photo and video applications, not just smartphones or something. Not that a smartphone can’t be a serious imaging tool, of course.

The general idea is that photographers select from one of three different color filters, including blue, red, and orange, and then create their desired color palette. These color filters are radial gradients, meaning the color is stronger the closer it gets to the edge of the frame. There’s minimal color shift in the middle of the frame, and much more near the edge.

A person holds a black camera in one hand and a circular amber lens filter in the other, with a box containing blue and red filters resting on a surface below.

The strength of the effect will vary depending on the specific lens used, as some lenses are more or less susceptible to vignette depending on their focal length and optical design.

PolarPro says the filters “create stylized color and mood on set instead of building the entire effect in post.”

A woman wearing a yellow bikini top, green shorts, a headscarf, sunglasses, and orange roller skates sits on the hood of a white car at night.

A woman in a turquoise top and tan shorts performs a one-handed handstand on a paved surface while wearing roller skates.

That’s surely true. The filters are built from high-quality optical glass and designed for both photo and video applications.

It’s the latest in a series of creativity-focused PolarPro filters. The company doesn’t shy away from interesting, different ideas. The company’s special effects filters do not always go over well, others are polarizing (sometimes literally), and others are simply eye-catching.

A black camera with a 23mm lens sits above two circular camera filters, one teal labeled "EVOKE" and one red labeled "EMBER," resting on a black surface with colorful paint splatters.

For photographers looking to add graduated color to their photos in-camera, the PolarPro Radial Gradient Filters start at $179.99 for the set of three colors and go up to $229.99 for the 82mm versions. It’s easy to applaud PolarPro for its boldness and willingness to think outside the box. It’s even easier to wonder how useful something like this effect actually is for photographers. For those who really insist on doing as much as possible in-camera, they’ve got new tools to do something new and different. PolarPro says the filters will begin shipping on October 7.

Image creditsPolarPro

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