Before testing a collection of fog machines for Digital Camera World, I never considered that I’d end up permanently carrying one of them in my photography kit bag. To me, a fog machine was something Hollywood directors, such as Ridley Scott, would use to fill empty background space in large locations with a moody mist. Fog was out of my league.
However, thanks to testing the portable and relatively affordable fog machines in this buying guide, I’ve discovered ways to make my stills and clips look more cinematic without access to a Hollywood budget. I also regularly test LED panels and light wands for Digital Camera World, and the misty output of a fog machine can enhance and spread the colors emanating from an RGB LED, which helps add mood and drama to a portrait.
Fog also fills boring empty space with interesting textures. It gradually diffuses colors and tones in the distance to add a sense of volume and depth to a shot. If you want your portraits to stand out from the Instagram crowd, then a fog machine will help you add extra layers of color and drama. Product photographers can use the foam adaptors supplied with each fog machine to create a layer of ‘dry ice’ that floats around the base of their products and adds an extra level of slickness to their shots.
The fog machines in this buying guide all operate in a similar way. They heat up a tank of non-toxic food-based fuel to create fog, which is then dispersed from a nozzle by a built-in fan. By adjusting the volume of the fog and the strength of the fan, you can produce a range of fog, mist, and dry ice effects.
Before buying a fog machine, consider whether it includes features such as a remote control panel, which enables you to trigger fog from a distance. Whatever fog machine you go for, it will inspire your creativity, especially when used in conjunction with LED panels.
George has been freelancing as a photo fixing and creative tutorial writer since 2002. A lighting expert, he's always looking for innovative ways to make his images more creative, and is your guide to the very best fog machines.
The quick list
Boasts unique features, including a rotatable head and an attachable LED.
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Provides more control over fog volume and speed than you get with other machines.
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Adds depth, texture, and atmosphere to portraits and video reels.
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Smaller than a typical aerosol can, but will still fill the frame with fog.
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An entry-level fog machine with safety features to protect you and your model.
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The best fog machines
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Best overall
The Colbor CineFlare CF5 fog machine has the edge on the other fog machines in this buying guide primarily due to two distinctive design features. At first glance, it has a long cylindrical shape that is similar to its peers. But when you press a button, you can rotate the fog-emitting head and aim it like a gun at your subject. I wouldn’t say that this unusual shape makes the smoke easier to direct (since smoke will go where the wind blows), but it does look cool and is comfortable to hold.
The second unique design feature is an attachable RGB LED. This adds vibrant colors to the fog emitted by the CF5, making it useful for fashion shoots and pop videos. When a model or actor waves the CF5 around with the LED attached, it looks like they are holding a lit flare (especially if you dial the RGB LED to a fiery orange). This optional lighting feature shouldn’t be a surprise as Colbor is a company that focuses on producing LEDs for professional and domestic use.
Having tested multiple fog machines, I’d have to say that this one is the most powerful in that it can quickly fill a large location with fog. Indeed, I was worried that I’d set off the test location’s smoke alarms or be asked to leave, due to the large volume of smoke that the CF5 generated during my test shoot. I was really pleased with the way the fog caught the colored lighting from my LEDs. It also added a cinematic look to the clips and stills that I captured on my iPhone 16 Pro.
As with most smoke machines, the Colbor CF5 can be triggered remotely from up to 10 metres. It also uses a similar food-based fuel, which makes it safer to breathe and less likely to trigger smoke alarms. Combining the unique design features of the rotatable head and the LED adaptor with a strong fog output makes the Colbor CF5 the king of fog machines.
See our full Colbor CineFlare CF5 review
Best for variety
The key thing that differentiates the handheld Telesin C40 fog machine from the similarly small Lensgo S and the Smoke Ninja models is its control unit. A display screen and collection of buttons enable you to modify the strength of the smoke emitted from the unit and manually adjust the speed of its built-in fan. This enables you to churn out fast-moving steam-style fog to quickly fill a portrait shoot’s location or deliver delicate dribbles of dry ice to add atmosphere and texture to a desktop product or toy photo set-up.
The control panel, with its control buttons and display screen, can be detached, acting as a remote control unit from up to 10 metres. You can also set a timer on the control panel to trigger emissions of smoke for specific durations. Other fog machines, such as the Lensgo Fog S Mini, have their own remote control units, but they lack the useful display and mode buttons on the C40’s removable remote.
I enjoyed using the Telesin C40 for a location shoot. The machine and all its accessories fitted nicely into a compact, zippable Telesin-branded bag that I could carry comfortably in my larger Gomatic MacKinnon backpack. I set up some LED panels and placed the C40 behind my model. The smoke that it produced took on the color of the LEDs, creating an atmospheric backdrop to my film noir-style shoot. I filled the small tank with supplied oil at the start of the shoot, and two hours later, the machine was still able to produce smoke without a refill (though I wasn’t using it constantly during the shoot).
The Telesin C40 Fog machine may cost a bit more than its handheld rivals, but you get what you pay for, thanks to its comprehensive and detachable control panel.
See our full Telesin C40 Fog Machine review
Best for cinematic looks
When compared to the other fog machines in this guide, the Ulanzi Filmog Ace shares a similarly impressive design and performance with the Telesin C40, both boasting a robust rectangular black plastic body. The control panels on these machines are not only sleek but also versatile, as they can be detached to function as a remote control from up to 10 meters away. This detachable remote control feature is a game-changer compared to the Colbor CineFlare and Lensgo Smoke S Mini machines, whose more basic remotes don’t offer the flexibility to adjust fog-modifying properties such as fan strength and smoke volume.
I enjoyed testing the Ulanzi Filmog Ace by using it to generate fog for a short sci-fi film. The discrete aerosol can-sized unit appeared in the footage not just as a fog generator but also as a prop, generating smoke from the base of a Viltrox K90 tube light as it cycled through multiple colors. This effect complemented our heroine's teleportation sequence as she materialized Star Trek style!
I also used the Filmog to generate fog and smoke to add atmosphere to a scene where our heroine fires a laser gun. Positioned strategically in front of the K90 LED, the Filmog’s smoke absorbed the vivid hues from the RGB light, creating an otherworldly glow that added a more cinematic atmosphere to the footage. Check out the supporting video in the full review to see how the Ulanzi Filmog Ace can add visual flair to a production.
I did encounter a couple of snags. On an earlier shoot I neglected to charge the unit by plugging a charging cable into its USB-C slot. But that’s completely my fault, not the Filmog’s! On the second shoot, the smoke only emitted in short bursts. Luckily, the device’s display screen helped me solve the problem by telling me to attach the fuel tank more securely (which I did with a few twists). After the shoot, I was thrilled with the extra level of color, texture, and detail that the Ulanzi’s output had added to my footage.
I found that the Ulanzi Filmog Ace to be the perfect accessory for making a sci-fi short film look more cinematic. It also added depth, texture, and atmosphere to my portraits.
See our full Ulanzi Filmog Ace FM01 review
Best if on a budget
As its name suggests, this is the smallest fog machine in my buying guide. It’s also the cheapest! Despite its low price and small stature (at 185mm x 45mm x 45mm, it’s smaller than many aerosol cans), it can still produce a useful amount of fog. It should be able to fill 15 cubic metres in around a minute, and, on a full charge, it can produce smoke for up to 16 minutes. It’s most likely that you’ll only want to create smoke in small bursts, so it should certainly last the duration of a long shoot (which was indeed the case in our two-hour test shoot in a variety of locations).
The Lensgo Smoke S Mini uses a mix of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, so once the oil is converted into smoke, it isn't toxic to your models (or yourself when shooting in a home studio). The manufacturer does recommend using the device in a ventilated room and claims that it shouldn’t set off a smoke alarm. Indeed, no alarms were triggered in my test shoot.
As it was the first smoke machine that I’d ever used, I was pleased with how simple it was to set up and use. I was even more delighted with the atmospheric textured smoke that it added to shots of a model pretending to be a movie detective, especially when the smoke took on the color of my LEDs. As with other fog machines, the Lensgo Smoke S Mini ships with a remote control unit, so you can trigger smoke from a distance and then start shooting immediately. In addition to the Smoke S Mini version, there’s a slightly larger Lensgo Smoke S Portable Hand-Held Fog Machine available, although I’ve not tested the larger, more expensive model.
If you’re a smoke machine newbie, then you’ll find this is a great entry-level unit. It won’t break your budget either, and despite its small size, it emits enough smoke for dramatic portrait shots.
Read our full Lensgo Smoke S Mini review
Best for safety features
Like the Lensgo Smoke S Mini, the Smoke Ninja is a compact entry-level mist maker. The smoke machines in this buying guide all work similarly, by heating fuel in a small tank (or atomizing chamber). If you’re concerned about the safety of this process, then the Smoke Ninja’s design should give you peace of mind. It features an industry-leading coil protection system that ensures the smoke generation process is clean and free from any burning smell (though I couldn’t smell burning when using the other fog machines featured in this guide).
The Smoke Ninja also boasts a smart interface that lets you see, in real time, how much smoke is left before overheating. This display also shows the rate of recovery, so you know exactly when the machine is ready to start producing smoke again. Another nice design touch is the ability to attach the unit to metal objects via a magnetic panel. There’s also a standard 1/4” thread on the unit to attach it to a mini tripod.
As with the other devices in this guide, the Smoke Ninja ships with a range of accessory nozzles and modifiers so that you can ‘shape’ the type of fog that it produces. Three handy buttons on the side of the Ninja enable you to instantly adjust the volume of smoke and the strength of the fan to produce Fog, Dry Ice, and Steam ettects.
If you’re a food, toy, portrait, or product photographer, or a run-and-gun videographer looking for a highly portable smoke machine, then the Smoke Ninja is a great creative solution.
See our full PMI Smoke Ninja review
How to choose the best fog machines
If your budget isn’t an issue, then you may as well go for the fog machine with the most features – the Colbor CF5 – as it comes with a built-in LED for extra creative effects. However, the casual observer of your fog-enhanced photos won’t have a clue if smoke has been generated by a budget device, such as the Lensgo Smoke S Mini or the more expensive Telesin. Some machines, such as the Telesin, offer the option to fine-tune the strength of their fan and the volume of the smoke, but if you just want to fill the air with mist at the press of a button, the more basic Smoke Ninja will still do the job.
How I test fog machines
Normally, I test gadgets such as LEDs in a university’s TV Studio, but I was banned from testing fog machines there, as the uni would be fined if the smoke alarms were set off and the fire service were summoned! So I took each fog machine to the Barbican Centre in London. This location had lots of long corridors that I could fill with fog. I also hired a model for each fog machine test shoot so I could see how their smoke would enhance my portraits, by adding space-filling textures and catching the colors from my LEDs. Each fog machine used an organic fuel that was safe for the model to breathe. The particles released by the machines aren't the same size as smoke produced by fires, so, despite my fears, no smoke alarms were triggered during my Barbican shoots.
FAQs
What fuel do fog machines use?
Fog machines typically use a fluid-based system where water and glycol (or glycerin) are heated, producing a mist or fog.
How long does the fuel last?
It seems to last forever! I was able to run each machine during a two-hour test shoot on one tank of liquid fuel (though, of course, I wasn't shooting continuously). Each fog machine ships with a bottle of fuel to refill the fuel tank, and you can buy additional bottles as necessary.
How do you modify the smoke emitted?
Each machine ships with a range of nozzles and foam modifiers that enable you to ‘shape’ the smoke emitted. You can also adjust the strength of the machine’s fan; a low fan setting and a small fog output will create a dry ice effect, whereas a strong fan and a larger volume will give you a steamy look.
