Modern cameras and lenses try to fix imperfections like vignetting and color casts, but a new trio of filters from PolarPro leans into the imperfections to embrace a look that feels like it stepped out of the 1970s. The PolarPro Radial Gradient filters create an edge of color with a clear center to build an old-school look in-camera.
The new Radial Gradient filters come in a three-pack – one blue, one red, and one orange – and are designed to build in dramatic, warm, cool, and atmospheric color shifts that are strongest at the edges.
PolarPro says the look created by the filters changes a bit with the light on the subject. The company demoed the look the filters create with a 1970s drive-in-themed photo shoot in LA. Behind-the-scenes videos show a variety of different modern cameras being used on the set, but the resulting photographs have the vignetting and color casts that build a more classic feel.
The colors aren't the only way the filters aim to build a retro look. The sample images and videos suggest the filters have a slight diffusion to them, creating softer blooms of light that feel like vintage lenses.
Linear gradients are a popular filter format, but the radial gradient is far less common, creating vignetting at the edges that many modern lenses aim to avoid. While radial gradients aren’t common among modern filter options, the look feels reminiscent of some creative filter sets from the 1970s and 1980s, like Cokin’s Creative Filter System.
The Polar Pro Radial Gradient Filters, announced earlier this week, come in four different circular screw-in sizes as well as a Helix magnetic filter system option. A set of three starts at about $180 for the smallest size (about £136 / AU$256 CA$254).
The sizes range from 49mm – which also fits with the company’s filter adapter for the Fujifilm X100VI – to 82mm.
Shipping is expected to begin on October 7, with pre-orders open now.
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