Formatt Hitech Firecrest Ultra Neutral Density 4x5.65" Filter Kit, Includes 3 Filters (4 to 6 Stops)

We are delighted to launch Firecrest Ultra ND filters, the pinnacle of photographic filter technology. Following on from the immense success and popularity of Firecrest filters, launched in 2014, we have been looking at how we can improve these filters to ensure that Formatt-Hitech remain the leaders in technological advancement for the photo filter market.

Firecrest were the first photographic filters to use carbon neutral coatings to bring unprecedented neutrality to the market. To ensure the filters were as durable as possible, we bonded the coating in the center of two pieces of optical grade polished glass (using a very precise amount of an equally neutral bonding agent, developed in-house.) This process gave the filters two vital areas of protection:

• The critical part of the filter, the Neutral Density coating, was shielded from wear and tear. Instead of a coated filter where one piece of glass is coated on the outside and protected with an anti-scratch treatment. No matter how good the anti-scratch coating, it's not as tough as glass
• They have more structural strength than a single piece of glass

That's not to say that coated filters don't have their place in the market. They are considerably cheaper to produce and so can give similar optical results as bonded filters for, in theory, a much lesser price, the only sacrifice being durability.

So what is Ultra about Firecrest Ultra
At the same time as we launched Firecrest 2mm to the photographic market, we also launched Firecrest 4mm for the cinema and broadcast market. They were similar in construction to Firecrest 2mm however had a second polishing phase, crucial to the needs of motion picture.

After polishing and bonding, these filters undergo an additional process referred to as "lapping & polishing". This involves grinding the filters to ensure they are perfectly flat and then highly polishing the outside to ensure complete clarity. This is essential for video capture as any minute waves or imperfections in the glass would manifest as a ripple in the image when the cameras are panning (an exaggerated version of this effect can be seen when looking through very old windows.)

We are now improving Firecrest so that the new Firecrest Ultra filters undergo this same process. As a result, Firecrest Ultra filters are the first bonded, then lapped and polished filters available in the photographic market. They have a lower reflectivity than earlier filters and a clarity and sharpness, even at longer focal lengths, unprecedented in photo filters, whilst still delivering the neutrality that made Firecrest so popular.

The Firecrest Ultra product has already been profiled this year, in a limited way, as our Eclipse filter range. Their quality and clarity helped them to outsell all other filters in the market for the full solar eclipse in North America this year. These filters were made in the highest densities ever seen in the photographic market - up to 24 stops - and these high densities are being retained in the Firecrest Ultra range, for use as extreme long exposure filters.