The Pancro ND Center Spot Filter

Most high-definition cameras have a high sensitivity to light in the IR spectrum, and though the IR light is not visible to the human eye, it can result in odd color shifts and prevent a camera’s imagers from capturing true blacks. As digital cinematographers use multi-stop neutral-density (ND) filters to allow them to open their lens iris for more depth of field, IR light begins to dominate light from the visible spectrum, making its pollution all the more apparent.

Schneider, a world leader in precision optics for nearly a century, developed its TRU-CUT IR-750 filter to remove the IR spectrum from the light path, resulting in more vibrant colors and true blacks from both CCD and CMOS imagers. The TRU-CUT IR filter blocks the IR light mere nanometers from the visible spectrum, eliminating IR pollution from the image.

The TRU-CUT IR-750 filter maintains a high MTF (modulation transfer function) in the visible spectrum and its coating meets or exceeds military standards for durability, thus is easily cleaned. Like all Schneider professional filters, the TRU-CUT IR-750 filter is manufactured from crystal clear, water white optical glass that is diamond cut, precision ground and polished to the most exacting tolerances.

“The problem of Infrared contamination has recently surfaced when photographing brightly sunlit scenes with Digital Cinema CMOS Sensor Cameras. The fixed sensitivity of the CMOS sensor makes it necessary to add many stops of Neutral Density compensation. ND filters effectively cut exposure so we can remain in the sweet spot of the lens, maintaining maximum clarity, and avoiding excess depth of field. But they do nothing to filter the unwanted effects of excess IR contamination, which can cause an overall lowering of image contrast — even making certain shades or textures of black appear as brown.

“Schneider Optics has developed the True-Cut 750 IR specifically to deal with this situation. If you want vibrant tones and rich deep shades of black when using a CMOS sensor to capture strongly lit daylight scenes, I strongly suggest using this new filter.”
- James Mathers, Director of Photography

Schneider Optics IR Filter 6761
Schneider Optics IR Filter 6921

Panchro has also created a pricey set of mirrored neutral density filters with Infrared blocking, the Panchro Mirrored IRND, which DP Evin Grant recently tested on the RED ONE, alongside the Schneider True-Cut IR, The Tiffen Hot Mirror/IRND and the Rosco TruColor.

This article contributed by DP Justin Brickle

Chester Stanley speaks about the difficulty of making big life changes

As a new campaign by the Adventist Church to promote the ministry to people considering a life change, we dusted off the RED ONE and cranked it up to 100 frames per second (fps). The biggest challenge, of course, is the usage of 35mm lenses while shooting at 100 fps. Our widest was an 18mm, which translates to 36mm when you’re shooting in 2K. The best option, if you know you’re going to shoot off speed work, is to use a super 16mm lens, so you’ve got the full optical range of the lens. Of course you can shoot in 3K if you’re only wanting to overcrank to 50fps. That only multiplies your lens by a factor of 1.5, so in our case, we could use our 18mm like a 27mm, which allowed us to open up a little.

Either way, the off speed (slow motion) capabilities of the RED ONE allowed us to craft a narrative that emphasised the need to slow down and take stock of your life.

Executive Producer: Graham Christian
Producer: Behren Schulz
Director: Jim Lounsbury
Cinematographer: Anthony Jennings