Formatt Hitech Firecrest 85mm ND Starter Kit

Andy Westlake finds out

Polariser

A circular polariser is integrated into the filter holder adapter, with a 77mm thread for attaching to the lens.

Attachment

The holder is fixed on to the adapter by tightening a single screw.

Adjustment

A small wheel on the side of the holder allows for easy adjustment of the polariser from behind the camera.

It's tempting to believe that, in these days of Photoshop, you can replicate any effect of using an optical filter in front of the lens through post-processing. But as explained on page18, that's simply not true, and there are still three filter types whose effects really can't be matched digitally: polarising, neutral density (ND) and graduated ND filters. The latter in particular only really work as part of a square filter system.

The catch is that the 100mm-wide set-ups favoured