Let’s be honest from the start. When there is no strong light source, such as the sun, in the frame, the changes from OPF 550-L are subtle enough to miss at first glance.

It might be easier to explain if we could say, “It transforms every photograph.” But it doesn’t. Or, more precisely, we chose not to make it that way. What makes filters inconvenient? Quite simply, putting them on, taking them off, and storing them. So, from the very beginning of development, we decided that OPF should be something you could leave on and keep shooting with.

Then, on days when you include the sun in the frame, it controls strong light and lets light itself become the subject. Let’s look at six photographs to see how the rendering changes with the light.

01Subtle color that quietly changes the mood

A river runs beneath the trees on a fresh, clear day, with the sun almost directly overhead.

The light is just right for bringing out the greens in a photograph of nature. In a scene like this, OPF 550-L adds depth to the yellow-green leaves and blue-green river while preserving outlines and fine detail.

The reason lies in the coating on the glass surface. The Optical Preset Coating on OPF 550-L changes the balance of reflection and transmission for light around 550 nm—the green part of the spectrum.

Its response also changes slightly with the angle at which light enters the glass. Colors shift a little differently in backlighting and front lighting, for example. That is why the color changes look natural, unlike digital processing that applies the same color adjustment across the entire image.

If you own OPF 550-L, try looking at the filter while it is attached to your lens. It should look green from the front, but catch a pink sheen when viewed at an angle. That is the coating’s angle-dependent response at work.

These color changes are not large enough to stand out at first glance. Large changes limit the situations in which a filter can be used. Across the OPF series, we aim to change the mood while making filters you can keep using without tiring of them.

02 — Shooting into the lightFacing the sun

Point the camera toward a light source and shoot into the light, and people and objects become dark silhouettes, while colors turn pale where too much light enters. That is why backlighting used to be something we were told to avoid. Yet, at some point, photographs that use backlighting to create atmosphere became a familiar sight.

In backlit scenes, OPF 550-L diffuses the light from the source, giving the light a distinctive presence.

The photograph above is one example. The sky around the low sun opens into bright white, and a band of light stretches across the wet sand.

Diffusion Glass is what controls this light. It diffuses strong light to soften the area around the source. The stronger the backlighting, the more clearly this response appears in the photograph.

Colors can be adjusted later in post-processing. But how strong light diffuses in front of the lens can only be decided at the moment of shooting. That is why we want to keep it on for backlit days.

Here we are in a shaded park. Children are playing beneath a large tree, and the sun is hidden behind the leaves. With no strong light in the frame, the diffusion is unobtrusive, and the green trees and children are rendered simply as they are.

This is the same filter as in the previous photograph. What makes the biggest difference to OPF 550-L’s rendering is whether there is strong light in the frame. Both results are part of its character.

03 — The sun above the mountainsA few millimeters can change the flare

Beyond the wetland boardwalk, the sun sits just above the mountain ridge. A faint circle of light overlaps the grass below. This is flare.

The coating on OPF 550-L is deliberately designed to produce flare and ghosting when strong light enters.

Of course, there will be days when you do not want flare. Try shifting the framing a few millimeters, or taking half a step to the side, to change the angle between the camera and the light source. Both the shape and position of flare change with the source’s position and the angle of incoming light. Moving little by little to find a result you like is another way to enjoy this filter.

04 — People and backlightingFor portraits, put a bright sky behind your subject

A child reaches out to show us a grasshopper they have caught. Even without the sun itself in the frame, a bright sky behind the subject lets strong light enter the lens. These are the conditions in which OPF 550-L’s diffusion glass comes into play.

05 — The sun between the branchesIncluding the sun in the frame

Looking up from beneath a tree, we included the sun in a gap between the branches. The light spreads into a circle, and the surrounding leaves become bright and white.

This is the kind of photograph in which OPF 550-L’s light diffusion appears most clearly. Light takes over from the tree as the subject.

OPF 550-S, incidentally, is a model with more restrained diffusion and flare. Redesigned from the coating onward, it has a character of its own, distinct from OPF 550-L. We explain why in our article on OPF 550-S.

06 — Some situations call for something elseWhen you might want to take it off

We have recommended leaving it on, but there are situations in which taking it off may be the better choice.

ANOTHER WAY

A combination you can separate only when you want to

Want to make putting filters on and taking them off easier? One option is to combine two filters. Leave CDF-L [BASE] on the lens, and magnetically stack OPF 550-C [PLUS] on top. CDF-L [BASE] provides the light-diffusing glass, while OPF 550-C [PLUS] provides the coating that acts on light around 550 nm, producing rendering close to OPF 550-L.

To be honest, it will not be exactly the same. But when you do not want the color effect or flare, you can remove just OPF 550-C [PLUS] in one motion. Swap it for OPF 480-C [PLUS] or OPF 650-C [PLUS], and you can explore other wavelengths with the same lens.

BASE | Diffusion glassCDF-L [BASE]View product → PLUS | 550 nm coatingOPF 550-C [PLUS]View product →

USER VOICEWhat light do photographers use it in?

Here are excerpts from interviews with photographers who use OPF 550-L.

chihi（@chihi_film）さん

“It feels like I can get closer to the atmosphere I felt that day.” They say they are drawn to light entering the living room in the morning or the kitchen in the late afternoon.

Read the article →

関 恵理子（@hoshiwonderful）さん

They write that using OPF 550-L has given them the confidence to keep photographs with a sense of ambiguity.

Read the article →

藤島靖佳（@ya.24）さん

“Two ways of expressing yourself with one lens.” They choose times when the sun is low, while also experimenting on cloudy days and indoors.

Read the article →

THIS WEEKENDSomething to try this weekend

1. Leave the filter on as you walk a route where the sun stays outside the frame. See how you can keep shooting with natural rendering.
2. In the late afternoon, take a photograph toward the low sun. See how the strong light diffuses.
3. Place the sun in a corner of the frame and shift the framing a few millimeters at a time. The flare’s shape and position will change.

OPF 550-L aims for a sense of calm and nostalgia. A photograph of the sea in the late afternoon that, years later, might bring back the temperature of that day. How it feels is different for everyone who sees it.

THIS ARTICLE'S FILTER

Layer-X BASE

OPF 550-L [BASE]

Leave it on when the sun is outside the frame. Include the sun, and control strong light to make light the subject.

View product