[Leica] softar type filters

["Gary and Dawn Klein" <gdklein@bytehead.com>]

In response to cyberdog's questions of the softar filters, I have used them
with Hassleblad cameras and yes they are very nice.  I would avoid the real
softest of the bunch as they are really only good for trying to make 75 year
old ladies look 55 or so.  I like the look of the weakest or the middle one
as it took the edge off the Hassleblad 150.  Its been awhile, so I don't
recall which one is stronger.

However,  you may want to do this.  Locate a good quality filter such as a
Hoya SMC.  Buy the cheapest nastiest hair spray you can find. You know the
stuff in an aeresol can.   Put out any smoking materials when you use this
stuff.  Lay the filter on a piece of card board.  Spray mists of hair spray
about 15 inches above the filter.  Let the mist fall on the filter.  Let it
dry.   Test.  Add more spray if needed.  You will find this to work very
nicely and you can customize it to meet your standards of softness.  We used
this at a Wedding studio I used to work at. An alternative is to used an
open weave black sheer stocking over the lens to soften things up a bit. In
this application, you will have to sacrifice a cheap tiffen filter in order
to make a mount for the stocking.  You may have to look around to get the
right weave, but when you do get this rig mounted up on a lens, do plant to
had a 1/3 to 1/2 f stop exposure for the stocking filter.  When you use a
black material, you reduce the flare problems for this situation.

gck