formatt-hitech firecrest nd starter kit review

Formatt hitech Firecrest 85mm ND Starter Kit review

Purchasing a new filter system has been a high priority for me for a while now and one thing that I just couldn't put off any longer. Finding a review for the Formatt Hitech Firecrest 85mm ND kit was pretty difficult and there seems to be little information out there for this particular setup, so I hope you find this helpful.

So why Formatt Hitech.

So first off, let me just say that I am not sponsored by Formatt Hitech and I bought this filter system with my own money, so you can be sure that the opinions I am giving are as honest as can be.

I like to purchase products from within the UK if possible. Usually, products made here are very good quality and I like the idea of supporting local businesses as well.

Secondly, the form factor of the 85mm firecrest ND kit is a massive plus. As you will know, if you follow my Youtube channel, I like to keep my kit as lightweight and as minimal as possible and this system fits perfectly for my Fuji x cameras. I also believe it would suit most APS-C sized cameras too.

The specs and what is included within the kit

The Firecrest 85mm ND Starter Kit includes the following

77mm Firecrest circular polariser

Firecrest 85mm holder with polarizer control wheel

CPL rotates using the unique geared system within the holder

77mm, 72mm, 67mm, 58mm Step Rings

Luxury pouch

Firecrest ND 1.8 85x85mm (6 stops) view on Amazon https://geni.us/klJO

Firecrest GND 0.9 85x110mm (3 Stops) view on Amazon https://geni.us/b4QVRdq

Formatt Hitech say that their filters are made from Schott superwhite glass and have a multi-coating that is bonded in the middle to prevent scratches. The firecrest part refers to the coating which they say is made from a rare earth metal used to create hyper neutral ND's

The holder is made from aluminium and weighs only 110 grams.

How it works.

Aside from the form factor and build quality, the usability is the main reason I have been so impressed with the system so far.

Unlike a lot of other brands such as lee, the polariser actually fits on the lens as opposed to the filter holder, meaning you can use it as a standalone circular polarizer which is great when a grad is not needed. The holder fits over the polarizer and the polarizer is then adjusted via the dial at the side. A really simple but effective design that works very well.

Should you not need the polarizer, you fit the supplied adapter ring to the lens first then attach the holder. Pretty straightforward really.

The holder comes with 2 slots for your ND's or grads but you can increase this to 3 with the supplied adapter. I haven't as I think I would rarely use three filters and the extra bulk and possibility of vignetting has meant I haven't bothered to try it. This may be different for other photographers.

Colour casts, vignetting and sharpness.

I could not see any colour casts from the side by side comparisons that I took. Image quality was surprisingly better than I was expecting and in both tests the overall sharpness and image quality was improved by adding the circular polarizer. Vignetting was non existent at 10mm on the fujinon 10-24mm lens and this is as wide as I need to go for my landscape photography.

CONS

There are only 3 negatives I can find with the firecrest 85mm ND filter kit and they are all very small ones.

The first being that if I ever decided to go back to full frame or medium format then I would need to purchase the larger 100mm kit. So if you are thinking that one day you may go to a larger system then investing in the 100mm would definitely be the way to go. However for me, as I said before, minimalism, size and weight are very important. So choosing the 85mm was a no brainer. Not really a negative for me, but maybe for others.

Secondly, if you attach the circular polarizer first, then set your shot up with your grads etc.. you are kind of stuck with the polarizer. The only way to take out the polarizer, would be to strip it right down and attach the adapter ring and set it up again. Alternatively, you could leave the polarizer on and turn down the polarization to its minimum. Making the decision first whether you need polarization is key. As long as you make the right decision at the start it really is a joy to use. Like I said this is just a small negative and the fact that you can use the polarizer as a standalone, far outweighs this small negative.

Thirdly, limited grads. Currently, I can only see that Formatt Hitech produce glass soft edge graduated filters for the 85 mm holder. If you need hard-edged or reverse grads then you will need to look into their resin range, View on Amazon: https://geni.us/XvxAm1d. I haven't tested these yet, but I do plan to, so look out for that post soon.

CONCLUSION

If you are looking to buy into a modular filter system for an APS-C sized camera then I really cannot see that there is a better kit on the market. I did briefly look at the lee 7five, view on Amazon: https://geni.us/CerfbG but as it is slightly smaller, there would have been vignetting on my wide angle lens and this is something I really didn't want. All in all, this is a professional grade system at a price point that I think is well justified for the quality of the product. Buying into a modular filter system really is an investment and if looked after well, should last a lifetime.

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