Field Testing the Moment QuickLock Diffusion Filters in Iceland

CineBloom filters are a wonderful creative tool that can be used across any photographic style to add a sprinkling of magic to your photographs. They are extremely popular in the camera world, adding a cinematic halation which can be dreamy and film-like, especially in night scenes. If you’ve ever wondered how someone has gotten their streetlights or sunbeams to have soft, glowing halos, then this is what you’re looking for.

Moment has designed a great solution to get your favorite halation onto your iPhone photographs: a QuickLock filter that locks right onto the iPhone case around all three of your phone’s lenses to ensure they work no matter which lens you decide to use.

So, how do they work? The filters are comprised of glass with a layer of particles in the middle, which acts as a diffuser, softening harsh light and hard edges to reduce that overly processed digital look. For the CineBloom QuickLock filter, they are available in two different strengths: the 10% and the 20% filter. The 10% is great for a more subtle cinematic look and slightly better for landscapes or daylight situations. The 20% is more intense and works brilliantly in nighttime scenes or for street photography and creative portraiture. Though both can be used interchangeably upon preference for any scenarios as they are a creative choice, you might find that you prefer a stronger glow on your daylight imagery and a more subtle one in your night shots.

The filters are a must for me in my personal work: a beautiful glow around highlights and a softer edge to any shadows; they add nostalgia to the new age of shooting digitally, especially on a mobile phone. Paired with the Moment Pro Camera II App, they work brilliantly. I love being able to turn off processing in the camera app and then achieve a beautiful ‘shot on film’ look with just my iPhone and a cinebloom filter. The QuickLock filters are such an easy solution to enhance your iPhone’s imagery.

As a travel photographer, I find that they add a beautiful softness to landscape photographs without taking away from any detail or adding extra weight to my travel bag. I love using them to photograph softer skies and add a bit more atmosphere to simpler scenes; I find they work brilliantly with my editing style.

The case itself is sturdy, subtle and protective, and it is also compatible with Moment’s range of mobile phone lenses, which you can check out here. I got it in black, though there are a few other color options available to suit your style. It has a wonderful grip, so you’re not at risk of dropping your phone whilst capturing awkward angles, and it feels very tough. The quicklook filters are fantastic because they’re exactly that, quick. With a little red button on the right-hand side, you can pop them on and off in seconds, so if you quickly decide you want some dreamlike haze in your shot, it’s easy to add. They feel very secure once they’re on there, so you can be worry-free about losing them or them coming off when you’re out in the field. To stop them getting scratched when your phone goes in your pocket or bag, they come with a case and a cleaning cloth so they can remain in perfect condition, though I have kept the filters on the phone case and put it in my pocket a couple of times and mine have remained scratch-free.

So, which one should you buy? Well, as I said before, it’s a creative choice. However, there are a few things to consider.

Obviously, this is a choice you’re making in camera, meaning you can’t get rid of it in post, so if you’re new to the world of diffusion filters, then I’d suggest starting small and working your way up to the stronger ones. They have different effects on different subjects, so sometimes you might adore the look of them and others you might prefer to pop them off and take a photograph with just your plain lens. You might want them for night shots and portraits and nothing else, or just for landscapes, but this is something you’ll need to experiment with and decide what contexts you like using them in; just another reason why the lock on/off feature is great. In the beginning, you can shoot similar shots with and without them and see what you prefer.

For some test shots to show you how they operate, I’ve used them on landscapes and small subjects, in bright sunlight and during sunset for you to see the differences between the iPhone camera, the 10% filter and the 20% filter. As you can see, the cinebloom filter adds a beautiful haze, producing a wonderful, soft bloom around sources of light, which you can see in the examples above wherever the sun is prominent. It is much more subtle on tight subject photographs, but you can see with the stones that the softness settles on the edges and brings in that nostalgic feel.

However, with landscapes, I personally prefer to use the 10% strength, only because it’s a choice you make in camera and I think that the stronger ones are a bit too intense for my style of landscape work. I personally think the stronger filters are better geared to photographers working with night scenes, street photography, and artistic portraiture.

So, with that being said, I packed my bags with my 10% CineBloom filter in tow, and got to Iceland ready to photograph everything. Below is my gallery from Iceland, straight out of my iPhone with the QuickLock filter, and then the edited version too, so you can see just how creative you can get with your iPhone images to get them looking elevated.

I think that adding softness to such harsh and dramatic landscapes worked really well in Iceland; it gives a more timeless feel to the imagery, which I absolutely love. It allowed the overcast skies actually to add atmosphere. With the filters and then an edit in Lightroom, the halation enhanced the mood in a way that I personally think gives such a cinematic, film-like effect. I think these filters are built for photographers who want the artistry of film straight out of their iPhone.