Soft filters to express the brightness of constellations

Soft filters are indispensable for capturing the brightness and color of the stars in the night sky. Among the many soft filters, the Kenko PROSOFTON series has been used as a standard soft filter for starry sky photography. The Kenko REAR PROSOFTON is a sheet-type soft filter that uses the PROSOFTON process on the film. It is designed to be attached to the rear of the lens used by professional star photographers and can be used with ultra wide-angle lenses where a screw-in filter cannot be attached to the front of the lens.

【Main Features】
■Feature #1: Bright stars are blurred to make constellations stand out.
Constellations that are clearly visible to the naked eye are hard to see their true brightness and colors with a digital camera because of the sharpness of the image. With REAR PROSOFTON, bright stars are blurred and the differences in brightness and color of stars are clarified, making the constellations stand out.

■Feature #2: Stars are less likely to be elliptical
REAR PROSOFTON is a sheet type filter that is used on the rear side of the lens, so it can be used with ultra wide angle lenses where a screw-in filter cannot be attached in front of the lens. Also, when a screw-in soft filter is used on a wide-angle lens, bright stars on the periphery of the image will radially elongate, but with REAR PROSOFTON, radial elongation is hardly noticeable.

■Feature #3: Three types of softening effects can be used according to your preference.
The set includes three types of soft filters with different soft effect strengths: No.050 is for weak effect, No.100 is for medium effect, and No.150 is for strong effect. The longer the focal length of the lens, the greater the blurring effect. The darker the night sky, the stronger the softening effect. You can select the soft filter with the desired effect depending on the lens and situation.

No.050: Weak softening effect similar to the screw-in filter “Kenko PRO1D PROSOFTON Clear”. Recommended for large prints or when you do not want to lose the sharpness of the ground view. The soft effect depends on the focal length of the lens, so if the focal length is about the same as a standard lens, this filter will give you a great soft effect.

No.100: Standard soft effect equivalent to the screw-in filter “Kenko PRO1D PROSOFTON [A]”. A stronger effect may be better when shooting with a super wide-angle lens or diagonal fisheye lens and the viewing size is small (e.g. viewing with a smartphone, posting on social networking sites, etc.).

No.150: The strong soft effect makes dark stars less sharp, but bright stars are larger and their colors are more clearly visible, making the image more impressive and suitable for posting on social media.

【Main specifications】
・Size: [Soft effect processed area] approx. 52x54mm / [Entire film] approx. 57x60mm / [Thickness] 0.18mm
・Made in Japan
*Please use a cutter or scissors to cut the film according to the shape of the back of the lens. If your lens does not have a rear filter holder on the rear side of the lens, please use double-sided tape or the like to attach it.

【About Kenko】
Kenko is a Japanese brand of photographic and imaging supplies and optical products with a history of over 65 years. With our strict quality control and diverse product lineup, Kenko support you enrich your daily life!