Pixiq

Color filters seemed to be gone forever with the advent of digital photography and names brands in the area seemed to be out of business. But even if you can do a lot in the computer and even with the camera White Balance, filters, or some of them, still are needed, so they are back in strength, much because of the growing interest into the use of strobes as a form of light for photography. Photographers are discovering the joys of playing with multiples suns and also with the rainbow. So Expoimaging created a portable rainbow.

I must admit this review took a long time to come because, like a kid wanting to play with his new toy but also so much in love with the box he did not want to tear it up, I've looked at my set of Rogue Filters for some time, not wanting to change its immaculate packaging. In fact, what first strikes you when you get your package - I was sent one by Expoimaging for testing - is the neatness of everything. It feels like a delicate origami piece that you will never be able to rebuild if you dare to touch it.

So, for some days I just looked at the filters, slowly opened the padded pouches, admired the neatness of the reference dividers, that made it easy to place filters back in the correct position after use. I inspected one or two filters, to confirm that they all had information written on them. In fact Rogue Gels are individually labeled with the LEE Filter name of each gel, as well as the gel’s measured f/stop loss value, and when appropriate, the corresponding Kelvin color temperature correction and camera white balance icon. I replaced each back on their place, like soldiers in a line, and kept wondering if I dared to start folding and bending these pieces of gel.

Finally I did, and although I now have filters that show the signs of use, I am glad I did. One thing is to use cheap pieces of color plastic to create color changes, the other to have filters that have the name Lee Filters on them. The British company that is widely known by professionals is signing under here, in a new area of business they seem to be present now: making filters for companies like Expoimaging. That's how Rogue Gels, are made: Lee Filters and then the accessories that make it possible to attach the gels to your flash.

Expoimaging has created two sets, the Universal Lighting Filter Kit and the Lighting Filter Kit for Rogue Grid. The first is to be used on your flash head and gives you an easy way to place gels over the flash head: with a rubber band that fits snugly in place and takes the strips of gel. the second goes along with the Rogue Grid, an easy way to get effects usually only present in studios flash heads with your little strobe.

The Rogue Gel Kits offer you a choice of 20 dynamic colors and correction filters to help create dramatic and theatrical lighting in your images. Each kit includes 14 color effects gels, 5 color correction gels, and 1 diffusion gel. Choose from a range of reds, yellows, blues, and greens to punch up an image with color and create mood. Or, use the correction gels to balance your flash to ambient light.

I don't think you need me to explain what you can do with color gels. From correcting temperature to playing with front and background light just using the White Balance on camera and gels over the flash, or simply getting different colors in a background without having to change more than a gel, the options are almost only limited by your imagination. And for one time you cannot say that it is too expensive to change the colors in your photography: at 29.95 dollars for the Universal Filter Kit and 27.95 for the Rogue Grid Kit they are very affordable. So much, in fact, that I am thinking about getting both kits to keep and look at , admiring the neat packaging. Something like "you can see but you can not touch".