Lee 410

Overview

LEE 410 Opal Frost is a diffusion filter (light filter/gel) from the British manufacturer LEE Filters. It belongs to the category of diffusion filters and produces a weak, mild scatter. When placed in front of a light source, it softens the edges of a spotlight beam without altering the fundamental shape of the light cone, and reduces hard transitions as well as contrast in the image.

Within the LEE diffusion series, the 410 is among the weaker diffusion gels. It removes the harshness from the light source but largely retains the direction and character of the light – in contrast to strong diffusions, which fan out the light broadly and significantly enlarge the source.

Technical Data

The filter is available as sheets as well as rolls; common dimensions are a full sheet of approximately 0.53 m × 1.22 m and rolls with a width of 1.22 m.

On-Set Use

The 410 Opal Frost is typically stretched in front of hard light sources or spots, or clipped into filter frames, barndoors, or gel frames, in order to:

• soften the beam edges of a spotlight without significantly altering the light shape;
• mitigate hotspots and specular highlights;
• subtly reduce the contrast between bright image areas.

Due to its low diffusion and moderate light loss of around half a stop, it is well-suited when only a slight rounding of the light is desired and the brightness should be largely preserved. When attaching it directly to the fixture housing, the usual safety distance to the lamp must be maintained, as it is a polyester film.