NiSi Filters is currently developing a filter holder system with square filters for your smartphone. On the surface this may seem like a gimmick, however the more I think about it the more I start to like the idea of this product
Maybe this product or something like it is ahead of its time and could be something professionals use with their smartphones in a few years. Right now, however, this is definitely interesting to say the least.
In his latest video, Imran Mirza demonstrates this new product with an unboxing and mini review. As Mirza describes, the system does look very cute and what's amazing is that the glass in these filters is supposedly the same used for their full-sized filter system. This should hopefully mean the quality remains the same. The holder system does allow multiple filters at once meaning you can use the graduated ND filter with a polarizer to create some very unique and interesting images. Using the stock app may not be an option for this system as Mirza points out, as auto exposure will try and compensate.
Graduated ND filter example above.
As you can see with the image above, the filters have a significant impact on the results. The graduated ND filter could potentially be very useful for landscape photographers that want the ability to retain details in the highlights when exposing the shadows. Smartphones aren't known to have great dynamic range and this filter could really help around that issue. The second example demonstrates the polarizer and it's very clear to see how the reflections have been cut down in the windscreen of the car.
The market for smartphone photographers is increasing and this filter system could be extremely useful to a large number of photographers.
Images used with permission of Imran Mirza.
This should help me get a great shot of the new screen door I just had installed on my submarine. :)
"Maybe this product or something like it is ahead of its time and could be something professionals use with their smartphones in a few years...."
With regards to GNDs at least, this is literally the exact opposite of what is the reality of square GND filters in photography. Dynamic range only increases, (excluding Canon's dark ages, 2007-2016) ...and with increased dynamic range, the need for GND's has fallen off a cliff. The same will happen for cell phone sensors.
I would certainly be interested in a normal ND and CPL filter set for a cell phone, though, especially if I had one of the newer phones with raw capture and half-decent image quality. But it would have to be a minuscule system, not the outdated, bulky square systems.
I think something like this could be very useful to a lot of photographers that use their smartphones. I doubt dynamic range for smartphones is going to be getting significantly better or at the level of DSLRs in the next few years. GNDs for smartphones could be especially useful for that reason.
Why don’t they cut the middleman and send these knickknacks straight to the landfill?