Streak Filter Clear 82mm Rotatable Anamorphic Effect

You’ve seen this look in movies: a streetlight, a car headlight, and a thin streak of light cutting across the frame. It’s created by anamorphic lenses used in film production, which cost a fortune. This filter produces the same streak using a piece of glass in front of your regular lens. Importantly, the effect is created during shooting, not in post-production, which is why it looks so realistic.

• Creates a streak across the frame from any hard light source
• Color-neutral streak, no blue cast over the subject
• Rotatable mount; direction of the streak can be freely selected
• Front thread included; lens cap and additional filters fit on it
• 82mm thread; can also be used on smaller lenses with a step-up ring
• Comes in a protective carrying case

Anamorphic look without an anamorphic lens

The rotating mount is the key feature

The glass is mounted in a mount that can be rotated independently of the thread. So you screw the filter on tightly and then adjust whether the streak runs horizontally across the image, vertically, or diagonally. Without a rotatable mount, the thread’s stop determines the direction, leaving you with no choice.

Color-neutral instead of blue

Classic streak filters produce a blue streak because anamorphic lenses do that. This one is color-neutral. The streak takes on the color of the light source: a warm streetlight produces a warm streak, a white LED spotlight a white one. You can always colorize this in post-processing, but the reverse isn’t possible.

Available only in 82mm, but fits any lens

The filter is available exclusively with an 82mm thread, the largest standard diameter. If your lens has a smaller thread, simply attach a step-up ring in front of it, and the same filter will fit all your lenses. Make sure it’s a threaded ring; magnetic adapter rings cannot hold a screw-in filter. There’s a thread on the front of the filter for a lens cap or another filter.

Here’s what it looks like in everyday use

City at night

Wet asphalt, neon signs, backlighting from headlights. This is exactly where the filter shines: The more point-like and brighter the light source in the image, the clearer the streak. Without the filter, it’s a street shot; with the filter, it’s an image that looks like it was shot on film.

Backlit portrait

The sun is low behind the person, casting a rim light on the hair, along with a horizontal streak across the head area. If you rotate the filter mount 90 degrees, the streak becomes vertical and no longer distracts from the face. You only have this control as long as you can rotate the filter; it’s not possible in post-processing.

What You Should Know Before Ordering

The Filter Requires Hard Light Sources

Without a point light source in the image, not much happens. Under overcast skies, in diffuse shade, or with even studio lighting, you’ll hardly see any effect—perhaps just a slight reduction in contrast. The filter is a tool for night shots, backlighting, and harsh lights—not for every shot. If you’re looking for a soft, diffuse blur across the entire image, you’re better off with a Black Mist Filter; if you want sunbursts, a Soft Star Filter is the better choice.

The effect is in the image and stays there

Once the filter has applied its effect, you can’t undo it during post-processing. While this is standard practice for video, with photos you should consider whether you’d like to capture the same scene without a filter as well. A streak in the wrong place on a face can’t be fixed later.

A filter without a brand name

This filter is a Chinese-made, unbranded product. There are no data sheets available regarding coating, glass type, or plane-parallelism, and we cannot guarantee that a later batch will look exactly the same. For an effect filter that alters the image anyway, this isn’t a problem in practice. If you rely on documented specifications and consistent production runs, choose a brand-name filter.

Technical Details at a Glance

• Mount: 82mm filter thread
• Front thread: available, for lens caps or additional filters
• Effect: light streaks from point light sources, anamorphic look
• Streak color: neutral, no color cast
• Mount: rotatable, streak direction freely adjustable
• Available only in 82mm; smaller lenses require a step-up ring

Package Contents

• 1 x Streak Filter Clear 82mm
• 1 x Protective and carrying case