The HOYA SOFTENER No0.5 is a classic soft filter that creates a softening effect in your image by removing edge sharpness. It also gently reduces the contrast of the image, which allows the filter to ultimately create a charming and dreamy atmosphere. That makes the filter a perfect choice not only for portrait and commercial photography but also for video production, since it can let people and objects appear in a more lovely and appealing way. The HOYA SOFTENER No0.5 has weaker effect compared with HOYA SOFTENER No1. The HOYA SOFTENER No0.5 creates the soft effect through scattering the light. This is achieved by ring-shaped deformations that are arranged randomly over the surface of the glass. The HOYA SOFTENER No0.5 is mainly suggested for portraits. The skin of the model becomes soft, unwanted details are hidden and the overall mood of the image looks more stylized. You can also take advantage of creating a dreamy atmosphere in landscape photography. HOYA range of stening filters is composed of 5 different models : Diffuser N°1: medium softening effect and keep contrast Softener N°0.5 : Light softening effect and slighltly reduce contrast Softener N°1 : Strong softening and slightly reduce contrast Fog N°0.5 : medium fog effect and keep contrast Fog N°1 : strong fog effect and keep contrast