PolarPro x Peter McKinnon
The Collaboration: How It Began
After a year of collaboration and working closely with one of the biggest and most recognizable names in the photography content creation industry, we released the Peter McKinnon Variable ND Filter by PolarPro. There are a variety of filter companies out there, but through our partnership with McKinnon our team engineered a Variable ND filter that caters specifically to the user, making it easier than ever to capture professional, cinematic footage wherever you are.
At NAB in 2017, we sat down with McKinnon to talk about this potential collaboration and after a few cups of coffee and eggs benedict, we knew that we had to make this project come to life. Fast forward endless months of R&D, multiple calls and meetings with our team and McKinnon himself, our joint vision came to fruition. As a result, we launched the PolarPro Variable ND Filter- Peter McKinnon Edition and never looked back.
Peter McKinnon Takes on the VND
1. The Dreaded "X" Issue:
Unlike most VND filters, our filter eliminates the concern of vignetting when you are out in the field. In some cases vignetting becomes present around the edges of your video, when the cross polarization of the two filters becomes too dark. As a result, a refractive “X” can appear across your viewfinder making it difficult and distracting to see what you are capturing, and in turn, ruin your footage. However, our Peter McKinnon VND erases the chance of this problem with both our 2-5 and 6-9 stop models within the preset parameters given. In addition, our VND gets rid of the possibility of vignetting all the way down to a 16mm focal length.
PolarPro's Peter McKinnon VND @ 16mm focal length.
Other VND Filters at 16mm focal length.
2. Optimized Workflow:
Peter McKinnon, like most of us here at PolarPro, is a run and gun photographer and videographer. With a style like this, it is essential to have easy, seamless equipment to ensure the job goes smoothly. To support this, we have laser etched the stop counts on the edge of each VND filter making it easy for you to adjust on the fly when you are out on location. This feature eradicates the constant guessing game of how many stops of light are being reduced and enhances your capabilities to work efficiently. Also depending on your conditions, it can be a headache to constantly screw on and off different filters to get the proper exposure for your footage.
3. Only The Best:
When creating the Peter McKinnon Variable ND Filter quality was one of our main priorities. The Peter McKinnon VND is made of two handcrafted fused glass elements, which work in unison to allow the proper amount of light exposure into your lens. Featured in our QuartzLine filters as well, our quartz glass technology allows the VND to have increased durability and withstand extreme conditions. The Peter McKinnon Variable ND filter is also paired with a Quartztech coating which helps prevent wear and tear, and for extra protection features a custom engineered lens defender to reduce the likelihood of scratches to your filter. Finally, the VND is set in an aluminum frame making it an extremely lightweight addition to your camera bag.
Through our collaboration with one of the most noteworthy names in the industry, Peter McKinnon and our team’s goal was to make a Variable ND filter with the run and gun videographer in mind. From solving the issue of vignetting, to crafting features that make it easy to use on the go, to striving to maintain that the quality of the product was the pinnacle focus, our collaboration with Peter McKinnon was nothing short of epic. Here at PolarPro we strive to produce high quality products, that we ourselves would want in our camera bag and our Variable ND Filter- Peter McKinnon Edition is no exception to this.
Carly San Filippo
Copywriter at PolarPro