- Hey, guys, my name is Matt Johnson.
And one of the weirder pieces of gear
that I bring when filming a wedding is a prism.
I use this prism for so many things.
Creative transitions,
blocking out unwanted things in my shots,
preventing shots from being over-exposed.
I actually made a video
all about how I used this prism at a wedding.
I'll link it up in the corner
and down in the video description,
next to the link to this video's sponsor, Musicbed.
The main benefit of this prism
is that it lets you get funky shots for cheap.
For about $15-ish you can add some pizzazz to your videos.
I love it.
But is it possible to improve on this prism?
There's a small company called Prism Lens FX
that's trying to do that.
And what they're making is pretty interesting.
This company was started by Jakob Owens.
He also runs TheBuffNerds YouTube channel.
But more importantly,
he has a great beard.
Much like people that own motorcycles or Jeeps,
I felt a connection to him through our shared beards.
So I reached out to him asked if it'd be possible
to try some of his prisms lens filters at a wedding.
And he graciously said yes.
Starting off,
let's compare my current prism to the Prism Lens FX prism.
It's slightly smaller,
but otherwise the only real difference
between these two prisms
is that the Prism Lens FX prism
has a screw adapter built into the bottom of it.
You can pair this prism with their cushy foam handle
and suddenly you have a little light saber.
And it's definitely easier to hold than a regular prism.
Is this an improvement over my older prism?
It's small but I would say yes.
But here's the bummer.
The price for this Prism Lens FX prism is currently $65.
You could purchase four of my current prisms
for the same price as this one.
So I don't think it's worth buying if you only want a prism.
But hold on.
We need to talk about the other prism accessory
that Prism Lens FX sells,
because that may completely change your perspective
on whether purchasing their prism is worth it.
I would say your biggest struggle
when using a prism while filming
is that you don't have enough hands.
You use your right hand to hold your camera.
You use your left hand to hold the prism
pressed up against the edge of the lens.
Because the prism is going to mess with
your camera's auto focus though,
you really need a third hand
that can adjust the focus of your camera manually.
Because I don't have a third hand,
and I doubt many of you do either,
I have to set my focus manually
and then make sure that I don't get closer
or further away from my subject while I'm filming
so that way they stay in focus.
As I though at the start,
Prism Lens FX set out to improve prisms.
Enter the articulating arm mount accessory.
Screw your prism into one end of the arm,
screw the other end of the arm
into the bottom of your camera,
and voila,
you have a third hand holding your prism
while you are filming.
The first time I use this I fell in love.
It makes it entirely possible to use a prism while filming
yet still adjust my focus.
A kit with a prism handle
and articulating arm mount accessory
is going to set you back $140.
So this definitely in the impulse buy territory
of a regular prism at $15.
That said,
if you buy a prism and you run into the issue
of not being able to adjust your focus like I did,
this set up may help you with that
and I think it could be worth it.
Now, because I use the Manfrotto quick release plate
on the bottom of all my cameras
and I need to be able to film as fast as possible,
it doesn't make sense for me
to unscrew my quick release plate
every time I want to use this arm mount.
To make using my prism as fast as possible,
I picked up a Manfrotto-compatible
quick release plate adapter on Amazon for around $20.
And it lets me quickly attach/remove
the prism arm to my camera
while still keeping it compatible
with all my other camera gear.
I will link to the quick release adapter
as well as all of the other gear
that I'm talking about in this video
down in the description next to the like button.
Let's talk about what else you can attach to this arm mount.
Prism Lens FX also sells an orb prism
and a color cube prism.
I haven't had the chance to try these out yet,
but these are prisms that are oddly shaped enough
that hand holding them doesn't really make sense.
You need a handle like the one that they sell.
Now prisms are only half of what Prism Lens FX sells.
They also sell lens filters
that you can put on the front of your camera lens.
First you you have the kaleidoscope filter,
which does exactly what the name says.
It basically turns your camera lens into a kaleidoscope.
I think it looks cool,
but it's a bit too abstract to spend $85 on it
for a wedding film in my opinion.
It's difficult to see what's going on
and it may be jarring for your audience
if you cut from a standard shot to a kaleidoscope shot.
But if you have a segment of your film that's more abstract,
maybe experimental shots of the couple
or a crazy dance floor edit,
I think this filter could work.
I would just make sure
you have something in mind for it before purchasing.
Lastly, we have my favorite filter by far
the chromatic flair filter.
For $65, this filter mimics the anamorphic flairs look
that you can normally only get from very expensive,
multi-thousand dollar anamorphic lenses.
Pair this lens filter with a band
or DJ's lights at a reception
and it is going to add
some crazy light streaks and flairs to your footage
that look really cool.
I'm planning on bring this filter
to every wedding that I have going forward.
And if the mood and dance floor are crazy enough,
I will definitely be whipping it out.
And that is a look at prisms and filters
available from Prism Lens FX.
In conclusion,
do these prisms and filters improve upon my basic prism?
I wholeheartedly say yes.
These improvements do come at a price though.
So if you are just dipping your toes into prisms
and you haven't tried one out yet,
I would recommend going to Amazon
and spending about $15 on a basic prism
and seeing how you like it.
Then, if you find yourself using the prism a lot
but you feel the shortcomings of not being to hold it
while holding your camera and focusing at the same time,
at that point I would considering investing
in the Prism Lens FX arm amount and prism set up.
Or maybe you want more in camera FX
than just a prism can give you.
That's the point where I would begin looking
at the lens filters Prism Lens FX makes.
Having one of these in your bag on a wedding day,
especially at a wedding reception
where you want to make the dancing look super crazy,
this is gonna help bring your films to the next level.
Speaking of bringing your films to the next level,
we need to talk about this video's sponsor, Musicbed.
If you are creating films you need music for them.
And in my opinion,
Musicbed is one of the best places to license music
from real bands for your films.
They have so many good musicians.
My new favorite band to license from them is Warcub.
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- They have creative heavy weights
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- There's CHPTRS.
I don't know how a band
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- There's just so much good music that isn't hard to find.
And they're constantly updating their curated playlist
so it's really easy to find new songs
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Let's talk about money though.
You can license from them per song if you want,
but in 2018 they came out with
a wedding filmmaker subscription option,
which gives you unlimited music from hundreds of musicians
for one flat yearly rate.
Which for wedding filmmakers like us,
that is a major win.
Because we have to use so many songs in our films.
Oh, and they created a system called SyncID
which automatically removes YouTube copyright claims
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using your subscription.
You and your couples
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That is amazing.
Sound cool?
Okay, use the link down in the description to sign up
and use the coupon code MATTJOHNSON,
all one word, all caps,
very difficult to misspell,
and you will either get
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if a subscription isn't your style.
Either way, you're winning.
With that, thank you so much for watching.
Do you want to see more videos
about prisms, about cameras, about beards,
anything else like that?
It would be a huge help to me
if you would consider liking this video and subscribing
if you want to see more videos like it in the future.
Thanks so much for watching and have a great day.
♪ Yeah I go wild over you ♪
♪ I go wild over you ♪
♪ I go wild ♪