The Tiffen Ultra Contrast 1/4 6.6 x 6.6" filter helps open up your shadows by using the ambient light around the image area as well as light from the image itself. It reduces contrast uniformly everywhere, without any loss of sharpness in the scene, even in the presence of different brightness levels.

Shadow areas will reveal more detail but without flare or halation from direct light sources or bright reflections. The Ultra Contrast works similarly to a Tiffen Low Contrast filter, the difference being that it reduces contrast across the entire image whereas a Low Contrast filter will only open up the shadows.

The Ultra Contrast 1/4 filter is the next available step with even more shadow detail revealed and uniformly reduced contrast throughout the scene. Sharpness is not affected and no flare or halation is produced.

Tiffen's ColorCore glass is produced by a process that permanently laminates the filter material between two pieces of polished optical glass with tolerances of one ten-thousandth of an inch, then mounts them in precision aluminium rings.


- Bright lights or sunlight creates problems when the ratio between highlight and shadow areas exceeds the film's latitude; if you expose for the highlights, the shadows appear without detail; if you expose for the shadows, the result is washed out, with overly bright highlights
- Contrast reduction is achieved by lightening the shadows without overexposing or darkening, or by darkening the highlights without further darkening the shadows
- Even when filming directly towards the sun, no flare or halation is produced
- Tiffen's ColorCore glass is sealed between two sheets of optical glass. In this way, Tiffen can better control the different densities of their filters and thus create more precise degrees of filtration. This process allows greater colour accuracy compared to simply tinted glass which can be subject to variations during the colouring process


Specifications