About Us
Halide & Grain started in Rochester with old film cameras. Now we make lens filters that give digital cameras an analog, vintage look: kaleidoscope and prism glass, flares and halos, black diffusion and starburst. Simple to use, and the look is in the photo the moment you take it.
Started in a city built on film
Halide & Grain started in Rochester, a city built on film. It began as a weekend habit: combing estate sales, fixing light seals at the kitchen table and running a test roll through each body.
We were hunting the cameras behind the look people chase. Punchy compacts from the late 90s and early 2000s, workhorse 35mm SLRs, quiet rangefinders. Each one was cleaned, serviced and shot before it earned a spot.
We’re not a museum. These cameras are meant to be carried, loaded and used, to come back with grain, halation and the occasional happy accident. That’s the whole point.
What our filters do
Our filters bring that analog feel to a digital camera, right in the shot. Each one does one thing to the light, so pick the look you are after.
Halo FX Prism
An optical glass prism that lays a soft ring of light around your subject, right in the camera.
From $35.95Shop
Kaleidoscope & Prism
Faceted glass repeats your subject around the frame or splits it into layers. Faces, skylines and street lights turn into patterns.
From $35.95Shop
Black Diffusion
Softens hard highlights and takes the sharp digital edge off skin and city lights, for a calmer, filmic picture.
From $35.95Shop
Made in camera, not in the edit
A filter sits in front of the lens and works on real light. Reflections repeat, highlights bloom and street lamps turn to stars as you shoot, so what you see through the viewfinder is what you keep.
Easy from the first shot
Creative filters should not need a manual. If you can put a lens cap on, you can use ours.
Sizing helpScrew it on, or hold it up
Threaded filters go on the front of your lens like any other filter. Hold one just in front of the glass instead and tilt it to play with the angle.
Frame and shoot
No app, no settings, no batteries. Look through the viewfinder, move until the effect lands where you want it, and press the shutter.
Pick the right size once
The number after the ø on your lens is its filter thread. Choose that size, or use a step-up ring to share one filter across several lenses.
Try it on your camera
- 30 day returnsShoot with it first. If it is not for you, you have 30 days to send it back.
- Quality guaranteeEvery filter we sell is backed by it. Something not right? Tell us through Support.
Start with the headliner
Halo FX Prism Filter: one prism filter that rings the lights in your frame with a soft halo glow. Made for lenses from 49 to 82mm, with a step-up ring for the smaller sizes.