Why you’ll be able to belief Digital Digital camera World
Our skilled reviewers spend hours testing and evaluating services and products so you’ll be able to select the very best for you. Learn how we take a look at.
Thus far, I’ve examined a number of fog machines for Digital Digital camera World – the Ulanzi Filmog Ace being the fourth. By this stage, I’ve change into a convert to carrying a fog machine in my equipment bag for each video and picture shoots. In video shoots, the fog provides an additional dimension to the scene because it swirls and billows in entrance and behind the primary topic. In picture shoots, fog helps fill empty area and causes the background colors to change into diffuse (with flatter tones), which helps the foreground topic stand out.
I’ve discovered that my portrait shoots particularly profit from the additional texture, colour, and ambiance that the output of a fog machine provides! I additionally get pleasure from sci-fi toy images shoots and have been via a part of including ambiance to my set-ups by utilizing the Ulanzi’s foam modifier to show fog into dry ice.
Ulanzi is a Chinese language firm that, since 2025, has been producing a really big selection of camera-related gear, together with lenses, tripods, LED lights, and digital camera backpacks. Their merchandise are geared toward a variety of photographers and videographers, too, from smartphone vloggers to skilled content material creators. The Ulanzi Filmog Ace will likely be of curiosity to any video maker or photographer as a result of advantages a contact of fog can add to movie shoots, portrait pictures, and product images.
Ulanzi FM01 Filmog: Specs
|
Energy |
40W |
|
Runtime |
30min |
|
Gas Chamber Capability |
8ml |
|
Distant vary |
10m |
|
Dimension |
58.11mm x 57.73mm x 163.50mm |
|
Weight |
366.5g |
Ulanzi FM01 Filmog: Value
The Amazon costs for the Ulanzi Filmog are cheap when in comparison with a fog machine with very comparable specs – the Telesin C40 Transportable Smoke Machine. The Telesin fog machine retails at a barely pricier $129.99, but it surely’s very akin to the Ulanzi Filmog Ace in form and measurement, plus it additionally has a removable distant management panel. Take a look at our Different part under for extra data on the Telesin C40.
Ulanzi FM01 Filmog: Design & Dealing with
In terms of smoke machines, the core design options are current in each mannequin. The 4 units that I’ve examined all have a gasoline tank that must be stuffed with a food-based glycerine liquid, which is then heated up (or atomised) to create fog/smoke. The most affordable and most simple fog machine is the Lensgo Smoke-S Mini, which is principally an aerosol-sized can that jets out fog on the press of a button. It doesn’t have the power to regulate the quantity of smoke being emitted.
The extra subtle Ulanzi Filmog Ace bears a robust resemblance to the equally priced Telesin C40. With the Filmog Ace, you’ll be able to alter two key properties – the power of the built-in fan that blows the fog into the air and the quantity (quantity) of the fog being generated.
These changes are made on the management panel on the facet of the Filmog. A small OLED display screen lets you see which property you might be adjusting (such because the fan power), after which you’ll be able to faucet the bodily + or – buttons to extend or lower the setting. It’s equally simple to regulate the smoke quantity setting. A set off button (which has a pink circle that makes it appear like a camcorder’s document button) then causes smoke to spew out of the nozzle for so long as you press it.
There’s additionally a submenu that lets you trigger the smoke to billow repeatedly, or to be emitted in bursts of a specified length, reminiscent of 15 seconds. These additional choices allow you to function the Filmog hands-free and deal with composing your photographs.
Just like the Telesin C40, the Ulanzi Filmog Ace’s management panel will be indifferent and used to remotely management the fog machine. It is a very helpful characteristic as you’ll be able to place the fog machine in shot (or simply out of the sting of the body) and modify its properties from as much as 10m, which results in a smoother and speedier shoot. The Filmog additionally boasts a 1/4” thread on the base with the intention to mount it on a tripod if required, although because it sits fortunately and stably on the ground and billows smoke upwards, I didn’t must mount it on a tripod throughout my take a look at shoot.
Ulanzi FM01 Filmog: Efficiency
The Ulanzi Filmog Ace ships in a compact, zippable carry case. The inside of the case has formed foam inserts to retailer the fog machine itself, plus necessities reminiscent of a bottle of gasoline. Contained in the lid is a webbed mesh storage pouch that comprises plastic modifiers, reminiscent of a bendable tube that lets you direct the smoke in particular instructions.
In principle, with the ability to direct smoke with a modifier is a pleasant thought, however in apply, I discovered that attempting to direct smoke was like attempting to herd cats. On location, I might uncover which method any wind was blowing after which place the Filmog in an applicable place in order that the wind would take the fog into shot. The Ulanzi carry case is pretty compact, so it fitted comfortably into my Stratus Picture backpack together with the remainder of my gear for the take a look at shoot.
My first try at utilizing the Filmog Ace resulted in failure. I’d employed a mannequin to check the Filmog Ace and one other fog machine – the Colbor Cineflare CF5. As you’ll see from its evaluation, the Colbor Cineflare carried out completely. I had, nonetheless, uncared for to plug a cable into the Filmog Ace’s USB-C charging socket previous to my shoot, so it didn’t have sufficient juice to atomise the gasoline and create fog. This was fully my fault and never a failure of the Filmog.
Take 2! I employed one other mannequin for a sci-fi-themed shoot and returned to London’s Barbican Centre with a completely charged Ulanzi Filmog Ace. For a teleportation sequence, I used a Viltrox K90 tube gentle (see evaluation) as a prop and positioned the Filmog Ace on the base of the tube LED. I then used the Filmog’s removable distant management panel to emit a burst of fog to reinforce the teleportation impact as my mannequin materialised into the situation.
The cool factor about utilizing smoke together with an RGB LED is that when backlit, the smoke takes on the colors of the LED gentle. Smoke can also be nice for including texture and ambiance to each portrait pictures and video shoots, and it additionally fills empty area.
For a second sequence, I positioned the Ulanzi Filmog subsequent to a Viltrox K90 and triggered it to emit smoke whereas my mannequin, Maddy, fired her laser. The smoke picked up the blue color of the LED, and its billowing, windblown motion added movement to my scene.
The mixture of Ulanzi fog and Viltrox LED gentle actually elevated the manufacturing values of my sci-fi sequence, as you’ll see from our supporting video. I did encounter a brief drawback when filming this sequence. When Maddy fired her gun I pressed the Ulanzi’s set off button, however the smoke jetted out intermittently and briefly bursts, somewhat than in a protracted, highly effective jet of fog.
Luckily, the system was intelligent sufficient to warn me (by way of the management panel’s OLED show) that I hadn’t hooked up the atomising changer (gasoline tank) appropriately. This was shortly and simply rectified, and the shoot continued easily, with loads of smoke being generated.
Ulanzi FM01 Filmog: Verdict
The Ulanzi Filmog Ace does an efficient job of manufacturing excessive volumes of fog and smoke so as to add a cinematic look to your video and picture shoots. The detachable management panel is simple to make use of, and you’ll simply customise the fan power and smoke quantity settings to provide a variety of fog-related results. After I was taking pictures outside and fog blew away shortly, I tended to place the fan and fog settings to the max to shortly fill the body with smoke. When indoors, I dialled fan and fog settings down low and used the equipment’s provided versatile tube and a foam protect to create dry ice results for my product images— on this case, taking pictures the Ulanzi Filmog Ace itself!
I did encounter a few hitches on my take a look at shoots, however they had been each brought on by person error— not charging the system beforehand and never rotating the atomising chamber securely into place. I can actually advocate the Ulanzi Filmog Ace as a method to make your stills and clips look extra cinematic, particularly when used together with an RGB LED just like the Viltrox K90 (see evaluation).
|
Options ★★★★★ |
The Ulanzi Filmog Ace incorporates a distant management unit that has a 10m attain, plus a group of equipment (reminiscent of directional tubes) to form the fog that it produces. |
|
Design ★★★★☆ |
In terms of design the Ulanzi Filmog Ace doesn’t have the additional prospers of the Colbor CineFlare C5, but it surely has the necessities reminiscent of controlling the velocity and quantity of the smoke emission. |
|
Efficiency ★★★★☆ |
The Ulanzi Filmog Ace was efficient at shortly filling our take a look at location (as soon as we overcame a few user-induced errors!) |
|
Worth ★★★☆☆ |
The Ulanzi Filmog Ace prices a bit greater than the Colbor CineFlare C5, but it surely lacks that system’s additional touches (reminiscent of a built-in LED). |