Digital camera sensors and modern lenses nowadays deliver a level of detail rendering that can sometimes feel a bit too sterile. For this in-depth test, we mounted a selection of filters from the brand Walkingway onto the TTArtisan 56mm on the Fujifilm X-E5. The goal of this experiment was to find out how much organic charm these affordable screw-on filters can bring to everyday photography.
Walkingway
In recent years, the brand Walkingway has made a name for itself as a provider of affordable camera accessories and optical filters. While you quickly have to invest three-figure sums for filters from established premium manufacturers, Walkingway positions itself in the budget-friendly segment without making overly large compromises in terms of build quality or optical coating.
The filter rings are made of solid aluminum, thread smoothly and without catching onto the lens's metal thread, and feel pleasingly well-built in handling.
Anyone who likes to experiment with visual effects without immediately exhausting their entire budget will find a considerable selection of interesting glass options in the manufacturer’s lineup.
About Filters in General, and Diffusion Filters in Particular
In analog photography, chemical grain, the behavior of specific emulsions, and the characteristics of older lenses naturally created a softer transition from highlights to shadows.
In contrast, modern digital sensors—like the one in the Fujifilm X-E5—record every detail with unforgiving precision, which, combined with sharp prime lenses, can lead to a very clinical look.
This is precisely where diffusion filters come into play. Their job is to disperse light in a targeted way, gently soften edges, and wrap light sources in a subtle glow. They reduce overall contrast in a controlled manner, making portraits appear more flattering and giving compositions an atmospheric, almost cinematic feel.
Soft Shimmer Diffusion Filter 1/4
The Soft Shimmer Diffusion Filter in a 1/4 strength uses microscopic particles within the glass that purposefully scatter incoming light. Bright areas of the image receive a subtle, vibrant glow without sacrificing the lens's underlying base sharpness.
Contrast edges are noticeably smoothed, and harsh brightness transitions lose their severity, while shadow areas retain their detail and do not drift into muddy grays.
Retro Soft Diffusion Filter
An even more traditional aesthetic is delivered by the Retro Soft Diffusion Filter, which noticeably lowers overall contrast and gently tempers sharpness rendition. The targeted light refraction produces an even, soft haze in bright tonal values, simulating the visual character of older lens designs.
Fine details and textures are harmoniously rounded off, giving the entire image a timeless, unobtrusive softness without distorting colors.
Black Pro-Mist Filter 1/4
As a result, the image loses that typical digital edge sharpness and gains noticeable depth, providing an organic, almost tangible feel.
Gold Diffusion Filter 1/4
With the Gold Diffusion Filter in 1/4 strength, light diffusion is paired with a warm color tint. The filter glass creates a soft, golden glow around localized highlights that blends harmoniously into the image. This slight shift in color temperature across bright areas introduces a pleasant warmth to the overall mood and allows highlights to roll off much more smoothly into darker tones.
Amber Glow Soft Filter
The Amber Glow Soft Filter intensifies this color character even further, bathing scattered light in a rich amber tone. This filter acts like a built-in lighting mood: it infuses bright zones with a potent, warm glow, giving the image a distinctive visual signature.
The effect is very pronounced and is particularly recommended when you want a deliberate color accent baked right into the original shot.
Rose Glow Soft Filter
The Rose Glow Soft Filter brings its own unique nuance to the table, imparting a delicate pinkish tint to highlights. The diffusion particles create a pastel-like lift in high-contrast transitions, breaking the light in a very gentle, painterly fashion. The combination of soft diffusion and a subtle color tone produces an individual visual character that takes the chill out of harsh lighting conditions.
White Mist Soft Filter
The White Mist Soft Filter takes a different approach by utilizing light rather than dark scattering particles within the glass. As a result, not only are point light sources diffused, but the overall black level of the image is also slightly lifted. This creates a widespread, milky haze that optically compresses dynamic range, producing a flat contrast curve reminiscent of classic analog negatives.
Ultra-Low Reflectivity UV Lens Filter
Aside from creative effect lenses, the Ultra-Low Reflectivity UV Lens Filter offers maximum protection whilst delivering the highest optical performance. Thanks to ultra-clear optical glass, a light transmission of up to 99 per cent and an extremely low reflectivity of 0.1 per cent, it minimises ghosting and flare. It blocks UV radiation, remains completely neutral in terms of colour and sharpness, and provides lasting protection for the front element of the lens.
Sample Images Without Filter
Here are the images taken completely without filters. For all photos in this series, exposure settings were identical and no post-processing was applied.
Where to Buy
The featured filters from Walkingway offer a straightforward and budget-friendly entry point into the world of analog aesthetics. If you want to equip your lenses—whether with a 52mm filter thread or other sizes—with these effect filters, you can find the full lineup directly on the manufacturer’s website. There, you can easily choose from the various strengths and versions to give your camera gear that exact touch of character that digital sensors often lack in everyday shooting.
