The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

"Best" ND filter

ZoranC

New member
It is no secret that I love shooting my lens wide open. Naturally, that represents a "slight" problem when loving to work in bright Southern California sun with lens as fast as 0.95.

Thus I am in need of ND filter and would like to hear which ND filters you would consider "best"?

And by "best" I don't mean absolutely best but best among reasonably priced filters. I can't justify spending $400-ish to get best one but would be OK spending $100-ish to get 2nd best.
 

hot

Active member
I'm using two polarizing filters for $ 7.99 or less.
Really dudes pay $400 for NDs.
 

ZoranC

New member
How many stops are you looking for?
It is hard to be sure but I can do some guesstimating:

My D700 can do 1/8000 shutter and on few ocassions I shot at beach in middle of summer with 2.8 lens WO 2 stop filter was keeping me within speed, _but_ I will have to check what shutter speeds I had on those shots, to see do I need another stop to account for EP2's shutter speed limit.

.95 lens is another 3 stops if I am calculating correctly.

Thus I would approximate 4 stops.
 

thrice

Active member
I use the B+W ND1.8 and ND0.9 extensively, no degradation of IQ but a definite slight warm cast (sometimes desirable).
 

ZoranC

New member
You can also do some research on the fader ND. I have one and have had no problem with it (essentially like using two polarizers). They get used a lot for video.
Thanks, I am aware of these but decided against that approach as I have seen references of undesirable "consequences" even with Singh-Rays.
 

kit laughlin

Subscriber Member
I use a Lightcraft Variable ND filter all the time for John Deere shoots (so I can use flash to fill). No consequences I can see.

I tested the Lightcraft one against the Genus; the Lightcraft gave an extra two stops. I kept it (the light is very bright here, too). Good luck.
 

MRfanny

New member
i have the older fader nd that i use alot for video and i find you loose sharpness in the longer lens range on the stills side but it sure is handy 90% of the time.
 

usathyan

New member
If you consider "Best" to mean "Most expensive"...i think Singh Ray fits the bill. I had one but sold it. It is pretty good...but, my human eyes couldn't tell the difference between (or that cannot be fixed post) B+W or the Marumi ones....I get my filters from www.2filter.net...
 

PeterB666

Member
I generally carry the HiTech ND1.2 and ND2.4 with me when I have my Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95. These are 4 and 8 stop respectively. I find in some lighting conditions, there may be a colour cast with the ND2.4 but this is easy to correct. HiTech filters cost more than Cokin, less than Lee and substantially less than Sing Ray.
 

ZoranC

New member
I generally carry the HiTech ND1.2 and ND2.4 with me when I have my Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95. These are 4 and 8 stop respectively. I find in some lighting conditions, there may be a colour cast with the ND2.4 but this is easy to correct. HiTech filters cost more than Cokin, less than Lee and substantially less than Sing Ray.
Thank you!

What is everybody's opinion on slim / low profile filters vs. one size bigger with step down ring?
 

Jonas

Active member
For less fiddling and easier switching I usually prefer not to have to deal with step down or step up rings. But really, the important thing is if a standard filter causes mechanical vignetting or not.

I have some 58 and 77mm filters and it's nice being able to limit the amount of filters somewhat. When I had the CV25 I got a couple of 52mm filters as the lens could share them with the micro 9-18 zoom and also with the CV50/1.5. So, it's just down to what suits best for your situation.

that's my opinion, reading my post doesn't really make me think it helps,

Jonas
 
Top