zerocool22 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Hi, My variable ND's are quite old, and they always seem to wash out the image quite a bit (loose a lot of contrast and sharpness), and give it a slight colour shift. So I think renewing my ND strategy might be one the best purchases right now. Do you still a vari ND? Which brand do you swear by? Or do you use single ND's not variable, single ND's might also help a bunch. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herein2020 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 I use the Meike vND RF to EF adapter and I can honestly say its the best vND I have ever owned. I tried a few others in the past that went in front of the lens and the worst part of most of them was the dreaded X pattern that showed up at the higher settings. The X was hard to see while recording and you would find out later it was there when editing. The Meike vND that I use is 2-10 stops and no X pattern or loss in IQ for the full range. It does add a slight green cast to the footage but it is consistent and easily correctable with a touch of magenta. Of course, to use it you need a Canon RF mount camera. I don't know if Meike makes regular vNDs that can go on the end of the lenses but if they did, I would try them out. For photography, I use fixed Hoya PRO ND screw on filters and have a set that is 2,4, and 10 stops. The 4 and 2 can be screwed together to make 6 stops. The 10 stop is for things like waterfalls. I also tried the Hoya Pro ND vND and it has the x pattern as well so I would not recommend it. Single NDs were a PITA when filming video and so before the Meike I would usually just put a 2 stop on the lens then ignore the 180 rule and crank the shutter to get proper exposure. I shoot events, not Hollywood blockbusters, no one cares about motion blur in my industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSMW Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Best dunno, but I use Freewell and have zero complaints. Mostly 2-5's but I also have a 6-9 for the most super sunny of days, but rarely need it and prefer to stop the aperture down a bit. Screw in because I was always knocking off magnetic's. Never seen an X in camera or in post. Barely any colour cast and because they are on the whole time unless it actually gets dark, the image is always the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowfun Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 No issue with Heliopan. But not used others so can’t compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 I've tested many cheap ones and have found that the cheapo Bower vnd well worth having in your bag... hard stops and no color cast. Dugdale did a huge VND comparison test years ago and although not the best for sharpness, it did well with color casts. The other brand I use is B+W Vario ND... it also did well in the comparison for color cast and sharpness. And it has hard stops but it maxes out at 5 stops. So I keep both in my bag and use accordingly. Often times I end up using the Bower because I find I prefer a little extra softness to the 4K raw Sigma FP image and I often shoot in dusty, sandy locations so it's much better to muck up a $25 vnd than a $150 one. Finally, I have used those Fotodiox ND adapters... not the electric ones for EF, but the dummy ones for various vintage lenses and think they work really well on some lens mounts with minimal color cast (if any) And really finally... the other day I was looking at some old footage from my eos-m and at the time I was using the ultra cheap Fotga VND... no hard stops so you have to be careful with them and the X pattern and there is a heavy green color cast... but it's almost like a built in color grade if you're looking for that kinda look. And they're really cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntblowz Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 I have Nisi True Color which doesnt have color tint which is good, but pricy. (sick of those yellow tinted VND) There is Neweer True Color variable nd which was released a month ago is a lot cheaper, and have 1-9 stop ver without color cast. They also sell the non true color ones but those will gave u the tint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerocool22 Posted September 4 Author Share Posted September 4 Nobody using a mattebox with nd's btw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPNS Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 10 hours ago, zerocool22 said: Nobody using a mattebox with nd's btw? I am the words in your thread title are mutually exclusive. Thats ok, you’re just going to have to accept that for the convenience of vari-nds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted September 5 Super Members Share Posted September 5 This one works well for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt3rs Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 The best variND is a set of NDs. I gave up on vND as soon as you use them near or at full strength especially outside you get the X issue. At the end playing with iso/aperture ruin less the shoot than vND as the X is unfixable in post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
independent Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 If I have to use them, I like the Schneiders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.