Variable nd filters

Fortkentdad

Senior Member
No experience but desire to learn too.

I do know there is a whole lot of youtubes, blogs and other info on ND, including variable and the other options. Getting around to playing with ND filters of one kind or another is on my "when I get a round to it" list. Variable looks like the easiest, screw on circular ND's are cheaper (although you can pay hundreds each for them) and the big square ones seem to be the ultimate. Be interested in hearing what others experiences are with this.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Didn't know these existed. Anyone got any experience with these?
Not a big fan of the Variable ND filter; tried a few and in my experience they're just not worth the money. I would suggest you stick with a couple good quality, standard ND filters and forget about the variable-variety altogether. Learn to apply a gradient in post instead and you'll get better results 99% of the time.

How powerful an ND filter you need depends on what you intend to use it for, obviously, but I keep an ND8 (three-stop reduction) and an ND1000 (ten-stop reduction) in my bag and they're about all I've ever needed. The ND8 is good for taking the edge of bright sunlight when I'm on the beach or in the desert while the big ten-stop is primarily used for long exposure shots. As for brands I like Hoya quite a bit but Tiffen makes a good filter too and neither will break the bank. I do have some filters from Breakthrough Photography and they're definitely my all-time favorites, but they're also reeeally expensive. The ones I have I didn't have to pay for, thankfully. A really good, and surprisingly inexpensive ten-stop ND is the "Ice" branded ND you can get from Am-a-zon; they sell for around $30 for a 77mm filter. I have one, and I like it a lot.
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RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Like Paul said, I've had hit and miss results with variable ND filters. I do have a 77mm variable ND that stays in my bag, but it took me some trial and error to find one that worked. I also have two "fixed" Hoya ND filters that I'll go to first most of the time. I still need to pick up a good 10-stopper though.
 

Scott Murray

Senior Member
I spent near $200 on a Variable ND filter, it is crap. You get uneven graduated lines normally in an X shape that are hard to impossible to edit out. I now use specific ND filters.
 

Michael J.

Senior Member
I bought a K&F CONCEPT ND2-400 Variable Neutral Density ND Filter for 16 US$

ndfilter.png


My first shots with it

nd-1.jpg


nd-2.jpg


I opened to 8 stops to see if there is any X. But as you cast see no x
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Glad it's working for you. I'm guessing you might get different results on a full frame camera and/or shot at a plain background. I've yet to see one that didn't but they're handy to have around.
 
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