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Main difference in ND filter?

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CanonGuy:
I've been looking for ND filter to my 77mm lens collection, so what's the difference between those 'Stops' and 'Multi-coated and non-coated' and ND or X value means effect's strength.
And of course difference between manufactures.

NormanBates:
check my comments here:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/tuten/630.html

and my tests with various cheap-ish options here:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsn.html

scrappydog:
The simple answer is that "stops" are the darkness of the ND filter.  It is like a pair of sunglasses.  A 2-stop ND filter will be light sunglasses and a 10-stop ND filter will be dark sunglasses to the point that you can barely (if at all) see out of them.

Multi-coated are supposed to lessen reflections that could create flare in the lens, and therefore in your pictures.  The multi-coated ND filters also are allegedly easier to wipe/clean.  I haven't tested this to confirm.

Most if not all manufacturers that make filters make ND filters.  The quality varies.  I use B+W and Formatt, both of which are high quality, although the B+W is more solid.  There are other quality manufacturers.  One thing you should consider is the light cast provided by the ND filter.  That is, some filters will cast a tone to shots, despite that they are "neutral" in color.  For example, shots taken with my B+W 10-stop filter have a warm cast to them.  I have read that the Lee Big Stopper has a cooler cast to it.  The color cast is relevant to setting your white balance.

D.Sim:
each stop in the ND filter will correspond to one stop on the camera itself. IE: If you were to shoot at, say, f/2.8 and 1/2000, with a 1 stop ND filter you'd be shooting one stop down, f/2.8 and 1/1000 to get the same amount of light. so on up the line.

Multi coating basically introduces additional small "layers" that help how the light passes the filter, essentially reducing reflections, etc. There was a pretty good article on this in Canon Rumors a while ago... trying to look for it, will link once I can. Some of the newer ones also have an additional coating that helps with the cleaning - I've had one demonstrated where a sharpie was used, and all that was needed to remove it was just a simple cleaning cloth. Are you going to draw on your filter with a sharpie? Probably not, but basically it'll be easier to clean if you do need to.

As far as brands go, different people will have different opinions, but basically the idea is the same. Don't be cheap. Be prepared to spend on it, as if you buy a cheap one, the quality of your images will suffer more. That said, don't just buy one based on price, a high quality, high grade filter will be what you're after.

revup67:
As mentioned everyone has their personal opinion on these filters and brands.  I've learned recently that even a high quality filter can present issues.  Recently I had thought to get the Light Craft Fader that claimed to offer 2-10 stops as a variable ND (their newest HD series).  In my opinion this was a gross exaggeration. I posted a few test shows in the lens forum for the 16-35 mkii lens in comparison to a Hoya ND400 9 stop filter on a 72mm lens since Hoya doesn't make this filter for an 82mm.  The Fader couldn't touch the uniformity nor the 9 stop range of the Hoya ND400 so the fader went back.  I replaced it with a B&W 82mm 10 stopper and a Hoya HD Pro ND64 (6 stopper).  As the author above me writes..dont' go cheap.  They are correct.do your research.  I do stick with specific Hoya & Marumi's and B&W..I've never had an issue.  To further illustrate check out this UV filter review..note the winner and how Tiffen's were dead last in degrading the final image and note how a specific "cheaper" Hoya beat out a more expensive Hoya in the results (note I didn't say "cheap" I said "cheaper" http://www.lenstip.com/113.1-article-UV_filters_test.html note line #4 for the summary.

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