10 stop High quality ND filter

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TomazK

Aug 1, 2012
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#1
Hey guys,

I was wondering how many of you use a 10 stop ND filter and which one do you recommend. I am looking to buy a good one, not to get too much color cast or vigneting. So far I found Lee big stopper, b+w, singh ray ...

How much difference is there, because the prices vaty a lot...
Also, do you use a lens screw on or a square type that you need a holder for.

Thank you
T
 
#3
i have a 120 euro B+W and a 48 euro HAIDA PRO II MC 10 stop filter... both 77mm.

they are exactly the same when it comes to image quality.
except that one adds a red tone and the other adds a blue tone.

otherwise you could not tell one from the other.

on amazon here the HAIDA has 5 reviews and always the full 5 stars.

the B+W is made out of brass.. you have to decide if that´s worth the price.
 
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#5
I have the B+W 10-stop in 77mm and the Schneider Optics (parent company of B+W) 10-stop in 82mm (bought when that was the only 82mm option). I also have the Lee Big Stopper. I prefer the convenience of the screw-in filters if I'm not combining with a grad ND.
 
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#6
I just ordered a pack of 3 Haida ND filters which cost about $150. The pack contains 3, 6 and 10 stops filters. I bought it based on Internet research that Haida quality matches that of B+W. As someone pointed out, b+w has red cast and haida blue, which is correctable. Most importantly Haida is slim. So if I do stack with a graduate ND, the vignetting should be minimal. This is only based on research. I'm still waiting for shipment to arrive.
 
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#7
sunnyVan said:
Most importantly Haida is slim. So if I do stack with a graduate ND, the vignetting should be minimal.
Click to expand...

If you do want to stack with a graduatd ND, you should be looking at the Lee system. The problem with screw-in grad NDs is that the dividing line is right in the middle, where you usually do not want it, and it cannot be moved. A 4x6" filter in a square holder gives flexibility to match the gradation to the scene.
 
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#8
I'm currently using a Hoya 77mm NDX400 (actually near enough 9 stops rather than 10). It has virtually no color cast on my two Canon bodies (5DII, 7D), which is important to me after the horrendous problems I had with a Hitech 10-stop.

Having experienced both filter + holder vs. screw in, I generally prefer the screw-in approach because it eliminates the IR / light leak issues that can come with a less than perfect holder or improperly fitted gasket. The down side of course is that unless ambient light is really bright you have to set up the shot completely before attaching the filter.
 
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#9
neuroanatomist said:
sunnyVan said:
Most importantly Haida is slim. So if I do stack with a graduate ND, the vignetting should be minimal.
Click to expand...

If you do want to stack with a graduatd ND, you should be looking at the Lee system. The problem with screw-in grad NDs is that the dividing line is right in the middle, where you usually do not want it, and it cannot be moved. A 4x6" filter in a square holder gives flexibility to match the gradation to the scene.
Click to expand...

The Lee system seems too pricey for me.
 
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#10
I have the 77mm B+W 3.0 ND1000.

Clear sharp, shallow filter, works great on my 70-200 and Tokina 11-22.

Warm cast, which I can only eradicate by shooting a grey card and doing a manual WB. Not always practical. Haven't had much joy in post.

A test exposure and the qpcard should work, as there is a wider range of tones and colours to adjust to, in fact, I'll do a wee test of this for my own reference and post the results. Not always practical.
 
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#11
I also use the B+W 3.0 10-stop. It has quite a warm colour-cast but as I convert all long exposure shots to black and white, it isn't a problem for me. When I was looking to buy a 10-stop filter I found a site dedicated to the B+W filter but damned if I can find the site for you now. Anyway, the black and white and colour images were enough to sell the B+W to me.

If I were doing it all again though, I'd probably go for the Lee system due to the flexibility it offers and the lesser colour-cast.
 
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#12
The problem with most high-power NDs is the color cast--most of them are not a true warm cast, but rather have some magenta to them. This can be finicky to correct in post-processing if you are working in color. I suggest you take a long look at the Singh-Ray 10-Stop Mor-Slo if you are working in color, as this filter is specifically designed to overcome this deficiency. The Singh-Ray version also comes in both threaded and "square" formats. I prefer using Cokin-P as my base for such filters as that size works consistently for all but the biggest lenses while not taking up too much space (the Lee filter size is too large, expensive, and hard to find competing products for in my view). This is all my personal preferences, of course, and your mileage may vary. I can also vouch for the regular ND, grad, and polarizing filters from Singh-Ray--they're all top notch.
 
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#13
+1 for the B+W, I have one and like it.

The problem with the screw-in filter is that you need to remove the filter every time you need to adjust focus, and then screw it again.

Be careful to NOT LOOK direct to the sun through the ND filter, it dosen't filter the IR light that can be harmful to the eyes, you feel no pain but it burns your retina.
 
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#15
Thank you for the great feedback. It is interesting to see, as I thought most of you would have either the LEE, Singh Ray or Heliopan. But looks like most like the B+W. That is good, as it is cheaper than the others and it is a good solid filter.

I was initially thinking about LEE, but it is expensive and really hard to get, so I guess I'll go with the B+W.

Thank you again. Interesting discussion.
T
 
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#17
Interesting that Formatt Hi-tech filters have not been mentioned, they are a UK based company, their filters have went up in price over the last couple of years probably due to being compared favourably with Lee. I'm pretty sure I paid £80 for their Pro 10 Stop around 2 years ago and they supply with a fitted gasket to fit the Lee holder. Its now around £100. It has a blue cast similar to the Lee Big Stopper.

I had the B&W 10 stop about 4 years ago and whilst I thought it was great I really did find screwing it on and off a bit of a pain for refocussing etc, I much prefer the convenience of slot in filters. I see some other people prefer convenience of screw on.

Formatt Hi-Tech

http://www.formatt.co.uk/stills-filters/filters/standard-n-d/stills-filters.aspx
 
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#18
Here are some test shots with the B+W to show you the 'warm' effect.
I'm going to do this over a few posts, so apologies in advance.

Canon T3i and Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ f2.8 for each shot.

I have taken 3 shots, one unfiltered, one filtered with manual WB, one filtered with AWB.

I've then added two extra shots, one corrected using the QPcoloursoft 501 software that you download to use with the QPcard, and one corrected with Adobe Photoshop Elements.

First up:

Unfiltered. Camera set to daylight WB preset.
 

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