It's worth noting that certain filters have brass rings, as opposed to aluminum, and this can help to prevent binding, particularly in cold weather. The B+W slim filters, for example, have brass rings, and this may be (minimally) reflected in the price.
Even though I use the Lee filter for easy mounting, I like the in depth look at what ND filters offer: pros and cons. A necessary filter second or tied with a polarizer. It is nice that we no longer need split grads and color filters.
You are right! I saw that and immediately came down here to the comments section. I'm trying to figure out whether or not I'm going to finish the video at this point.
All in all, with how close the Formatt Hitech was to the breakthrough filter on every aspect, and the Formatt Hitech being at about half the price of the Breakthrough filter I would have to say the cheaper option would definitely be most peoples best/first choice and not the (more expensive so I can tell people I have a more expensive) filter.
One test noticeably missing: Coating and incidental light handling. What happens when light hits the filter from an angle instead of from directly in front? How does each filter handle that? Might coating be related to any of the other tests made? For example, will a multicoated filter vignette more? Is a non-multicoated filter, if there were any in the test, show less of a color shift? All in all, an interesting, comparison. In the past, I have purchased B+W filters without thinking much about it. In the future? I don't know.
As a person who uses a sony camera, from the tests I've done so far, the breakthrough blows my tiffen nd variable out of the water. I will say, if you're thinking of going over to this, be wary that the breakthrough actually darkens the whole image unlike the tiffen vari, so maybe consider 3 stops first. This filter really helps lessen the yellow/greenish cast you get from a sony camera (if you know how to use the white balance controls). No more extra nasty green tint to that sony sensor :P
I appreciate this test and I know it took a lot of work to compile all those information but it's not a complete test I'm using a Fotga 49 mm on my Sigma 19 mm micro 4 thirds lens. I got it on eBay brand new for $10 and change with free shipping and it works great. You can't do a test like this without including something like that. Great channel you got though
This was a solid comparison/review video. I'm personally using cheap Haida variable ND (about 80€/$90) even though many dislike them because of the lower quality. But it's so handy for video and quality isn't too bad for my taste. I just tested it at f4 (i don't have studio strobes so it's pretty hard to shoot at f8). Drop of quality was definitely noticeable with 1:1 crop but for most of the stuff (and for video) you can't see the difference. WB was also a little off (towards warm green) but it's nothing that can't be fixed in post. Actually I had auto WB enabled and I got very similar results with&without the filter.
With ND filters, the only thing that matters is sharpness, color can always be adjusted in post, plus if you can find one that is an adjustable ND filter even better, you saved yourself a ton of cash.
If you knew though that a similarly priced filter was the same sharpness but also had more neutral color and less vignetting wouldn't you prefer that one? You can't as easily fix problems on video as you can stills so for many videographers these tests are important.
Neutral color is achieved by white balancing with the filter on the camera and vignetting only happens if you stop all the way down with the iris and it is most unlikely since you want the lens open as much as possible. As for video, the most likely reason you use a ND filter is to slow down your shutter speed, reducing choppy looking video and rolling shutter, creating a more natural blurred effect (ie the 180 rule).
Sometimes WBing out the color on video is a bit trickier than stills. With a raw file you can edit every color shift in post. If you shoot DSLR video that doesn't have raw video, many times you can only change the red/blues and not the magenta/green shifts. It isn't nearly as precise as fixing it in Lightroom. So I still would recommend finding the most neutral colored filter to save a my of headache down the road.
One last thing, with a 6 stop filter or more, it is near impossible to color correct the WB with the filter on the lens because the video will be nearly black. This is important for timelapses and stills since you need a correct exposure in video but with 30 second exposures your camera doesn't do well showing the WB real time.
Near impossible? I don't think so, as long as light is passing though the lens the camera should still be able to make a WB, it might take longer, but still possible. I have used ND8 filters and have had no problem, I would also shoot with a color patch with no filter to do any tweeting it post, because as we all know, the picture isn't made just in the camera, processing the image afterwards is equally important.
Maybe it's because I'm on this huge IPS screen (that isn't calibrated btw), but the B+W and Control look the closest in color comparison to me. The breakthrough looks cooler, and somehow brighter.
first time i hear about breakthrough filters, and according to your tests they are better than hoya, which i thought one of the best out in the market, wow ) thanks for this awesome tests Fstoppers
Thank you, just what I was looking for, because my ND400 had a few drops, so I need to get a new one. But I'll be looking for the ND1000. Hope they perform similar. Great video
I like your controlled test on these ND filters. One thing to consider is when I use add-on lens, I do get vignetting when more lens are stacked... say UV + ND + PL .. and so yes.. vignetting is really bad thing.. Color wise, Im not too particular because I believe most photographers would go through some form of image editing prior to locking up the final picture. Vignetting is difficult to remove though. OK.. dont ask me why I love stacking lens though.. :)
I believe that a standard flash cannot be taken as a reference in such a test. There maybe variation in power and color in each consecutive fire of flash which may influence the results. Furthermore changing 6 stops in flash settings is also no guarantee especially if the max setting is used.
It would have been interesting to see the results of shooting a colorchecker passport or something similar. I found that my cheap Cameron variable ND had trouble accurately reproducing warmer tones (oranges, yellows, reds), ie: skin, while it exaggerated greens and cyans. This was after white balance adjustment via LR; the colors still seemed off. I had minor issues with my Hoya and B+W NDs as well, but not as pronounced. Now that I've upgraded to B1's I'm finding myself using HSS in lieu of ND+ high power whenever possible, just to avoid the color mess in post.
+Pokefreak 13 The "Breakthrough" filter in the video looks exactly like my Haida 82mm, probably same manufacture and probably the same level of quality for the square ones. Lee filters are overrated. I'm not sure about Hitech.
+Zhida Zhou I know Haida and B+W use the same glass so that may be possible too. Haida seem to offer the same quality as Lee for their square filters so I'm looking at getting some on my trip to HK if I can find somewhere that sells them.
Thanks for doing that. I would have liked a really cheap filter in there, like the cheapest (glass, not plastic) filters you can get. Are those usable?
No Lee? I'm rocking with tiffen but Hoya and breakthrough are always another good choice . But I always here Lee being another popular Choice surprised you didn't have them in here.
I am pretty sure the flash test video was done after this, but I remember a test for that ProFoto flash had a couple stop variation between flashes when set to max power. I am curious if the results would change with the flash set to 5 or 6 stops, which had a much smaller variation in brightness with each flash. Anyway... crazy to see how the some review videos withstand the test of time.
I know this video is two years old, but where did you get your pricing on B&W filters? 82mm B&W filter runs from $134 to $199 depending on how expensive you want to go. Also, B&W uses Schott glass by Schneider, not cookie cutter plate glass.
I know this is an old test, but it was very flawed from a landscape sunlight perspective as you used a strobe that is not emitting IR at nearly the intensity that long duration sunlight produces. In high stop filters it is IR contamination that is the problem.
i guess the only thing missing was the IR pollution. I recently learned about it this year and I think companies recently brought out newer versions (IRND)
thanks, great video. i am just purchasing a few nd filters and am wondering if color and sharpness are affected by sensor stress as much as nd optical properties. also, the fact that most use of 6-stop nd appears to be at extreme apertures (f11-f22) where diffraction is an issue can't be favorable to any nd filter. generally, would you expect better performance with less density and shorter exposure through a combination of faster shutter speed and wider apertures?
You should test it with a fast lens @f1.4. Then you will notice significantly more differences . I have a cheap Green L nd filter on my Samyang 85 f1.4 , its ok above f2.8 but @f1.4 its a horror.
I just bought the 85mm Rokinon 1.4 (same brand as samyang), paired with a Hoya 3 stops (NDX8) filter, used a color checker, all came out fine. Color was my concern since I've had issues with cheap nd filters and colors before.
That's an interesting observation. I made sure I dumped the flash after changing it from the control setting to the settings for the individual filters and let the flash full recover and charge before switching each filter. The variety in WB was seen throughout all 5 filters with the D1 set at full power. Also the changes needed in WB to neutralize the color was about 600k in both directions so if the strobe was causing the shift in each case that means that the D1 had a full 1200k swing. I've never noticed this amount of color shift with my D1s in the studio in my normal wedding and commercial work so it's easy for me to say it is from the filters and not the strobe but who knows for certain.
Absolutely! Color shifting isn't really that big of a deal especially if the filter shifts the colors throughout the entire filter. It's just a simple edit in PS or LR....but people always want to know which one is most faithful so that's what this test was about. -P
Any advice on how much stops I should get for midday urban landscape long exposure? Would 6 be enough, or would I need more? I have a cheap variable ND filter for a lens I don't use much anymore but it was cheap, had bad glass, and broke--but I did like having the option to change the stopping power based on time of day.
I think a variable is super convenient and we used a few on Elia's tutorial for daylight timelapses with the blurred traffic/people look. The quality will suffer a bit but nothing that can't be fixed in post. Otherwise I would get a 6 stop or more for bright daylight shots where your shutter might start at 1/1000. You really need a lot of stops to get to a long shutter from that starting point and ideally you wouldn't go beyond f8.
+Eric Rose Variable ND filters are only good for video, they don't really have enough light stopping power to do long exposures mid day. How many stops you need depends on how bright it is and what aperture you want to use. Now is it Sunny 16 bright? Brighter? Less bright? Also how long do you want these "long" exposures to be? But there's a good chance, 6 stops is not enough.
It can definitely help if your shutter speed is getting too fast in bright sunlight. Ideally you want a shutter around 1/25 or 1/50th but in bright light sometimes it goes up to 1/1000 which will make your water and fish action look super unnatural. -P
I'm just finding out about these filters. So... I get that u can use them for long exposure photos, but I don't get why would you use it (a f/10 ND filter for example) with f/1.2 and not just add 10 stops to your camera directly. I'm sorry if I'm missing something about these filters
Skip to 5 minutes to start the review. Holy cow.
Ty
Easy Rider
Yeah, why learn something? I’d rather have the information regurgitated directly in my face.
muuuuuuuuuh
Thanks! I hate when these reviews just waste your time.
Patrick, thanks for comparing these. This saves the rest of us so much time, money and effort. I really appreciated it.
Coating is very important for landscape's conditions, and B+W F-pro (blue one) is very well coated, i believe the best one here.
B+W definitely looked far similar to the control in white balance test
+ege ozsoy Nah, that's just your buyer's remorse talking. It is clearly warmer.
I do not own any of these filters, not even consider getting one. B+W is warmer yes, but it is overall far closer to the original than the others imo
ege ozsoy
Maybe in terms of being rated the correct exposure, but the TIffen and Breakthrough deviates far less from 5000k white.
Zhida Zhou The only way i could be sure is to get the raw files
ege ozsoy x
It's worth noting that certain filters have brass rings, as opposed to aluminum, and this can help to prevent binding, particularly in cold weather. The B+W slim filters, for example, have brass rings, and this may be (minimally) reflected in the price.
Even though I use the Lee filter for easy mounting, I like the in depth look at what ND filters offer: pros and cons. A necessary filter second or tied with a polarizer. It is nice that we no longer need split grads and color filters.
I'm I the only one here that thinks the B&W looks the best nearest to the Control on the first test?
You are right! I saw that and immediately came down here to the comments section. I'm trying to figure out whether or not I'm going to finish the video at this point.
I was wondering the same thing. How about more objective, and less subjective, testing by fstoppers, in this case?
I was wondering the same thing, could he be a bit color blind?
It can’t be color blindness; he’d see both the with and without using his same color blindness
No, but all the others that already paid for a B&W gave you a thumbs up.
All in all, with how close the Formatt Hitech was to the breakthrough filter on every aspect, and the Formatt Hitech being at about half the price of the Breakthrough filter I would have to say the cheaper option would definitely be most peoples best/first choice and not the (more expensive so I can tell people I have a more expensive) filter.
One test noticeably missing: Coating and incidental light handling. What happens when light hits the filter from an angle instead of from directly in front? How does each filter handle that? Might coating be related to any of the other tests made? For example, will a multicoated filter vignette more? Is a non-multicoated filter, if there were any in the test, show less of a color shift?
All in all, an interesting, comparison. In the past, I have purchased B+W filters without thinking much about it. In the future? I don't know.
Finally, a good and subjective ND filter test!
Thank you!
Thumb Up!
love videos where they actually show results where you can make up your own mind. Good job.
As a person who uses a sony camera, from the tests I've done so far, the breakthrough blows my tiffen nd variable out of the water. I will say, if you're thinking of going over to this, be wary that the breakthrough actually darkens the whole image unlike the tiffen vari, so maybe consider 3 stops first. This filter really helps lessen the yellow/greenish cast you get from a sony camera (if you know how to use the white balance controls). No more extra nasty green tint to that sony sensor :P
I bought a couple of breakthrough filters when they were on kickstarter. They are great filters, and the textured grip is really handy...
I have the Breakthrough 6-stop, had it for a few years, I’m very happy with it.
I agree. I would say their X4 series rates much better than their cheaper lines.
Great video! By far the best test for ND filters I have seen online.
I appreciate this test and I know it took a lot of work to compile all those information but it's not a complete test I'm using a Fotga 49 mm on my Sigma 19 mm micro 4 thirds lens. I got it on eBay brand new for $10 and change with free shipping and it works great. You can't do a test like this without including something like that. Great channel you got though
This was a solid comparison/review video. I'm personally using cheap Haida variable ND (about 80€/$90) even though many dislike them because of the lower quality. But it's so handy for video and quality isn't too bad for my taste. I just tested it at f4 (i don't have studio strobes so it's pretty hard to shoot at f8). Drop of quality was definitely noticeable with 1:1 crop but for most of the stuff (and for video) you can't see the difference. WB was also a little off (towards warm green) but it's nothing that can't be fixed in post. Actually I had auto WB enabled and I got very similar results with&without the filter.
good work and very helpful... i have to say as others noted the B+W looked far similar to the control on my monitor.
b+ w winning the color test lol.. Are this video sponsored by breakthrough?
With ND filters, the only thing that matters is sharpness, color can always be adjusted in post, plus if you can find one that is an adjustable ND filter even better, you saved yourself a ton of cash.
If you knew though that a similarly priced filter was the same sharpness but also had more neutral color and less vignetting wouldn't you prefer that one? You can't as easily fix problems on video as you can stills so for many videographers these tests are important.
Neutral color is achieved by white balancing with the filter on the camera and vignetting only happens if you stop all the way down with the iris and it is most unlikely since you want the lens open as much as possible. As for video, the most likely reason you use a ND filter is to slow down your shutter speed, reducing choppy looking video and rolling shutter, creating a more natural blurred effect (ie the 180 rule).
Sometimes WBing out the color on video is a bit trickier than stills. With a raw file you can edit every color shift in post. If you shoot DSLR video that doesn't have raw video, many times you can only change the red/blues and not the magenta/green shifts. It isn't nearly as precise as fixing it in Lightroom. So I still would recommend finding the most neutral colored filter to save a my of headache down the road.
One last thing, with a 6 stop filter or more, it is near impossible to color correct the WB with the filter on the lens because the video will be nearly black. This is important for timelapses and stills since you need a correct exposure in video but with 30 second exposures your camera doesn't do well showing the WB real time.
Near impossible? I don't think so, as long as light is passing though the lens the camera should still be able to make a WB, it might take longer, but still possible. I have used ND8 filters and have had no problem, I would also shoot with a color patch with no filter to do any tweeting it post, because as we all know, the picture isn't made just in the camera, processing the image afterwards is equally important.
Superb ! Great test. Finally someone tested ND's. Thanks
Maybe it's because I'm on this huge IPS screen (that isn't calibrated btw), but the B+W and Control look the closest in color comparison to me. The breakthrough looks cooler, and somehow brighter.
Great test, but unfortunately Breakthroughs are not available on any UK sites.
Has a breakthrough photography filter. It's a thing of beauty. I've later learned about Haida and Zomei and enjoy those brands quite much as well.
first time i hear about breakthrough filters, and according to your tests they are better than hoya, which i thought one of the best out in the market, wow ) thanks for this awesome tests Fstoppers
just i hope this was not an breakthrough advertisement test))
Thank you, just what I was looking for, because my ND400 had a few drops, so I need to get a new one. But I'll be looking for the ND1000. Hope they perform similar. Great video
Was thinking of getting one for my Sigma 18-35, but didn't want to buy something expensive that would turn out to be crap! Yay! Watching now.
+Alex Crane its awesome, dont be afraid.
Hi! Which did you get for that lens? Unsure on the Tiffen (for £95) or Hoya (for £79)... any tips?
Paul McCartney circa Let it be?
I like your controlled test on these ND filters.
One thing to consider is when I use add-on lens, I do get vignetting when more lens are stacked... say UV + ND + PL .. and so yes.. vignetting is really bad thing..
Color wise, Im not too particular because I believe most photographers would go through some form of image editing prior to locking up the final picture. Vignetting is difficult to remove though.
OK.. dont ask me why I love stacking lens though.. :)
Would be good to see more filters in this 'test' - IRIX Edge filters, Lee, Haida, Nisi... cheers!
I believe that a standard flash cannot be taken as a reference in such a test. There maybe variation in power and color in each consecutive fire of flash which may influence the results. Furthermore changing 6 stops in flash settings is also no guarantee especially if the max setting is used.
I like how you performed this test in studio 👍
It would have been interesting to see the results of shooting a colorchecker passport or something similar. I found that my cheap Cameron variable ND had trouble accurately reproducing warmer tones (oranges, yellows, reds), ie: skin, while it exaggerated greens and cyans. This was after white balance adjustment via LR; the colors still seemed off. I had minor issues with my Hoya and B+W NDs as well, but not as pronounced.
Now that I've upgraded to B1's I'm finding myself using HSS in lieu of ND+ high power whenever possible, just to avoid the color mess in post.
Will there be another video comparing square filters from Lee, Hitech and Haida?
Lee hitech and cokin
+Travel2 The Filter Dude does a really good 100mm filter holder that is just as well built a the Lee but more than half the price!
+Pokefreak 13 The "Breakthrough" filter in the video looks exactly like my Haida 82mm, probably same manufacture and probably the same level of quality for the square ones. Lee filters are overrated. I'm not sure about Hitech.
+Zhida Zhou I know Haida and B+W use the same glass so that may be possible too. Haida seem to offer the same quality as Lee for their square filters so I'm looking at getting some on my trip to HK if I can find somewhere that sells them.
+Pokefreak 13 exactly, really need a comparison between square filters from Lee, Hitech, Nissin, Cokin, and Haida!
Thanks for doing that. I would have liked a really cheap filter in there, like the cheapest (glass, not plastic) filters you can get. Are those usable?
5:45 How is that the most similar?
Am I missing something.
Other than that part, the whole review was very well done, I think. Very thorough.
Lol I know I was totally confused by that too
Dear sir . Thank you for show us this video. Pls give me an advise for which one is best for stop? 6 or 10 stop better ? What would your choice ?
Hey Buddy--- you cannot put a colored frame around your samples as that makes the mind see it in the sample.
would be good to see this redone with newer gear and filters
No Lee? I'm rocking with tiffen but Hoya and breakthrough are always another good choice . But I always here Lee being another popular Choice surprised you didn't have them in here.
Glad you guys have stepped up your color grading since this video was made. Skin tones are so bad. So bad. Nice test though
B+W won, you need a new monitor.
I am pretty sure the flash test video was done after this, but I remember a test for that ProFoto flash had a couple stop variation between flashes when set to max power. I am curious if the results would change with the flash set to 5 or 6 stops, which had a much smaller variation in brightness with each flash. Anyway... crazy to see how the some review videos withstand the test of time.
I know this video is two years old, but where did you get your pricing on B&W filters?
82mm B&W filter runs from $134 to $199 depending on how expensive you want to go. Also, B&W uses Schott glass by Schneider, not cookie cutter plate glass.
Would have been nice to see a Firecrest ND from Formatt-Hitech. They are the same price but should be more neutral.
That's a nice objective test. Quite disappointed with the B+W performance. But yeah, I had a gut feeling that it was all hype anyway.
What I'd like to see in a test like this, is the IR pollution compared with the amount of stops ND.
Thanks for the comprehensive and honest review....
Great video. I would really have liked to see a generic cheapo filter thrown in the comparison, though.
I know this is an old test, but it was very flawed from a landscape sunlight perspective as you used a strobe that is not emitting IR at nearly the intensity that long duration sunlight produces. In high stop filters it is IR contamination that is the problem.
Thanks for being honest, except maybe the breakthrough 🤔
Have you tried the Tiffen 77mm XLE Series apeX Hot Mirror. I have the 10-stop IRND. Very nice.
There’s something about the production that seem kind of mid 80s but I just can’t put my finger on it
Super thorough and helpful. Thanks so much for your effort!
i guess the only thing missing was the IR pollution. I recently learned about it this year and I think companies recently brought out newer versions (IRND)
Best testing i've seen so far... Finally someone who understand how to properly test this shit haha thanks man
thanks, great video. i am just purchasing a few nd filters and am wondering if color and sharpness are affected by sensor stress as much as nd optical properties. also, the fact that most use of 6-stop nd appears to be at extreme apertures (f11-f22) where diffraction is an issue can't be favorable to any nd filter. generally, would you expect better performance with less density and shorter exposure through a combination of faster shutter speed and wider apertures?
do you have any kind of test with telephoto lenses and nd filters? like 200mm or above?
This was very informative and helpful! (I saw the website version of this first.) I ordered two ND filters today.
Where are your $5 filters? They are, or were available when FILM was used.
Good review, I am using freewell ND filters they are good too.
Very informative! Gonna get the Breakthrough.
what about the genus-tech eclipse ? i hear it's highly recommended, especially for the bucks
You should test it with a fast lens @f1.4. Then you will notice significantly more differences . I have a cheap Green L nd filter on my Samyang 85 f1.4 , its ok above f2.8 but @f1.4 its a horror.
I just bought the 85mm Rokinon 1.4 (same brand as samyang), paired with a Hoya 3 stops (NDX8) filter, used a color checker, all came out fine. Color was my concern since I've had issues with cheap nd filters and colors before.
Hi i have a doubt. Do we get distortion on wide angle lens with ND filters?
Thanks this was very useful! Would like to see similar tests for polarizers and ND grads as well.
The D1 is known to show a color temperature shift when you change the power so much... around 600°. The D4, ProB8 or even B1 should have been better.
That's an interesting observation. I made sure I dumped the flash after changing it from the control setting to the settings for the individual filters and let the flash full recover and charge before switching each filter. The variety in WB was seen throughout all 5 filters with the D1 set at full power. Also the changes needed in WB to neutralize the color was about 600k in both directions so if the strobe was causing the shift in each case that means that the D1 had a full 1200k swing. I've never noticed this amount of color shift with my D1s in the studio in my normal wedding and commercial work so it's easy for me to say it is from the filters and not the strobe but who knows for certain.
which stop ND filter is most suitable for portrait in (outdoor) day time...? is it nd8...?
Why not include Haida? One of the best and cheapest filters out there.
Best is "Control" imo
I am very happy with Haida ND filters and do not see any difference to my Hoya ND filter.
ls the Formatt HiTech a Firecrest? l have a Firecrest 10 stop and it's awesome.
I'm pretty new at this, looking to buy one, but on amazon, some are like 20 dollars, while some are like 300 dollars :(
Hopefully Hoya. Hoya is my go to filter for cp, nd and uv
Have you looked wine country black stone filters
Thank you for you work on this. Appreciate!
Would like to know how they perform regarding flare...
2nd best in ur opinion?
What if you put the ND filter on and then set your white balance with a white/grey card? I guess you can mitigate the color shifting cannot you?
Absolutely! Color shifting isn't really that big of a deal especially if the filter shifts the colors throughout the entire filter. It's just a simple edit in PS or LR....but people always want to know which one is most faithful so that's what this test was about. -P
Great video. Very informative and useful. Thanks.
Wouldn't it make sense to shoot color checker? It could be that different colors are affected differently?
Not sure I understand. We used a gray card with a constant color and didn't change the lighting.
I may be wrong, and slightly tired but is this Zach Galifinakis ? Parks and Rec? great vid btw.
Awesome stuff. Subscribed!
How many - stop all those ND?
What the name of the song at the beginning of this video?
GREAT VIDEO GUYS
Good honest review
thanks
Mal
Great video!! Nicely explained. Subscribed
Thanks, you have a lot of content to catch up on :)
Tried to Google B&W.... took a few minutes to figure out its B+W. Odd name by English standards
Excellent Review.
i must need an eye transplant the B+W was clearly the most similar.
I felt the same way as well. I thought my eyes was seeing wrong.
What was the song at the beginning?
As always, excellent presentation!
Decides to do a sharpness test, doesn't bother showing closeup crops for comparison. Awesome...
Any advice on how much stops I should get for midday urban landscape long exposure? Would 6 be enough, or would I need more? I have a cheap variable ND filter for a lens I don't use much anymore but it was cheap, had bad glass, and broke--but I did like having the option to change the stopping power based on time of day.
I think a variable is super convenient and we used a few on Elia's tutorial for daylight timelapses with the blurred traffic/people look. The quality will suffer a bit but nothing that can't be fixed in post.
Otherwise I would get a 6 stop or more for bright daylight shots where your shutter might start at 1/1000. You really need a lot of stops to get to a long shutter from that starting point and ideally you wouldn't go beyond f8.
+Eric Rose Variable ND filters are only good for video, they don't really have enough light stopping power to do long exposures mid day. How many stops you need depends on how bright it is and what aperture you want to use. Now is it Sunny 16 bright? Brighter? Less bright? Also how long do you want these "long" exposures to be? But there's a good chance, 6 stops is not enough.
Do I need this if I'm going to shot fishing in a bright sunny day?
for video
It can definitely help if your shutter speed is getting too fast in bright sunlight. Ideally you want a shutter around 1/25 or 1/50th but in bright light sometimes it goes up to 1/1000 which will make your water and fish action look super unnatural. -P
I would love to see a variable ND filter comparison!
Dont get a variable. Mine is a heliopan (not cheap) and it has fungus between the glass.
No genustech?!
Breakthrough isnt a variable ND filter.. Been looking for a variable not a fixed nd. ugh
I'm just finding out about these filters. So... I get that u can use them for long exposure photos, but I don't get why would you use it (a f/10 ND filter for example) with f/1.2 and not just add 10 stops to your camera directly. I'm sorry if I'm missing something about these filters
If you want to stay at f/1.2 but have a 10 stop longer shutter speed is why
Or if you want to blur the background at f/1.2 and you maxed on your lowest ISO and your fastest shutter speed :-)