$5 ND filter test... can you guess which is which?

[shaveblog]

I can only speak to the lenses I use and the conditions I use them in. I've avoided making blanket statements about the Fader NDs.

Anticipate having my Singh-Ray in a couple of weeks and will gladly post the results of a comparison between the two when I get the chance.

I'm eager to hear what you find. When I was researching these variable ND filters, I came across lots of conflicting info about whether the Singh-Ray and FaderND were the same product made in China or not. Some swear they are, but all I've had in hand to examine was the LCW.

This thread reminds me of the old days when audiophiles would argue incessantly about metal film resistors vs. carbon, poly caps vs. lytics, meanwhile the rest of us were listening to music and getting on with it.

 

[Trucci]

Well, I changed my mind and decided to post some tests. I own a LCW Fader ND Mark I and wanted to know how bad the softness was on a couple of my favorite lenses. The green color cast is really not much of a problem if you manually white balance each time you put on the filter and when you take it off. The bokeh seems fine to me with the Fader ND on.

fadernd50mm.jpg: Nikon 50mm 1:1.4
Left shot is without Fader ND, right shot is with.
Both sides are still JPG crops at 100% at F2.8 on a tripod.

fadernd100mm.jpg: Nikon 100mm E Series 1:2.8
Left shot is without Fader ND, right shot is with.
Both sides are still JPG crops at 100% at F2.8 on a tripod.

All shots had zero post processing aside from cropping. I refocused for each shot.

The Fader ND on my 50mm is great with just a little bit of softness that could even enhance some shots. On the 100mm the softness is too much and I think I may just get a regular ND filter when using that lens.

 

[terra1]

hey guys,

is it normal for ND filters to lighten up your black/dark areas of your footage?

i was out using them 2day and they seem to wash out my blacks to a hazy dark greyish.

i did manage to regain my blacks in post, just wondered if this was normal with ND's (mine are the £5 ebay ones :smile

 

[tflak]

Just got my Singh-Ray 77mm Vari-ND (thin). My first impression upon unpacking was that anyone who claims the Singh-Ray and the Fader ND are essentially the same product most likely has never physically compared the two side-by-side. I now have both the LCW Fader ND 77mm and the Singh-Ray 77mm to compare and, IMO, the Singh-Ray is a much higher quality product from a build standpoint. I'll let my test results speak for themselves as far as image quality is concerned.

Lens used in this testing was a Zuiko 35-100mm 2.0 at 100mm. Didn't test at wider zooms because I'm looking for a single filter that performs well on all my lenses, regardless of focal length, so whether or not it looks okay at 35mm, etc. isn't relevant to me.

Below are 100% crops taken from GH13, 1080 FHD. Shutter speeds were 1/60, ISO 200, and aperture was f/22 when shooting without any filter and f/16 when using both the Singh-Ray and Fader ND. Both filters were set at their "Min" setting.

Tried my best to make sure the sharpness differences were not due to operator error. After many tries to improve the Fader results, I'm 100% confident that these shots accurately reflect the best that can be done with the Fader ND.

I really couldn't see any significant difference in sharpness (or color) between shooting with the Singh-Ray or without it. The Singh-Ray definitely rocks and their reputation for quality certainly seems well-deserved.

 

[the doc]

Good stuff.

You have either just proved that the old adage "you get what you pay for" applies to ND filters the same as everything else.... or that you are an employee of
Singh-Ray

Seriously - well done on the testing.... but I still aint paying 400 bucks for one.

 

[tflak]

Hey, doc - yeah, guess I could do a pretty good testimonial for them, eh?

No doubt that's a lot of money, but I've gotten so used to shooting with a variable ND that I'd be lost without one. And Singh-Ray seems to be the only one that delivers acceptable results, IMO.

What really hurts is having spent the money on my Faders in the first place. Plus, at the time I bought them I thought I'd done enough research to assure they were a good alternative to the Singh-Ray. Live and learn.

 

[MR Fanny]

thats a good reveiw tflak. I was shooting with my fader the other day kit lens ful zoom and my images werent as sharp either like your example.

 

[JimNastics]

So, for those of us not able to drop $400 on the Singh-Ray, what's a mid-priced alternative that's better than the Fader ND? I was all set on the Fader ND, but those images just killed it for me.

 

[Jordan_S]

So, for those of us not able to drop $400 on the Singh-Ray, what's a mid-priced alternative that's better than the Fader ND? I was all set on the Fader ND, but those images just killed it for me.

DIY:
Get two B+W polarizer filters, one circular and one linear. Screw them together, LPL frontmost. Voila!

 

[tflak]

DIY:
Get two B+W polarizer filters, one circular and one linear. Screw them together, LPL frontmost. Voila!

I don't know of any mid-priced commercially available alternatives.

This DIY route sounds good. B+W are very well-regarded filters and you could probably get those two at 77mm for around $200 combined. I paid the extra $200 for the graduated markings on the Singh-Ray.

I have a 72mm B+W circular polarizer (brass) and have to say the operation is not quite as smooth as the silky smooth Singh-Ray Vari ND - at least for the B+W I have. Not that it means anything from a pure functionality standpoint. But the build quality does seem a bit better.