Fader ND = bleh! DIY Fader ND or Screw on ND Filter Set or Cokin ND filter set?

J

Jackson Miller

Well-known member
So I have a fader ND mark 1 (which cost me $180 when I got it!). Anyways, I have just now been reading about how much the quality sucks on the telephoto end for the Mii and I am wondering how much the Mark i has been affecting my stuff. It definitely dulls the colors and decreases sharpness. I will keep it for the wide end unless you guys think the mark i is terrible. Anyone still using it?

So anyways, I am looking for an alternative.

First I thought DIY fader nd with polarizers would be great and I am still considering it but good circular polarizers seem to run around $100 at a minimum. Any cheap ones that do the job for 60-80? Obviously if it is cheap and ends up the same as the fader ND the whole thing was a waste.

Another option is a cheap but well reviewed 2 stop, 4 stop, 8 stop screw on ND filter kit for $50:
http://www.amazon.com/Dolica-CF-NDK...3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1301309334&sr=1-3
Anything wrong with those? I'm leaning towards that right now.

Then there is the cokin p filter system but I can't tell if that'd end up being just as much hastle.

Basically what's the most hastle free? Is a homemade fader ND hard to use because it seems like it with so many needless rotating parts. I don't want to glue anything really.

The screw on filters might be faster when all is said and done and are cheaper. I've got to find an efficient lens hood or mattebox system to couple it with though. That was the main appeal of the cokin one because the lens hood looks like a mattebox for a cheap price but it seems they vinette. Anybody experience that?

I'd like to hear your thought! Thanks.

Oh and I mainly shoot short films but also some weddings and events and some documentary work.
 
I don't think a DIY fader will be any better than the one you already have

from my experience:
* faders are quite bad (but you already know that)
* cheap resin filters for cokin holder are also quite bad (I've read the ones made by formatt, called hitech, are better, but they are also relatively expensive; I haven't tried them)
* screw-ins (at least mine: tiffen, $25 each for 67mm, more expensive in bigger sizes) are amazing for image quality, but a pain to use

these are my tests:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsn.html
 
I went through the fader nd and the genus and got burned both times. I broke down and got a tiffen screw-in set (thankfully I have the 28, 50, and 85mm canon lenses which are all 58mm thread size) and have been very pleased. There is no degradation in quality whatsoever and the image is beautiful. I was also having vignetting problems with the faders that I don't have anymore. I was going to go the mattebox route but to get a good matte box along with quality 4X4 filters was more than $700. I spent $40 on a kit for nd 1.2, .9, and .6. These can get pricey I guess if you're buying a kit for multiple lenses of different sizes but it still won't be as bad as the mattebox route. They really aren't that much of a pain to put on either. Usually the day before a shoot I'll go out around the time I'll be shooting and see what nd works for certain times. Now I know for my area 11-3pm I need - 7 stops (stack a nd 1.2 and a .9) 3-5pm -4 stops (just a nd 1.2) and so on.
 
Jackson Miller said:
unless you guys think the mark i is terrible.
Click to expand...

whatever floats your boat

and yes, the cheapest plastic filters works excellent in tele compared to the magic faders. You just won't get laid as much with a filter holder instead, but that's pretty much it. Pro glas has more to do with the other factors rather than resolution, after all we're still just on 1080p
 
How regular ND's can be pain to use ? If youre shooting run & gun then DSLR is not for you.DSLR's are for planned shots and yhere is no problem with setting up ISO and ND filter.Best would be ND 1.2.I have 0.8 but sometimes its not enough.
 
Ok I'm going to get some screw on ones but I am a little worried because I doubt I will be able to get the shutter speed or fstop exactly where I want it. Anyways, I realized that it's going to be hard to find the filters I need. That 3 filter kit I linked to above is .3 .6 .9 which blocks 1, 2 and 3 stops. The fader ND's block 2 - 8 stops. So I can't get that kit but I also can't find many darker photography ones. Which ones should I get?

Here's what I am thinking
1.8 / ND64 - 6 stop reduction
1.2/ND16 - 4 stop reduction
and then either
.9/ND8 - 3 stop reduction, OR
.6/ND4 - 2 stop reduction

The problem is I never really paid attention to where I set my fader ND so I have NO IDEA what to get! But I am fairly certain I never put it at 8 stops reduction or probably even 6. No idea though. Should I not get the 1.8? What do you guys use most?
 
Jackson: I get by with the .6 and .9, stacked those two give me a 5 f/stop reduction. There is a slight magenta color shift but in most cases it's not really noticeable, if it is I find it's easily correctable in my NLE.

The brand I've got is Tiffen.
 
I also use tiffen screw-ins (the cheapest ones on bhphoto), and I only have the .3, .6 and .9 ones

I think once I stuck them all one on top of each other, but usually I get by with .6 plus .9 (or less)

you lose some image quality when stacking filters, but it's nothing compared to what a fader does

get the biggest ones you think you'll need, and a bunch of step-up rings from ebay so you can fit the filters to every lens you own
(going above 67mm means a considerable higher price, so there's a price vs. future-proof tradeoff; I went 67mm, may regret it soon)
 
Hi guys. So I've found nice .6 and .9 filters for around $50 EACH but as far as a 1.2 filter the cheapest ones are $100. So I'll be paying around $200 for filters which is a lot more than I originally expected. Is that what you guys spent? There are no "cheap" 1.2x filters by tiffen or any other brand. I am getting 77mm size by the way.
 
Now I am considering making a DIY fader again from the cheapest B+W filters (still good quality)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/11287-REG/B_W_65_062141_77mm_Linear_Polarizer.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/133012-REG/B_W_65_016930.html

That's come out to $145 and I would have a circular polarizer for when I needed that. My only concern is that it may be too long and vinnette. From what I understand, the sharpness will be great though/ up to par with the sigh ray or w/e it's called.
 
I live without a 1.2 and it doesn't bother me too much; I'd say get the .6 and .9 (and maybe the .3 too)
 
soren said:
I have a 17-50 that will vignette with more than 2 filters at 17mm.
Click to expand...

I thought using bigger filters could solve that problem

i mean: if that is the tamron 17-50, it has a 67mm thread; using a step-up ring to 77mm should allow you to stack the .6 and .9 without vignetting even at 17mm, right?

(my screw-in filters are 67mm, so I can't test this)
 
I just learned my lesson with the DIY Fader ND, i stacked a 72mm Tiffen Circular Polarizer with my 4x4 Tiffen Polarizer (I assume Linear) and sure enough, there was a terrible Cyan shift as I went to maximum "ND"
ND is not a correct term in this case it was more like "Shift your footage into unusable color space" filter. I'm now selling the failed attempt pieces on ebay.
 
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