Fader ND ( Neutral Density ) : Questions

K

Kholi

Section Moderator
How's this thing work?
Does it interfere with Polarizer Operations?
How's the quality? Is it Multi-Coated?
How much does it protrude? Does it interfere with Wide Angle operations (11mm)
How's Flaring/Contrast?
Different Brands and Locations to Purchase?
Weight?

I'm using Hoya HMC ND's and I'm pretty happy, considering another set for my 5D and second 7D but I will look into the Fader for convenience. Just need to know how it works.

Biggest fear is that it's like a polarizer: if you have a lens that, when focusing, the barrel rotates then the polarizer becomes useless. =T Is the Fader like this or is it a totally different operation?

Thanks in advance.
 
Subscribing. I would love to see the answers to your questions.

(I have one coming. You are welcome to come by to check it out and tell me what you think of it.)

I did a little math from the specs on their site for the 77mm (82mm front). They say it is compatible up to 21mm full frame. So I guess it would work without vignetting on an APS-C down to 13.125mm, right? Eventually I'll also have a Tokina 11-16, so I am wondering if I should have gone with the bigger one like Barry did and gotten a step up ring, even if 14mm should be enough for most situations... :(
 
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Is the FADER ND made out of glass or plastic/resin?
If it's plastic / resin, no thanks! Would rather stack NDs in a matte box.
Same questions as above - does it work by the same principles as a polarizer? And by doing so, only selectively cuts light (makes the sky darker, etc.)?

EDIT: seems like a poster on Vimeo notes a big color shift when using this effect. Gag me with a spoon! Don't f*ck up your colors for the sake of convenience!
 
dadoboy said:
Is the FADER ND made out of glass or plastic/resin?
If it's plastic / resin, no thanks! Would rather stack NDs in a matte box.
Same questions as above - does it work by the same principles as a polarizer? And by doing so, only selectively cuts light (makes the sky darker, etc.)?

EDIT: seems like a poster on Vimeo notes a big color shift when using this effect. Gag me with a spoon! Don't f*ck up your colors for the sake of convenience!
Click to expand...

This is exactly the kind of info I needed to find out.

Glass please. My Hoya filters are all glass and do NOT shift colors. Like Dado, I would rather take the time to stack than to take a quality hit when there's already so much working against you.
 
mhood said:
He uses the word "glass" in its description...semantics aside.
Click to expand...

I'm holding one (72mm) in my hand right now. Pretty sure it's glass.

edit: Mine was purchased from Light Craft Workshop ... waiting on my 7d to do some tests :)
 
Hmmm. I like it for some things. I would say that it slightly mutes the colors. The more expensive version might not. Bloom has a shoot out.
 
Mine should be arriving this week so I'll fill in some blanks. There's a thread on the fader ND @ cinema5D http://www.cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3250 I'm using hoya ND's too but the convenience of being able to turn a filter ring to nail exposure for 100 bucks was too sweet a deal to resist.

How's this thing work?
It's a linear polarizer attached to the front of a circular polarizer.

Does it interfere with Polarizer Operations?
Nope singh-ray sell one with a polarizer attached too.

How's the quality? Is it Multi-Coated?
I'd say for 100 bucks you're getting 2 cheap chinese polarizers but I haven't heard any complaints from any MKII users apart from a slight colour cast.

How much does it protrude? Does it interfere with Wide Angle operations (11mm)
From memory I think it starts to vignette at about 16mm on a full frame.

How's Flaring/Contrast?
I'll get back to you on that one.

Different Brands and Locations to Purchase?
There's a couple of ebay sellers.

Weight?
Are you serious?
 
squig said:
Weight?
Are you serious?
Click to expand...

The question answering a question leads me to believe that you haven't experienced an 80-200/2.8 ED Nikon Zoom on the front of a camera before. Nor the heavier 70-200/2.8 VR... Or even a 180/2.8 C/Y Zeiss Planar T*

The question is valid, especially considering Glidecam 4000 Operations and extra weight balancing.

Ty.
 
Kholi said:
The question answering a question leads me to believe that you haven't experienced an 80-200/2.8 ED Nikon Zoom on the front of a camera before. Nor the heavier 70-200/2.8 VR... Or even a 180/2.8 C/Y Zeiss Planar T*

The question is valid, especially considering Glidecam 4000 Operations and extra weight balancing.

Ty.
Click to expand...

Hehe, I've put an isco 54 on a nikkor 180 ED that's about 2kg, do you think you'd notice the added weight of 2 thin glass filters? Are you planning to race your 7D?

yeah a lens cap throws off the balance of my blackbird.
 
So whats the tally then? Best bang for the buck would be what exactly? This would replace the whole adjusting exposure with the iris of the video camera through a 35mm adapter. Very good idea to pick one up, just a question of which one...
 
I asked the maker the "glass" question at his ebay store and got this answer:

"Hi. This is made of Imported Glass. From our users comment, we
did not receive comments on a color shift (which is usually a
reddish color shift on ND). We got a few reviews from our users
and you could find that out at our web site.
www.lightcraftworkshop.com. Thank you.

- bonifaceleung"
 
This is the star effect I was getting in hotspots with FaderND. I am not sure would I get the same stars without the filter. Generally, it works fine for what it is, it seems that it softens image a bit, but I cannot quantify it.
 

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Cranky said:
This is the star effect I was getting in hotspots with FaderND. I am not sure would I get the same stars without the filter. Generally, it works fine for what it is, it seems that it softens image a bit, but I cannot quantify it.
Click to expand...

Serious?! That is bad... nice if you want it, but not supposed to be there on an ND! Could you please do a still test comparing the same subject with and without the ND? Using shutter to set equal exposure I suppose. Please?

I am hoping it is the lens!
 
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