Fader ND ( Neutral Density ) : Questions

My Fader ND has 52mm to the camera and 58mm outside for other attachments. I ordered a round 58mm screw-in lens hood. I also bought a 52mm lens cap, originally for a still camera, I think for Nikon but I am not sure. It holds well.

No vignetting for me because I use it on a 37mm lens with 37mm-to-52mm step-up ring.
 
The only thing I worry about with mine is how the hell will i use it once I get a mattebox? Is it pretty much impossible to use the two together?
 
Jackson Miller said:
The only thing I worry about with mine is how the hell will i use it once I get a mattebox? Is it pretty much impossible to use the two together?
Click to expand...
I have a Cokin A filter set with filter holder. It uses a round ring that screws onto a lens or a filter, then the filter holder snaps on this ring AT ANY ANGLE. I bought a Cokin A 58mm ring, this is the largest ring for the Cokin A system. If there is enough time, I can adjust brightness with the Fader ND first, then snap Cokin filter holder on and shoot. Obviously, this would not work if you need to adjust Fader ND constantly.
 
Jackson Miller said:
The only thing I worry about with mine is how the hell will i use it once I get a mattebox? Is it pretty much impossible to use the two together?
Click to expand...

Been thinking about that myself, I'm going to try a rubber lens hood between the mattebox and the fader nd. I've got a genus mattebox coming in a week so I'll report back.
 
There was a little delay because of holidays in Hong Kong, but it looks like I get mine next Friday, or at the latest on Wed 21st.

They very quickly replied to a few e-mails I sent (late at night) answering all my questions. Nice customer service. This sure is a nice touch: "Yes, we come with lens cap for our fader ND filter, except 52mm and 58mm." So it seems most of them come with the free caps. I love getting free stuff.
 
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Ordered one this morning. Will hopefully arrive tomorrow! :D Some advantages you have when you are in Hong Kong :D

I can also walk into some shops over here and just buy any lens adapters directly. Pretty convenient :)
 
"To achieve a cinematic look when shooting in bright daylight at f2.8 at 1/60th or slower, requires a drastic amount of reduction of light that hits the sensor. I used a Singh Ray Variable ND filter. While the filter can reduce the amount of light by 2 to 8 stops, I had serious problems with uneven coverage, so part of my frame would be darker than others. I have tried Fader ND filters, but also have the same problem."

http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/2009...-i-cover-the-afghanistan-war-with-the-5dmkii/
(Cracking 5D docu trailer on that link)

Think I'm going to fork out for some proper ND filters after reading that.
 
Haven't played with it much but it seems like a bargain. It seems it is a good piece of gear, but you might have to consider its range of ND to be smaller than advertised, from minimum to a stop or two before maximum. However it seems that the un-even loss happens based on angle of light or something else like that.

I will post comparison stills for sharpness if anyone wants to see them. I can also shoot some test flares, and polarizing effect, etc...


FYI:
_ Lots of uneven illumination. Both on the Tokina and at 24mm. It becomes lesser at 70mm.
_ Most uneven weirdness (look ad video below) happens at the very end of the dial close to most light loss.
_ On the Tokina I do get quite a bit of vignetting about 13mm (exact number to come) but that is when stacking it with a UV so it might be lesser with the straight Fader and no UV.
_ The top filter is thin. It makes it hard to dial while shooting. It doesn't seem to be a bad deal breaker just have to get used to it. But with the Tokina it gets hard to dial on the run, since you also need to be very careful not to let your fingers get in your shot.
_ Thanks for the cap! Iit is very cheap, it actually scares a little bit and I am a tad afraid I might scratch the filter when putting it on carelessly. It feels a bit flimsy when clamped on, and I fear it might come off, but... it seems to do the job so far and it was free!
_ There are no hard stops on the filter which really bug me, because once you go past the end there the effect begins to happens again in reverse. You will need to develop a good feel for the peak of the effect if you are playing around there at the top.

Bottom line (so far): Totally worth the $108 I payed, just don't expect a Ferrari.

Un-Even Illumination Video
(7MB ~ 1080 downconverted to 540 ~ ISO800 ~ Canon 24-70mm f/2.8)

Sorry about the quick and dirty test. You'll see what I was doing, but FYI I zoomed from 24mm to 70mm never
in between, always wide open at f/2.8. I set the ISO high for a very overexposed image despite the setting sun.
The clicks are the shutter speed.

I could uploading the original file if you guys want.

126585d1256014530-finally-getting-dslr-7d.jpg
 
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I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to get one of the largest Fader ND into my 4x4 mattebox... I figured I might be able to make a 4x4 holder either out of a light metal or maybe wood then afix either the 77mm or 82mm Fader to that holder.

That would then cover large to small diameter lenses.

Then of course the problem would be varying the Fader ND with any sort of speed.

I just figured it might be nice to have a "do it all" ND filter, rather than carrying around loads.

I'd probably buy another one for my walking around Tamron 17-50mm lens. When I get it.
 
Can I ask how far you have to rotate the fader nd to go from minimum to maximum density?
Roughly. In degrees...?

It should be 90, right?

Also, how deep are these adapters? In mm or inches.
 
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You can see it on the picture I posted. The setting on the picture is near to "Max" and the last dot on the bottom is the "Min". You line them up with the white dot on the other part of the filter.

BTW for those that were wondering, it DOES in fact work as a POLA. It obviously is two linears stacked together. So when you line them up you lose 1 stop and you can (if you dare to rish your threads) unscrew the whole thing and that way manage to dial in the polarizing angle, you can still use the second one at a different angle if you want to cut down some additional light but it gets tricky to operate if you are not screwed in all the way.

The 77mm is a MAJOR bargain for what it does. It does weird stuff closer to Max but that is to be expected with polarizers I guess.
 
i ordered one as well, but for some reason it saved shipping info to my street address,, but in hong kong.. Tried contacting them to sort this out but have yet to get a reply.
 
I've just ordered a 58mm one and a 58 -> 52 step down ring. Should cover my Nikon 50mm f1.4 (52mm) and also the Canon 50mm f1.4 (58mm) if I ever get that.

The 77mm is out till the 15th Nov. Whilst I'm tempted by the singh ray, it's nearly 4x as expensive and I can wait three weeks for the cost of 250 bucks! I've just ordered the 24-70 f2.8 and that's 77m I believe so that'll be useful there.

This link might be of use btw - http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Plumtree-Photo/Canon-Lens-Chart.html_ - it shows the filter sizes of various lenses, you can check off you lenses and see what you'll need. For what it's worth I don't see any Canon lenses using 82mm, 77mm on the zooms is the biggest. However if vignetting occurs at <20mm-ish then I should be fine on the 24-70, but anyone using any of the wider zooms might have issues.

When ordering w/Paypal I noticed it tried to change my address to HK for some reason but I spotted it and added my real address.
 
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emailed me back, that was quite pronto! Should be receiving it within the next 5-7 business days. Will let you guys know!
 
I use a Fader ND 72-77 on a GH1 and have found it to be absolutely invaluable. I haven't noticed any weird color shifts or other aberrations, but I also haven't shot much w/o it for comparison. Because it flares out (larger outer ring) and is low profile, there is zero vignetting on the GH1 kit lens (14-140mm). I have a rubber hood screwed into the Fader that causes some vignetting at the very wide end of the kit lens . Bonus: the hood provides a good grip for turning the Fader ND.
 
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