GH2 Heliopan VariND - the best vari ND I ever had!

[GMC]

I just wanted to make you guys aware of the rather new Heliopan vari ND which is freakin' fantastic!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1108/11081110heliopan82mmnd.asp

I am using it on my GH13 and GH2. It comes with hard stops on either end of the spectrum (you cannot turn it out of range). But most importantly, there is no loss of sharpness. I have tried it with equivalent focal lengths of up to 1120mm (720p ETC mode with 140 kit lens). There's no color shift as well. At full ND strength there is a slight vignetting tough, and some concentric kind of banding can become visible in some shooting situations (like against the sun).

Which is amazing, as with all other filters that I know (lightcraft MKII, ...) the usability is limited to rather small focal lengths (e.g. up to 100mm equiv.) until they become soft, and usually there is a big color shift together with an uneven (almost X - shaped) pattern across the image showing darker areas.

All in all, a fantastic new filter which is not that expensive as well. I paid 200€ for the 82mm version.

I shot a small film with it (probably some of you have seen it already), here is the post:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?263237-Ligurian-Summer

 

[kostas]

Word.
This ND filter is really excellent.
Absolutely no colour shift (unlike other brands, it is a true Neutral density), and no loss in sharpness.
Really recommended.

 

[GMC]

Word.
This ND filter is really excellent.
Absolutely no colour shift (unlike other brands, it is a true Neutral density), and no loss in sharpness.
Really recommended.

Yep. Absolutely.

 

[flinty]

The italian film is great slightly spoilt by the sky banding one of the GH2s weeknesses

 

[Lucas Adamson]

The italian film is great slightly spoilt by the sky banding one of the GH2s weeknesses

Sky-banding is quite specific...why would banding only effect skies? Is this a real GH2 phenomena or is this Vimeo encoding banding? I am a GH1 user at the mo, but interested in the GH2..

 

[flinty]

Well i get it a lot,when its there on file clips the banding is there,nothing to do with vimeo or editing, direct camera play shows raw footage.But what the heck these things are great in so many respects everything else on that film shows that they are great.

 

[GMC]

The italian film is great slightly spoilt by the sky banding one of the GH2s weeknesses

I agree, thats a slight weakness of the GH2. But it ain't that bad.

 

[GMC]

Well i get it a lot,when its there on file clips the banding is there,nothing to do with vimeo or editing, direct camera play shows raw footage.But what the heck these things are great in so many respects everything else on that film shows that they are great.

You are right, it's also in the raw footage.

 

[GMC]

Sky-banding is quite specific...why would banding only effect skies? Is this a real GH2 phenomena or is this Vimeo encoding banding? I am a GH1 user at the mo, but interested in the GH2..

I also have a GH1 (hacked of course) which seems to be a little bit better with respect to banding. But everything else is superior on the GH2.

 

[mr bill]

I just got the tiffen one, which is also a great leap forward from the LCW filters. Sadly, it doesn't have a thread on the front of the filter for a lens hood, otherwise, it's great.

 

[GMC]

I just got the tiffen one, which is also a great leap forward from the LCW filters. Sadly, it doesn't have a thread on the front of the filter for a lens hood, otherwise, it's great.

Good to know about the Tiffen. Finally this topic gets resolved. I also bought the LCW, but stopped to use it because of all the issues. Now, it's great to have a good vari ND again.

 

[8string]

Are there any ND filters that don't exhibit vignetting? What's folks thoughts on ND choices, since they are all over the map.

 

[SuperSet]

Good to know about the Tiffen. Finally this topic gets resolved. I also bought the LCW, but stopped to use it because of all the issues. Now, it's great to have a good vari ND again.

Any color casting or sharpness loss with the Tiffen Variable? I noticed the Heliopan is out of stock at BHPhoto so looking for alternatives.

 

[Justyn]

most will not vignette if you use stepup rings.. That's what I do. So I get a size or two up and viola... works great.

 

[toxotis70]

where can i find Heliopan ?
Its out of stock anywhere i searched.

 

[SuperSet]

Didn't see anyone else post this so I went looking for some side-by-side comparisons and this is closest I could get. Unfortunately, they didn't have the Heliopan to compare yet:

http://patrykrebisz.wordpress.com/2...d-fader-nd-hd-singh-ray-vari-nd-v-tiffen-nds/

 

[Justyn]

Man.. I just got a couple of cheap Fader NDs to go along with a Genus one i've had for a while. One knock off brand is complete crap in that the lens is already loose and just seems very shoddy. However, the Opteka version is really really nicely built. I'd say as decent a ND filter as the Genus, if not nicer in that it's slimer. The Genus one was 125 bucks and the Opteka one was 25 bucks. I have been impressed with a few of their products so might be something worth checking into if you are on a budget!

 

[yoclay]

Heliopan variable ND's are found MUCH cheaper at fotomayr.de.
Got two the other day. Far better than all the rest on the market. Totally neutral color closed down, optically far sharper than anything else I have seen. Apparently Philip Bloom has blogged about this as well.

 

[SuperSet]

Does fotomayr.de ship to the US?