Is the Singh-Ray variable ND that much better than the other brands?

woodcarver

woodcarver

Well-known member
I do mostly hand held, documentary type work, so I love the idea of the variable ND, but my experience with my Light Craft Workshop variable ND was a mixed bag. In many situations it wasn't usable. Crazy flaring or glare, off colors--particularly inside (yes, I'd like to be able to use it inside).
Is the Singh-ray filter significantly better? The price sure seems to indicate it would be.
 
dumn.. i just ordered the light craft.. :(
i thought it was suppose to be decent...
should i be aware of certain situations?
and from your experience, what's the most common step number you usually use? (in case it would be so bad i'll have to buy separate rings)
 
Strange, I never got any flaring or glare, but I used my FaderND exclusively with a 30mm lens. But, after looking at some reports, people posted stills that showed color shifting with other lenses.

I really wish I'd have saved the site I saw the comparisons (might have been here) but the test I saw showed the Singh-ray was SIGNIFICANTLY better in the color department. However, I went with the FaderND because of the price difference.
 
well it certainly is better than the Fader :) take a look on the first link again. the horrible results are the Fader. the singh-ray held up pretty decent.

Also keep in mind thats at 400mm and 200mm. the fader turns to crap at 50mm...i know...i have one :)

edit: my bad..u WERE talking about the fader

Yeh i dont think Phillip did extensive testing like this at the time of his article.
 
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Honestly, I never look at the setting. I use it for situations where I am looking to get shallow DoF usually outside on my 7D. I just set the camera to ISO400 and then dial in the amount until it's where I want. Has worked well so far.
 
I use an ND8 screw on or ND 0.9 4x4 (3 stops) for most outdoor work, I usually have a polarizer on too which is another stop. I haven't used my fader ND since I saw the tests.
 
I acquired a Genus ND Fader Filter not too long ago, but I haven't really had a chance to use it yet. Does anyone have any experience with this particular filter? They seem to fare pretty well on B&H. I'll test it out when I get some more step-up rings if anyone is interested, but right now I can only mount it to a couple lenses.
 
roei z said:
yea, but how can you relay on that not ruining some important shot?
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Because I could see it, I was monitoring the shot. Since I only use it on 30/1.4, I've never had a problem. It starts 50 and above the problems. I've never lost a shot on the 30 due to that, now moire and trying to use a caprock 2.0 filter, that's a different story.
 
Roei Z


Have a look at the Lee FIlters Pro Glass NDs, they only make 2 strengths in this series, a .6 ( 2 stop ) and a .9 ( 3 stop ), and only in 4 X 4. These filters also have a metallic IR filtration to help prevent colour casts, much like the mega bucks Tiffen IRND series, Schneider also do a similar set but also meg bucks. Great thing about the Lee. is that they're only about £100 each ... that is if you can find them, Lee are struggling to keep up with demand and have a pretty large backlog.



roei z said:
can you please tell me the average ND number you usually use? or a few numbers?
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