ND filter size and vignetting.

James Carpenter

James Carpenter

Well-known member
Given the vignetting issues often associated with variable ND filters, would it make sense to purchase one larger than required and using a step-up ring? It's my understanding that the vignetting occurs at the edges of the filter and having a bigger filter would negate this, i think.

Are there any downsides to this, i.e. distance from lens glass to filter glass etc causing funky effects on image quality etc?

Thanks!
 
It's common to put a step-up ring on lenses to get them all to have the same front size. There's no drawback except that larger filters are more expensive.
 
I guess there are two kinds of vignetting with Variable NDs, normal vignetting caused by the filter sticking too far out in front of the lens, and vignetting caused by the VND inconsistently attenuating light.

With both kinds of vignetting, it really depends on which variable ND you're talking about. Some VNDs have front filter threads that are a size or two larger than the rear threads, which effectively eliminates the potential for the first kind of vignetting.
 
I was looking at the 82mm Tiffen vnd, and would be placing it on the following lenses on a GH4 using the required step up rings:

Panasonic 12-35mm: 58mm filter
Canon 50mm: 58mm filter
Canon 100mm Macro: 67mm filter
Canon 70-200mm: 77mm filter
 
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