ND-filtering for the FS100EK: advise needed...

My rubber sunshades have two threads, so I first bolt the shade on the lens and than the Heliopan to to the sunshade.
It´s not super comfortable to dial in the filter, but I take picture quality over convenience any day.

Frank
 
Postmaster said:
My rubber sunshades have two threads, so I first bolt the shade on the lens and than the Heliopan to to the sunshade.
It´s not super comfortable to dial in the filter, but I take picture quality over convenience any day.

Frank
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Funny you should say this. After a ton of searching online, I came across some obscure video of someone promoting this very type of lens shade you are talkinga
bout. He then promised links at the end of the video, but never posted them! But after I knew what to look for, I found several types of these sunshades on Amazon,
and ordered one. Looks like a pretty decent option, or at least one of the best ones available that I have been able to find.
Just for others who may be searching, here are a couple links. Please be advised, this is for a 77mm lens and front thread. I bought a 67 to 77 step up ring
and 77mm Heliopan so this should work for me.

Cheap option
http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-3-Section-Rubber-Lens-Shade/dp/B002K4IFY2/ref=pd_sim_p_8

More expensive
http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=cjgQToj9G-vXiAKj9dj3DQ&ved=0CEwQ8wIwAw
 
I have that cheap Fotodiox 3-Sectionhood. Make sure you get that one, cause you can pull it back in 3 steps to avoid vignetting on wider lenses.

Frank
 
Postmaster said:
I have that cheap Fotodiox 3-Sectionhood. Make sure you get that one, cause you can pull it back in 3 steps to avoid vignetting on wider lenses.

Frank
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Whew......that's the one I got, and that was my reasoning as well. Kind of hard to tell for sure when buying online, sight unseen, but that was
what I thought by looking at it. Also, I just got an email from my contact at Heliopan and he said they are aware a sunshade is needed for the
Heliopan filter so they will probably have a solution before too long.
 
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alaskacameradude said:
Ok, I just got in the Heliopan filter. I paid $400 for it, and was thinking that was kind of a steep price. But, I just put it on my camera, and I can safely say, that it was worth every penny and then some! You know how some things you buy, and they are really worth it? This is one of those things! Trust me, if you have a chance, run, don't walk, and buy it for your FS-100! It is SUCH a nice piece of glass, no color cast or softness, period, even at long focal lengths. And it is seamless when you turn it, no 'steppiness' it's like turning an iris ring on a shoulder
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Sounds exciting. Does something like this attach to the camera out of the box, then boom you've got a FS100 with ND? $400 seems very cheap for something that works as good as your saying it does.
 
Danespina said:
Sounds exciting. Does something like this attach to the camera out of the box, then boom you've got a FS100 with ND? $400 seems very cheap for something that works as good as your saying it does.
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Well, yes and no. It attaches to the lens. So what that means, is that you need to figure out what lenses you have and are likely to get and THEN figure out
which size ND to get. I have the 67mm kit lens. However, I am looking at a 24-70 F2.8 and 70-200 F 2.8 lens. They have 77mm threads. So, I bought a 67 to 77
step up ring, and bought the 77mm sized Heliopan, so that I can use it with any of the lenses I am likely to buy. That is the one 'gotcha' is that you need
to figure that out. I would recommend buying the 77mm Heliopan (I think it's the biggest one they make) because adding step up rings is easy, but it it's too
small, you are out of luck.
 
Danespina said:
Oh okay great. Thanks for that. I'm still saving for the camera itself, but this takes away the concern of needing a mattebox for some regular day to day shooting. I'm coming from DVX which had built in ND, but this actually sounds just about as convienient. Is this the product your referring to? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/765517-REG/Heliopan_707790_77mm_VARIABLE_GRAY_ND.html
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That's it. I bought it direct from their website and it is actually in stock right now (as opposed to a 6-10 week wait from B&H) but stock goes quick. I watched
their website for a couple weeks until I saw it was back in stock and bought one right away. From talking with their rep, stock tends to go quick, and it comes
over from Germany so they have to deal with customs and so on.....when I ordered, he contacted me the next day to tell me it was going to be an extra two or
three days until they shipped as it had to go through customs still. But even with that, I got it within 8-10 days which was pretty fast. I'd almost call
this a must have add on for a FS-100, unless you are going to have a mattebox on all the time. I will post some examples, and pictures tomorrow to show the
different depth of field and F Stop it allows you to use with this filter.
 
Hello,
I been shooting in very bright day light for a few days and using à workshop vr nd plus a ruber sun shade screwed on top of it and it works great
I had to cut off some ruber on the shade to avoid vigneting at 18mm.

In very bright day light its really necessay and this set up is actually very handy to use. Your hand can easily play and turn the vr nd smoothly without getting in the way
 
Looks great. Did you do any tests around 11mm? I've heard the Heliopan vignette's on the smaller focal lengths, but just not sure where that starts.
 
Rick Burnett said:
Looks great. Did you do any tests around 11mm? I've heard the Heliopan vignette's on the smaller focal lengths, but just not sure where that starts.
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Rick,

I don't have a lens that wide yet. I will say, my guess is that it WOULD vignette on a lens that wide. The 18mm seems pretty wide to me, I can't adjust
the fader filter without my fingers getting into the shot. My setup is a 67-77 step up ring, then the 77mm Heliopan variable ND.....I wanted to get the
77mm Heliopan to offer more options with more lenses, after all I can always use step up rings right? Well, I've now found, that the step up rings
put the variable ND filter further out in front on a wide angle lens, increasing chances for vignetting. So if I was going to use a 11mm lens, I
would figure out what size threads it had, and get that EXACT size for my variable ND filter.....AND make sure you get the 'thin' version as well!
 
Most of the faders I have used, while the threads are say 77mm, the filter would actually be 82mm, is the heliopan different in this case? And yeah, I can see going with the same filter. I'm thinking I am still going to get this ND regardless because the results have been SO good.
 
As the OP in this thread, I'd like to thank you all for your input. In particular, I think Gabe has hit the nail re: potential vignetting. The lesson taken is that it's not just the filter diameter which should be at least as large as your biggest lens' diameter; it's also about the distance that step-up ring(s) will put you vari-ND filter in front of a lens!

I think that with a collection of lenses with very wide focal lengths and filter diameters range, one needs more than a single vari-ND filter...

Piotr
 
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Rick Burnett said:
Most of the faders I have used, while the threads are say 77mm, the filter would actually be 82mm, is the heliopan different in this case? And yeah, I can see going with the same filter. I'm thinking I am still going to get this ND regardless because the results have been SO good.
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Well, it seems to me, that the filter may be a little bigger than the threads....not sure how much. Also, it is significantly bigger than the step up ring. However,
I didn't realize how wide the lens was at 18mm until I noticed my fingers in the shot, when I totally thought they were out of it. I see why they build the sunshade with short shades on the side and longer ones on top and bottom, because if the side ones were any longer, they'd be in the shot!

That being said, I can't recommend the filter highly enough. Talk about a whole new level of control. One additional benefit, is that you could use still
lenses that are 'steppy' on the iris! To me, having smooth iris is a big deal. The kit lens has it, but some other still lenses don't. But with this
Heliopan filter, just set your iris to what you want it at (say F 2.8) and then use the filter to 'ride' exposure! I swear, the filter reminds me of a
iris ring on the Betacam SP I used to shoot on. Hard stops at both ends and butter smooth exposure adjustment, it's just awesome! And sharp, and great color,
yeah, I'd say grab it and be ready to be amazed at what it adds to your FS-100.
 
moldcad said:
As the OP in this thread, I'd like to thank you all for your input. In particular, I think Gabe has hit the nail re: potential vignetting. The lesson taken is that it's not just the filter diameter which should be at least as large as your biggest lens' diameter; it's also about the distance that step-up ring(s) will put you vari-ND filter in front of a lens!

I think that with a collection of filters with very wide focal lengths and filter diameters range, one needs more than a single vari-ND filter...

Piotr
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Yup, get one for each lens would be the ideal way to do it.....if I was made of money :-) Not as big a deal probably on say a 70-200 lens, but stuff on the wide end,
be aware how much a step ring may put your filter out in front of the lens. And some step rings may be thinner than others, I don't know for sure. The one I
bought, just for everyone's info, is a Tiffin 67-77 step up ring that I found here:

http://www.amazon.com/TIFFEN-67mm-77...4&sr=8-3-spell

It's good and works fine, but may put the Heliopan out just a touch too far. Not a huge deal to me, because at that wide of an angle, you are not usually getting
much of a shallow depth of field with that lens anyways, so I could just step the iris down and take the Heliopan off.
 
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