GH4 Problem with Tiffen ND Filter?

[PegLeg Media]

So ive always bought cheap $15 variable ND filters for my lenses and decided to finally buy the $110 Tiffen ND filter and step up rings from my smaller lenses. Here is the first test I did with it and although it feels nicer, it doesnt look any sharper than my cheap filters and I'm getting a weird color change. Is this normal? My white balance came off wrong as well so im a bit disappointed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fORlpUTKYU&hd=1

 

[Sonny Bill Williams]

huh?

 

[Bruce Foreman]

it doesnt look any sharper than my cheap filters and I'm getting a weird color change. Is this normal? My white balance came off wrong as well so im a bit disappointed:

I don't see a problem. I watched the wall in the background for any color shift while you rotated the front element of the filter and saw none. The color changes on the monitor are strictly due to the color balance/tint and how brightness affects that. You will get a color shift there mainly due to the brightness changes (from camera exposure in this case).

As far as sharpness goes you won't see any change unless the other filters were causing softness with specific lenses. This degradation happens mostly with zoom lenses at the long end of the zoom. The degradation would have to be pretty serious for you to see it with the eye because of the way our eyes "adapt". Most of the degradation that occurs seems pretty subtle until you start looking at the resulting images on the computer (pixel peeping) or on fairly large prints.

Tiffen is supposed to be a pretty good quality brand, it happens to be Shane Hurlbut's choice of filter.

I just don't see any obvious problem with your filter.

 

[PegLeg Media]

I don't see a problem. I watched the wall in the background for any color shift while you rotated the front element of the filter and saw none.

Thanks Bruce! The whole image was a little on the yellow side right after white balancing (i adjusted this some in post), so thats also what i was wondering about. And ill take whatever Shane does, watched Act of Valor last week.

 

[nobbystylus]

I've found that the TIFFIN Vari ND is great, but you must be aware that the colour will shift if you move outside of the marked zones from MIN TO MAX. Also, add a a rotating circular polariser with the glass knocked out, in order to turn the Vari ND round so that the MIN to MAX are in the perfect place so as not to have a colour shift. Sometimes on some step up rings on some lenses the Vari ND will be rotated in such a away that a colour shift between shots is inevitable, but this can be avoided if you rotate the whole glass to the correct position. Its fiddly but worth it if you're shooting a lot of different exposures.