Q about ND filters/ variable ND

I've tried a bunch of VNDs because one day I was bored and went to 4 different cameras stores and tested about 10 VNDs against the Heliopan which I own. I did NOT like any of them. Some are sharper than others but they ALL had a green cast. I recently got the Genus Eclipse which has great reviews and I like it better than the Heliopan because there is no green cast, if anything it's a bit warmer look which i like better than green. Also, the Heliopan seems to moire a bit more.

With that said, I avoid Variable NDs unless I absolutely have to use them. I have a Red which has no internal ND so if I'm shooting run and gun, then I'll use them. But VNDs are inferior to traditional NDs which when using a good brand you get better results - no color cast, no loss of sharpness, no weirdness that happens with VND.

I've come to really like the XUME magnets system. It's quite fast in the field. Not as fast as a VND, but still faster than a Matte Box and also screwing in the filter which takes forever.
 
How is the Genus Eclipse on sharpness? Did you have opportunity to test the SLR Magic VND? If so, how does it compare with the Genus Eclipse?

I picked up the SLR Magic because it was on-sale, but the Genus Eclipse is really intriguing, and it cuts a couple more stops than the SLR Magic.
 
any of you use the Fotodiox Pro Canon-Emount Fusion adapter that has a vari ND filter built in? Not the vizelex but the nicer Fusion. I use it along with a regular adapter, switching to the latter once light dims. I find that it doesn’t affect sharpness but does give a greenish cast that can be white balanced out.

Kipon makes one that lets you switch out the ND filter. The original one was made by this Swedish guy years ago and had no electronics. Haven’t used those but wonder if anyone here has. Seems a bit more convenient than Xume to me which I also used.
 
I've tried a lot of vario ND's and settled on the B+W XS-Pro Digital ND Vario MRC-Nano. The main advantage is that they are fully multicoated and you can shoot into the light without ghosting or flare. They also have end stops ( but these can be removed to increase the density range). There is a slight color shift but that's easy to dial out with a custom WB. Lots of cheaper vario ND's caused sharpness loss with long focal lengths. The best I had before the B+W was the tiffen but it isn't MC'd
 
Be aware that the only way to test sharpness issues with a Variable ND is with a long telephoto lens, that's where the problems will appear . Any other test is a complete waste of time and is meaningless. I suggest testing at 200mmm. They all look good at 50mm. My experience is that the cheapest decent one is the Tiffen. Otherwise stick with the known brands - B+W, Heliopan or Sing Ray, Schneider. The real enemy is plastic lenses in the cheap ones. Also test for flare. I had a format that was perfectly sharp but it had some kind of grease or something between the glass that made white flare. I think it was just a mistake though.
 
Yes Imamcuser as your test shows, at 200mm you can really see the difference. The only one of those you tested that's remotely acceptable is the SLR Magic which still looks a bit softer , though it might only be lower contrast. I's like to see the same test however with the top notch more expensive filters.
 
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