GH2 Tiffen's Indie Starter Kit vs Singh-Ray's Thin Mount Vari-ND

Boncrek

Boncrek

Well-known member
I hope to purchase the GH2 soon and want to take full advantage of the DOF it offers over traditional video cameras. As part of my church ministry I plan to film short films, documentaries and may even cover an event or two.

So to keep a higher fstop I've been looking at these two Neutral Density solutions to see the strengths and weaknesses of both. The thing is I don't own a GH2 yet and have never used NDs before (except built into my DVX) so I only know from online sources (like Philip Bloom and Shane Hurlbut respectively). The cost between these two sets of NDs is small ($340 vs $390) On one hand the Tiffens offer Infrared protecton since DSLR sensors are more sensitive to that spectrum and Shane Hurlbut recommends them. On the other hand Singh-Ray has the best no-colour-shift Variable ND solution out there (and the price reflects it) and Phillip Bloom wrote a glowing review of them as well. I would love the speed of the Vari-ND (and puts the DSLRs a bit closer to a normal video camera) but I wonder if its not that big a plus versus the infrared protection given by the water white glass of the Tiffens (and wide angle ability since the Singh-Ray might vignette). The Singh-Ray also offer a higher maximum density so this may allow for super long exposures (if I ever need 'em)

Please advise me on what you think is the best solution based on your experience with them or with NDs in general.
 
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gkanai said:
Have you considered the FaderND product? Half the price of the Singh-Ray and I doubt most can tell the difference.

http://philipbloom.net/2009/07/22/loving-the-fader-nd-and-singh-ray-vari-nd-life-savers/
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I have considered all the usual cheaper alternatives. Cheaper in this case doesn't mean better.
I've read several reviews of the Fader ND being soft on other DSLRs.
The GH2 resolves more detail than other DSLRs so I can only imagine how bad the Fader ND will be on the GH2.

A big selling point for the GH2 is the sharper video image so I need to use sharp glass and filters or it'll all be a waste.
Dont get me wrong though cuz I love to find a bargain and get the best bang for buck
but I dont want to go spend money on somethinh I'll have to repace a year later.
But I will now consider them all over again...
 
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if you do go with the Singh ray, note that the (77mm) Vari ND Sing Ray thin version has no filter thread on the end. Very annoying when you need it and for lens caps, otherwise its a great buy you can't go wrong.
 
i've been researching the same lately and have purchased a cheap VariND which was good for £40 but lost skin tones very earily. I have since bought a Tiffen screw on ND 0.9 and it works much better so I'm going to order the full set. Before I do that I ordered a cheap and nasty screw on set of 4 ND's for £19.99 on ebay. I'm expecting them to go straight in the bin but thought I'd try before paying £149 for the tiffen ones.
 
tikigod19 said:
i've been researching the same lately and have purchased a cheap VariND which was good for £40 but lost skin tones very earily. I have since bought a Tiffen screw on ND 0.9 and it works much better so I'm going to order the full set. Before I do that I ordered a cheap and nasty screw on set of 4 ND's for £19.99 on ebay. I'm expecting them to go straight in the bin but thought I'd try before paying £149 for the tiffen ones.
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How has you're experience with screw on NDs been vs vari NDs? Do you find it annoying to keep on switching filters or is it just a once every few shots kind of change?
I know for run and gun situations the Vari-ND has the edge but I'm also worried about vignetting and colour cast (if any at all)
 
im using the screw on and vari on friday for a wedding, thats the first time I'll use either so will let you know.

At the mo I have the cheap Vari and a cheap set of screw on but once I do a wedding or two and decide which I prefer (I've heard good things about the LCW MK2 on this thread) then I will let you know, but like you say, I think I'm going to prefer the vari ND at a fast paced shoot and move event like a wedding.
 
tikigod19 said:
im using the screw on and vari on friday for a wedding, thats the first time I'll use either so will let you know.

At the mo I have the cheap Vari and a cheap set of screw on but once I do a wedding or two and decide which I prefer (I've heard good things about the LCW MK2 on this thread) then I will let you know, but like you say, I think I'm going to prefer the vari ND at a fast paced shoot and move event like a wedding.
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Ok I will be looking forward to your review and words of wisdom :)
 
Where is the test? - edit: I think it's bot showing up on my iPhone-why no iPhone dvxuser app?!
When turned to minimum is it basically set to off or does it still apply minimum nd?
 
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a great video, exactly what I wanted and the filter looks good. The only time you seem to lose tone is 20mm pancake + ECT + ND

sorry for the newbie question but what do you mean by +ECT?
 
tikigod19 said:
a great video, exactly what I wanted and the filter looks good. The only time you seem to lose tone is 20mm pancake + ECT + ND

sorry for the newbie question but what do you mean by +ECT?
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ETC is the GH2's 'video crop' mode where only the center of the image on the sensor is used to achieve a higher crop factor. This effectively makes the 20mm focal length 52mm at the cost of some loss in image quality.
 
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yeah I always use PC mode but it didnt show up...

It is strange how the colour drain in skin tone seems to be worse on the ETC mode...

Ok so the choice for me is Singh Ray vs LCW vs Genus...
 
Im looking at the test and I see some very good results here. Except for when using ETC mode it looks fine to me.
I may just go the cheap route and get the LCW MKII instead of the Singh Ray.
Thanks for the test Grisnjam!
 
Grisnjam said:
I just made this little test of the LCW Fader ND mark II which you might want to look at as well:

Click to expand...

I updated this video with more focal lengths. I think that even at 140mm it is still sharp enough to use. At 140mm + ETC things go very wrong though.
 
I got a chance to try faderND last year during my vacation at Mexico.
it worked good on 14-140mm at 14mm up to 50 and up to 3 or 4 stops light reduction.
Beyond that the video was unacceptable to my taste.
Switched to VaryND - it's different league!
 
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