Variable ND Filter to control exposure ofCanon EOS Lenses.

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eric teotico

Active member
I've been using a Variable ND Filter to control exposure on a canon EOS 85mm f1.8 prime and a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom. (It's always open at the widest stop) I'm satisfied with the sharpness of the images I've shot and I get beautiful bokeh.
Is there a difference in image quality between true aperture control vis-a-vis Variable ND Filter control? What are your experiences?
 
In terms of the quality of the image, is there a difference? I like my aperture fully opened. It gives me the most shallow depth of field.
 
Well I'm not a huge ultra shallow depth of field fan, but yes, most lenses look a little better when closed down a little.
But since you have everything you need in front of you, why not do a test yourself?
 
having your lenses wide open will decrease sharpness/IQ and so will a var-nd. I would suggest selling your call canon lenses and buying nikon.
 
Noted. Maybe I'm a fan of shallow depth of field so I've never thought of an always fully opened aperture as an issue. I find the image quality of the canon glass so much better than the kit lens. Even with a stopped down Variable ND, the image is sharper, brighter and gives a more beautiful bokeh. Specially if I compare them at the same settings i.e. 85 kit to 85prime. Well ok. I agree, aperture control will give me greater control over depth of field. I guess this is the answer I was looking for. In the meantime unless I replace all my canon lenses with another brand or the birger mount or sony mount is released, I'll live with a variable ND. Thanks for your answers.
 
eric teotico said:
Noted. Maybe I'm a fan of shallow depth of field so I've never thought of an always fully opened aperture as an issue. I find the image quality of the canon glass so much better than the kit lens. Even with a stopped down Variable ND, the image is sharper, brighter and gives a more beautiful bokeh. Specially if I compare them at the same settings i.e. 85 kit to 85prime. Well ok. I agree, aperture control will give me greater control over depth of field. I guess this is the answer I was looking for. In the meantime unless I replace all my canon lenses with another brand or the birger mount or sony mount is released, I'll live with a variable ND. Thanks for your answers.
Click to expand...

well yes, of course a canon 85mm 1.8 is going to look better than the kit at 85mm in terms of bokeh but the kit lens has many other features that i think people like myself bought it for, af image stabilization, large range, etc. I think a good pair with the kit lens is an 85mm (f2, 1.8 or 1.4) and a 135mm 2.8.
 
Ive tested on a low quality vari nd and the image loses sharpness on long tele.
Whats ur vari nd brand?

Ive heard good things of Heliopan which doesnt lose much iq
 
I tested many of them and stayed with the best out there, the Heliopan Vari ND. It's expensive, though, and some size are back-ordered. But no color shift and no decrease in resolution.
 
Here's a teaser I just did for an inspirational rally. I shot the live footages using the Canon glass I mentioned earlier. I wanted the image of people's hands to be almost abstract. The bokeh from the Canon glass helped me achieve it. (I saw a small glitch near the end just now. It might have been from the upload.) Hope you like it.

http://vimeo.com/31096627
 
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