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Thread: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

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    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    I recently tried out a B+w 10 grad circular nd 10 stop filter. And want to buy a similar filter with 10stops. There are a lot of brands out there, so I wanted to check what your experiences with 10 stop nd filters are, and what brands you recommend.?
    I have the Nikon D800, and the lens I want to use it on is the Nikon 24-70 f2.8. I also have the Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 but I think I will stick with using the 24 - 70 for long exposures, since it's really expensive with filter kit for the 14-24.

    I think I want a filter that is just 10 stop, not the vario filters. I have heard that they are not so good? Is that correct?
    Also wondering is the square ones better than the cirular ones? Or just easier to remove for composing?
    I See hitech, lee, singh ray, b+w, hoya at least have filters.
    So If you have some personal experiences with brands and products I would love to hear them?

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    I am looking at these also, but still learning.
    There are alot of posts here on filters. Do a search and you will learn while waiting for someone to answer you.
    Lots of info forthcoming I'm sure...
    Nancy

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Circular generally refers to polarization and while it will affect exposure they aren't generally graded in stops. A polarizing filter is not the same as a Neutral Density Filter.

    Neutral just means it should not affect colour and density is the amount of light it stops. In terms of ND filters, You want the most optically flat that you can get so as not to introduce distortions. Multicoating is good to reduce the potential for flare since you are introducing additional air glass surfaces at the front of the optical path.

    A polarizer reduces reflected glare and is somewhat more difficult to produce. It needs the same optical properties (which is to say none) and requires more precision manufacture and centering. Expect to pay a bit more and you get what you pay for.

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    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    For 10-stop screw-in filters, there is very limited choice. When I bought mine, B+W was the only company that made them. Lee's Big Stopper is not a screw in filter and requires the Lee kit (which I own now, but did not own at the time). I do not own the 14-24mm adaptor.

    The B+W filter is reputed to be a bit warmer than the Lee, but have not made any comparison shots myself.

    A word of warning; it is tricky to work with as you cannot see anything through the viewfinder once it is in place (1/1000th of the ambient light is getting through). You have to either set up everything on a very rigid tripod and lock the camera in place before taking the shot or you have to use LiveView to set up the shot.

    As an aside, I use it with the D800 and the f/2.8 24-70mm lens as well.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by teigas View Post
    I recently tried out a B+w 10 grad circular nd 10 stop filter. And want to buy a similar filter with 10stops. There are a lot of brands out there, so I wanted to check what your experiences with 10 stop nd filters are, and what brands you recommend.?
    The best of the bunch is the Singh-Ray 10-Stop More-Slo

    I think I want a filter that is just 10 stop, not the vario filters. I have heard that they are not so good? Is that correct?
    No - not correct at all, if you're talking about a quality variable ND filter like the Singh-Ray Vari-ND, Vari-ND Duo or Vari-ND Trio. I shoot with over $100,000 worth of equipment, including 2 Canon 1D series cameras, and I STILL consider my 2 Vari-ND filters to be the highest-quality piece of equipment that I own. Variable ND filters are a god-send because you can select the aperture you want for DoF control AND the shutterspeed you want for motion control - and then simply twist the filter to vary the attenuation to balance the exposure.

    I've use them on shots like this:

    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?


    And this:

    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    On this shot I was even able to vary the attenuation DURING THE EXPOSURE so that the aircraft landing lights didn't get excessively bright as it got closer to me ... (click for bigger view)

    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Also wondering is the square ones better than the cirular ones? Or just easier to remove for composing?
    With a Vari-ND you can just twist it to minimum attenuation for composing, then back to something more when you're ready.

    I See hitech, lee, singh ray, b+w, hoya at least have filters.
    So If you have some personal experiences with brands and products I would love to hear them?
    Singh-Ray are top shelf. The Lee Stopper has a significant colour cast (if we're still talking 10 stop), but to be honest, I use my Vari-NDs 100 times+ more than my Mor-Slos.

    Hope this helps.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by teigas View Post
    I think I want a filter that is just 10 stop, not the vario filters. I have heard that they are not so good?
    Where did you here that? Like any product, there are good and bad and to write-off all Vari NDs as bad, is very misleading.

    As Colin suggests, at the very top of the tree, encompassing both Vari or non-Vari is indeed the Singh-Ray. I honestly don't think you'll get anyone in the world of photography arguing with that. The Lee 'Big Stopper' is hugely popular. I believe there was a major supply problem on these. Don't know if that has been resolved.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by Donald View Post
    Where did you here that? Like any product, there are good and bad and to write-off all Vari NDs as bad, is very misleading.

    As Colin suggests, at the very top of the tree, encompassing both Vari or non-Vari is indeed the Singh-Ray. I honestly don't think you'll get anyone in the world of photography arguing with that. The Lee 'Big Stopper' is hugely popular. I believe there was a major supply problem on these. Don't know if that has been resolved.
    I heard if you twisted the varios to far you could get black spots and stuff like that, was a traing video on kelby traing. I heard that. Is the price difference between singh ray and b+w worth the money for a 10 stop filter? Is the difference so remarkable?

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by teigas View Post
    I heard if you twisted the varios to far you could get black spots and stuff like that, was a traing video on kelby traing.
    If you twist them beyond their limits then yes, otherwise it's not a problem that I've had.

    I haven't used the B+W 10 stop, but the Lee Big Stopper is known to impart a significant colour cast that the Singh-Ray Mor-Slo doesn't (Lee even mention it in their manual). Have a look at the singh-ray blog for a comparison. Colour casts like that aren't necessarily easy to correct in post-processing as they're caused by an un-even attenuation, depending on wavelength.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by teigas View Post
    I heard if you twisted the varios to far you could get black spots and stuff like that, was a traing video on kelby traing. I heard that. Is the price difference between singh ray and b+w worth the money for a 10 stop filter? Is the difference so remarkable?
    We don't know what country you're in and, therefore, what currency you operate with.

    The Lee 10 stop in the UK is about £100. The Singh Ray (which I had to get from the US) worked out to just under, I think, £300. So 3 times the price.

    Is it worth it? That's got to be a personal decision. For me, yes. With the Singh Ray I don't just have one 10 stop filter, I have a huge range of ND filters ranging from 2 to 8 stop. A lot cheaper than trying to buy a set of ND filters each of a different strength. And that's not factoring in the quality difference, that some may feel is greater or lesser, depending upon perspective.
    Last edited by Donald; 20th January 2014 at 10:44 PM.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by Donald View Post
    The Lee 10 stop in the UK is about £100. The Singh Ray (which I had to get from the US) worked out to just under, I think, £300. So 3 times the price.
    Out of interest, I just chucked the price into wolframalpha and it came back with 206 GBP (that's not including any freight or taxes though).

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    PS: If anyone's interested, Singh-Ray have just release a 15 stop Mor-Slo.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by Donald View Post
    We don't know what country you're in and, therefore, what currency you operate with.

    The Lee 10 stop in the UK is about £100. The Singh Ray (which I had to get from the US) worked out to just under, I think, £300. So 3 times the price.

    Is it worth it? That's got to be a personal decision. For me, yes. With the Singh Ray I don't just have one 10 stop filter, I have a huge range of ND filters ranging from 2 to 8 stop. A lot cheaper than trying to buy a set of ND filters each of a different strength. And that's not factoring in the quality difference, that some may feel is greater or lesser, depending upon perspective.
    So you are saying that a 10 stop singh ray is worth its money?

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by Colin Southern View Post
    PS: If anyone's interested, Singh-Ray have just release a 15 stop Mor-Slo.
    It must take a seriously bright scene or a great love for slow shutters to demand cutting your light down to 1/32,768th of what's available. I hope the camera has dark-frame subtraction.

    However, Colin, I must raise a serious issue. What's with the Papyrus font on your prints? Maybe I'm just a typography nerd, but I think it lets down your work.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    The Lee big stopper works well for me and I am aware of the ongoing debate over colour casts, but I am content to adjust in PP.

    The Lee filter kit for the Nikon 14-24 utilises 150mm rather than 100mm filters if my memory serves me correctly, but this is a seriously wide lens, and I utilise one most days. More so than the 24-70mm for the work that I do. It is my only lens that I use without any filter and whilst it does need cleaning, I have surprised myself regards not having a filter, which I have regarded as essential for at least protection for some 30 years on other lenses.

    I am surprised however that you raise the question of the cost of the filters for the 14-24mm lens.

    You have a D800 and two seriously good Nikon lenses. (14-24 and 24-70). Its a bit like having a Ferrari and saying you don't want seriously good performance tyres on it?

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    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by shreds View Post
    The Lee big stopper works well for me and I am aware of the ongoing debate over colour casts, but I am content to adjust in PP.

    The Lee filter kit for the Nikon 14-24 utilises 150mm rather than 100mm filters if my memory serves me correctly, but this is a seriously wide lens, and I utilise one most days. More so than the 24-70mm for the work that I do. It is my only lens that I use without any filter and whilst it does need cleaning, I have surprised myself regards not having a filter, which I have regarded as essential for at least protection for some 30 years on other lenses.

    I am surprised however that you raise the question of the cost of the filters for the 14-24mm lens.

    You have a D800 and two seriously good Nikon lenses. (14-24 and 24-70). Its a bit like having a Ferrari and saying you don't want seriously good performance tyres on it?
    Lee filters are not coated, but you can get the B+W with anti-reflection coating. This was the deciding factor when I went with the B+W over the Lee. From a quality standpoint, both are premium filters.

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by shreds View Post
    The Lee big stopper works well for me and I am aware of the ongoing debate over colour casts, but I am content to adjust in PP.

    The Lee filter kit for the Nikon 14-24 utilises 150mm rather than 100mm filters if my memory serves me correctly, but this is a seriously wide lens, and I utilise one most days. More so than the 24-70mm for the work that I do. It is my only lens that I use without any filter and whilst it does need cleaning, I have surprised myself regards not having a filter, which I have regarded as essential for at least protection for some 30 years on other lenses.

    I am surprised however that you raise the question of the cost of the filters for the 14-24mm lens.

    You have a D800 and two seriously good Nikon lenses. (14-24 and 24-70). Its a bit like having a Ferrari and saying you don't want seriously good performance tyres on it?
    Hehe, love the quote on the ferrari :P I can add that i got the Nikon 70 - 200mm F2.8 aswell :P But I am saving over time , to buy the stuff I want. So i think a filter kit for the 14-24 wich is really wide on the D800, might be overkill, compared how much I use it. I might be changed out for the 16-35 from Nikon over time(easier with filters and not sure if I need the 2mm wider. (Not sure yet).

    My english is not that good, so are you writing that you use the 24-70 most times? Or the 14-24mm? And wich of the glasses do you have filter for?

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Here are the shots I did with the B+W 10 stop filter wich i borrowed from a friend.
    http://www.teigen.be/blogg/?p=6705
    They might not be tack sharp because it was really windy. Would liked some constructive critisims on my first try on long expousure.

    I might forgot to close the viewfinder on a couple of them, cold as hell with 10 - 15 m/s wind in Norway by the ocean.

    This picture her is the green tint on the right light leek, or just the sun coming in from the left? http://i0.wp.com/www.teigen.be/blogg..._hor_small.jpg

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by teigas View Post
    Here are the shots I did with the B+W 10 stop filter wich i borrowed from a friend.
    http://www.teigen.be/blogg/?p=6705
    They might not be tack sharp because it was really windy. Would liked some constructive critisims on my first try on long expousure.

    I might forgot to close the viewfinder on a couple of them, cold as hell with 10 - 15 m/s wind in Norway by the ocean.

    This picture her is the green tint on the right light leek, or just the sun coming in from the left? http://i0.wp.com/www.teigen.be/blogg..._hor_small.jpg
    I think you should upload any photos directly to this site rather than linking stuff from elsewhere, it's really easy and makes commenting etc so much more simple

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Her they are.

    The last one is the one i question the light leak, or if its just the sun shining in from the left.
    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?
    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?
    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?
    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?
    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

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    Re: What circular ND 10 stop filter to buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by teigas View Post
    Here are the shots I did with the B+W 10 stop filter wich i borrowed from a friend.
    http://www.teigen.be/blogg/?p=6705
    They might not be tack sharp because it was really windy. Would liked some constructive critisims on my first try on long expousure.

    I might forgot to close the viewfinder on a couple of them, cold as hell with 10 - 15 m/s wind in Norway by the ocean.

    This picture her is the green tint on the right light leek, or just the sun coming in from the left? http://i0.wp.com/www.teigen.be/blogg..._hor_small.jpg
    Lars ( eller er det Martin ? ) , Hvis de er genuint dine første forsøk på x10 filter , ville jeg være veldig fornøyd . Du har gjort en god jobb , takk for å laste dem opp .

    Jeg tror ikke det er noen lys lekkasje der på den siste, som du sier det kan være bare solen , men likevel en førsteklasses innsats .

    Min norsk er langt verre enn din engelsk (takk og lov for Google translate ) . Min bror snakker litt norsk da han brukte litt tid på det som en del av sin universitetskurs , på en børs , men som jeg bor 200 miles fra ham nå , er han ikke mye bruk som en oversetter !

    Som svar på spørsmålet ditt , jeg bruker 14 - 24mm det meste som jeg gjør mye av interiør arkitektoniske bilder og ideelt sett ønsker også et tilt og shift-objektiv , men for tiden gjør alt retting i PS og annen programvare som DX0 Viewpoint plugg i .

    Som sannsynligvis er den andre punktet jeg vil gjøre når det gjelder å bruke x10 filter , som er at jeg bruker en relativt tung studio stativ ( Manfrotto 058B ) som er stor og virkelig solid , uavhengig av værforholdene . De fleste tror jeg er av å spille en runde golf når jeg satt ut med det i det bæreveske !
    *******

    Lars (or is it Martin?), if those are genuinely your first attempts at x10 filter, I would be very happy. You have made a great job, thanks for uploading them.

    I don't think there is any light leak there on the last one, as you say it may be just the sun, but nevertheless a first class effort.

    My Norwegian is far worse than your English (thank goodness for Google translate). My brother speaks a little Norwegian as he spent some time there as part of his University course, on an exchange, but as I live 200 miles from him now, he is not much use as a translator!

    In answer to your question, I use the 14-24mm on a D3x mostly as I do a lot of interior architectural shots and ideally would also like a Tilt and Shift lens, but currently do all the straightening in PS and other software such as DX0 ViewPoint plug in.

    Which is probably the other point I would make regards using x10 filter, which is that I use a relatively heavy studio tripod (Manfrotto 058B) which is big and really sturdy, regardless of the weather conditions. Most people think I am off to play a round of golf when I set out with it in it carry case!

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