Bright daylight with fast lens

[Marc de Jesus]

Quick question.

I want to shoot at mid day with my canon 50mm f1.2, shooting between f 1.2-2.8 at 24p with the shutter at 50.

I already bought one .9 ND filter... but that isn't enough.... if i put on another .9 ND filter on top of the existing one.. will I lose any sharpness in the lens??

Any other quick, cheap last minute tips?

thanks.

[Evan Donn]

Get a Fader ND, only way to go if you want to shoot wide open like that in daylight... it'll let basically let you set exposure independent of the aperture and shutter speed. Much easier than trying to stack multiple NDs. Well, ok, it's not the only way to go - there's also the Vari-ND which does the same thing - but if you're looking for cheap the Fader is the one to use.

[Marc de Jesus]

thanks for the reply, however, this is something i need to shoot in a couple days, so i can't wait for the week or so international ship ment..

i guess my primary concern is.. will stacking nd filters cause any noticeable drop in sharpness? the reason i ask, is because i samy's doesn't alllow returns on filters.. so..

[William Barclay]

Don't know if they are available in the States, but here in the UK Calumet has a Genus Fader variable ND filter, 8 stops, so if you are in a hurry it may be an option,
Bill.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Originally Posted by Marc de Jesus

thanks for the reply, however, this is something i need to shoot in a couple days, so i can't wait for the week or so international ship ment..

i guess my primary concern is.. will stacking nd filters cause any noticeable drop in sharpness? the reason i ask, is because i samy's doesn't alllow returns on filters.. so..

If the Fader doesn't arrive in time Marc, try to stack a PL filter on the ND filter...or try to shoot on an overcast day or during early morning/evening.

[Marc de Jesus]

Okay will try.. thanks for the tips guys.

[Docea Marius]

hello, I bought on ebay Light Craft Workshop,seller.. bonifaceleung.arrived 10 days and is perfect .. looks identical Genus..test hiere

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Marc de Jesus

I already bought one .9 ND filter... but that isn't enough.... if i put on another .9 ND filter on top of the existing one.. will I lose any sharpness in the lens??

A 0.9 neutral density filter gives a 3 stop reduction in light. Other manufacturers will refer to a 0.9 as an ND8. Provided that both filters are of decent quality it will be perfectly OK to stack up a couple of filters to give 6 stops of reduction.

The Fader ND gives up to 8 stops of light reduction & is of course much more convenient than stacking multiple fixed filters.

[Nuno Dias]

If you already have a 0.9 ND, I would suggest to get a 0.6 and a 0.3. This should be enough to stop down the light to your required aperture of 1.2. Probably get two 0.6 just in case its too bright a day.

If these NDs will cause image problems depends on the manufacturer of the filters you bought, some cheaper filters will certainly give you problems while others won't. I use Heliopan and they are extremely clean and don't degrade the image one bit.

The problem with Fader NDs is that most of them have a color cast which really annoys me, so I rather use my single ND's.

[Barry Goyette]

bhphoto is now selling b+W ND in a variety of higher densities...and the prices are decent..I picked up a couple of 1.8's and a 3.0 last time I was there...

Barry

[Marc de Jesus]

thanks for the tips on stacking filters.. since im fairly new to the game... is Tiffen considered high quality? because im planning to stack probably my nd.9 and a polarizer? or maybe another nd.9

btw, im planning on getting the genus 77mm.. if i get that would it be possible to downconvert it to my 72mm??? using a stepring? and forgive my newbieness on this issue.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

The Tiffen is generally good quality. If you use a PL filter, take into account that the amount of stops lost will depend on how far you twist the filter and angle of the front element to the sun.

[Ilya Mamonov]

Originally Posted by Barry Goyette

bhphoto is now selling b+W ND in a variety of higher densities...and the prices are decent..I picked up a couple of 1.8's and a 3.0 last time I was there...

Barry

Yes, I think this is a very good option if you don't want to buy Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter. After speaking with quite a few users FaderND I would advise against it. Many report color shift and loss of sharpness when using it. It's a little strange that people who own 5DII and numerous lenses each costing $1000 or more would complain that Vari-ND cost too much ($340 on singh-ray.com and much cheaper on eBay). When you invest heavily in lenses you must consider quality of the glass you are going to stick in front of those lenses. But if you do want to save money B+W is an excellent choice.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Ilya Mamonov

Yes, I think this is a very good option if you don't want to buy Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter. After speaking with quite a few users FaderND I would advise against it. Many report color shift and loss of sharpness when using it.

There are many happy Fader ND users on this forum (I'm one of them). At the extreme end of the range (almost maximum darkness) there is a blue/grey colour cast but that is also the case with the Singh-Ray variable ND filter.

Have you actually used & compared a Singh-Ray with a Fader ND? I have & I agree with all the other reports that I have seen previously that rate the Fader ND quality as being on par with the Singh-Ray at one quarter of the price.

[Ilya Mamonov]

I have Vari-ND and have no need in Fader ND. But I did inquire on other forums about that filter. Some are very happy (like yourself) and others are not. If people report problems I want to stay away from such filters. I did not read one complaints about SR nor did I ever experience a cast while using it. The only issues I've had with SR was with Gold-N-Blue and its magenta cast but I was guided on how to easily correct it. If you don't have money to buy SR I would stay with B+W. Excellent filters and affordable (77mm 106 will cost you about $80 on eBay with 8% Bing cashback).