Here's some pictures with the Heliopan Fader ND on the FS-100...

Thanks Gabe,

What lens did you shoot with? It's strange that the upper right pic (which shows proper exposure) has such a deep DOF!

Ok, sorry I can't swear to anything as it was just a really quick test to
show how much the Heliopan could reduce the light in the day. First, it
was with the kit lens. Second, it was at full wide, so no help on the
shallow depth of field there either. I did set the iris to wide open (F3.5)
and then used the ND to control the exposure.....so the iris never changed
between the shots. What MIGHT be a good exercise for me to do, is set up
a shot, and expose correctly with the ND totally dialed off, and using
the iris to 'stop down' and then second, do the same shot with the iris
fully wide and use the ND to 'stop down'. That would show the DIFFERENCE
in the depth of field between having the ND filter, and not having it.
But that's just my best guess of how to do this test in a valuable way.
If you have a particular way you want me to test, just let me know, and
I'll do it and post pics for everyone. Sorry, I wasn't really thinking
too much, just was so excited that I could shoot outside without having
to use shutter speed that I don't think I did the test in a particularly
valuable way.

OK - so it's the kit lens at the widest end, and at F3.5.

FWIW, I remember playing with the VG10 with the same lens in the local Sony Center the other day; as they didn't have any ND filter in stock, I used aperture priority (iris wide open) and auto shutter; I must say that starting with some 50% zoom and more, I was able to get quite a nice shallow DOF - even though the VG10's sensor is nothing like the FS100's one!

Thanks for posting these pictures Gabe.

I would also like to see a test where you adjust the exposure for the different ND settings to really see the difference in DOF. It does look like a very nice filter! Might be an even better solution then a build-in camera ND filter with only two fixed settings. Now you have a nice way to control the light.

Here's a quick video comparison I just stepped outside and shot.
I tried to match the exposure and shot as close as I could. However,
after each shot without the Heliopan, I had to screw the filter on,
so I had to move the camera just a little so the shots may not
match up exactly, but they are pretty close I think. Also,
sorry I didn't get it in the text, but the first shot in each
case, group is the shot with NO Heliopan filter, (high F stop
around F22) and the second shot in each group, is WITH the Heliopan
filter (Low F stop....somewhere between F 3.5 - F 6.3 depending on
if it is the wide, medium or tight shot). Anyways, here is the link.

FS-100/Heliopan depth of field tests By Gabe Strong On ExposureRoom (http://exposureroom.com/members/alaskacameradude/14d879d0c3924609974edd0388478689/)

Thanks for posting your test Gabe. I do not know this lens, but to my eyes the shots with the filter are soft and have a green/yellow cast added along with some vingetting to boot. Not what I was expecting from the more expensive and recommended Helipan filter.

Does the lens show this behavior without the filter in place?

First things first, sorry, I had accidentally hit a keyboard shortcut that
applied a custom color correction to several of the clips, as they were
selected at the time. After the color cast was pointed out to me, I went
back into FCP and checked, got rid of the CC3way filter and re uploaded it
to the same link. So if you looked at it earlier today, try it again.

Second, it's kind of hard to tell.....but because so much more of the
picture goes out of focus with the Heliopan on, it can make everything
look 'soft'. But if you look at the area that is supposed to be in
focus, I think it should look sharp still, even with the filter on.
However, when you put the filter on, and change F-stop, it seems to
change the focus point a little......which I didn't realize, and in
the attempt to keep everything equal, I did not ride focus. I will
need to look at this again and see if it really goes soft, or if I just
need to tweak the focus a little bit with the filter on to 'refocus'
on what should be in focus. There may be some vignetting at wide angles,
due to the step up ring I have between the 67mm lens and the 77mm Heliopan
filter....I thought I may have detected that, but I need to shoot against
a white piece of paper to see for sure.

Hey Gabe,

Thanks for the update. No worries. I don't want to appear like I am pointing fingers. I watched the footage again and the color is more consistent but I still see a bit of a green cast come on when the filter shots come up.

Regarding sharpness. I am looking at the mailbox as the subject and it does go a bit soft on the filter shots. Maybe a retest using a re-focus for each shot might give a clearer impression of the filter and its impact on the image. I think the grey mailbox is a good subject for this test.

Thanks for posting as I am researching different variable NDs. Hope to see more!

Tim,

No problem, I have never thought about how difficult it is to do a
fair and useful test before I started doing these. For example, should
I white balance without the filter, and then white balance again after
I put the filter on? (I did NOT do that, would that be 'fair'? 'Useful
to others?) Should I refocus on the subject once I put the filter on?
I did NOT do any of these things. Maybe I should have.
I will continue testing and put some more video up later today with new
methods....

The way I look at it is when you use the filter you would white balance and focus with it on. So I think outside in an unchanging lighting situation it would be most useful to white balance, focus and shoot without the filter. Put the filter on then white balance, focus and shoot again. On tripod being the best as well and you might as well leave the white card in the shot for reference and ease.

Thanks for your tests!

OK, after good suggestions from Tim, here is the latest bunch of tests.

FS-100/Heliopan depth of field tests By Gabe Strong On ExposureRoom (http://exposureroom.com/members/alaskacameradude/14d879d0c3924609974edd0388478689/)

Take a look....

Hey Gabe, Looks great! Thanks for shooting some more tests. The detail and color are very nice. It looks like the filter is a good addition to your kit.

The shots look very nice with less DOF in my opinion. Much better than the whole world in focus.

Tim,

Thanks for the input on these tests. Previously, I was just leaving all
settings identical between having the filter and not having the filter on.
But, the filter is gray and if you don't re white balance, it seems
to change the color a bit. Also, it seems you need to refocus after
putting it on. If you do these things, it seems the video you get
out of it is VERY close to the color and sharpness with no filter
on.....except there is much less depth of field, which is of course,
the point. However, I am not sure, but there might be some slight
vignetting at the wide angle, around 18mm. I hadn't thought about this
before, I bought the 77mm Heliopan to insure use on the broadest variety
of lenses, because after all, you can get step up rings pretty cheap.
But, that puts the filter out further in front of the lens, creating
more of a change of vignetting. So, if you are going to get a WIDE
lens like the 11-16, I would recommend finding the front filter thread
size, and buying a variable ND that fits it exactly, and buy the thin
version as well!

I think Gabe has hit the nail re: potential vignetting. The lesson taken is that it's not just the filter diameter which should be at least as large as your biggest lens' diameter; it's also about the distance that step-up ring(s) will put you vari-ND filter in front of a lens!

I think that with a collection of lenses with very wide focal lengths and filter diameters range, one needs more than a single vari-ND filter...

Piotr

Gabe, are you getting the same clarity/sharpness when the kit lens is fully zoomed in, with the Heliopan rotated for 0 effect, as you do when it is at a wide angle? I would shoot zoomed in with the ND filter off, then with the camera still running, screw it on, set at 0 effect, then repeat that with the kit lens set at the wide angle. I am just interested in the effect of the filter on the kit lens set at 0 ND. Also have everything on the camera set to AUTO. Judge the results by playing back directly from the camera to the TV. Thanks.

Galen,

Unfortunately, there is no '0' setting on the filter. It goes from 1 to 6.6
stops of ND. So even with it dialed back all the way, you notice a difference
between having the filter on and having it off the lens, it blocks a little
light, even set at the lowest setting. Of course, I basically leave it
on if I am going to be shooting outside......I was shooting outside last night
at 10pm and still needed a little ND on the shots. As for if there is any loss in
clarity or sharpness at different focal lengths, if there are, they are so small that
I can't notice them with just my eyes. I'm watching on my 27 inch Samsung 1080P TV
in the edit bay, and I also tested the footage on my 42 inch 1080P set in the living room.
Footage is just amazing on them both, no loss of clarity, sharpness, or color shift that I
can tell just 'eyeballing' it. This camera actually amazes me more, the more I use it.
I am just looking at the shots I took last night of a sunset over the ocean and
it's literally the most beautiful video footage I have ever seen....and I had the
Heliopan filter on the whole time!

Thanks for the tests Gabe. I'm in the market, and given the sizable outlay this is a decision I want to get right. Keeping detail is a big concern for me...I'm wondering if testing at f20 without the filter is giving you a less sharp image, compared to the filter f stop which is more optimal for the lens. In which case we may not be able to accurately observe potential detail loss. I wonder if this is a valid concern?

Well, given that if you don't have an ND filter, you are going to have to
shoot at F 20....or F 25, I'd say it's kind of a moot point. If the shot
looks as good at F 5.6 with the filter as F 22 without the filter, those
are basically your choices. Unless, you want to kick the shutter speed
way up. I guess I could do a test at F 5.6 with no filter and the shutter
speed at 1/10,000 and one at F 5.6 with the filter and 1/48 shutter speed
(shooting at 24p). I was thinking that most people would not want to
use the shutter speed method unless that was their only option, because it
can make motion look a little strange.

I'm not sure what Steve is thinking, but in our pursuit for the perfect image, we still have the non-variable ND filters as an option, which may have a more proven track record with less expense (and therefore are less risky, albeit less handy) than a variable ND filter. I wonder why variable ND filters are not subject to quantitative tests that make it clear what you are paying for before you buy. Has Heliopan offered any quantitative test comparison?

I haven't seen any test from any ND filter maker, which is why I was
posting tests with and without the filter. I looked around for tests
before I bought the filter and could not find any, so I thought
others may be interested in seeing something before they bought it.

I haven't been following the forum for quite a long time, so please update me:

- is the Heliopan filter Gabe has tested, the Variograu 0.3-2.0 model?
- any news on the announced availability of a version with front thread (for screwing on a sunhood)?

Thanks

Piotr

Few tests of Heliopan 77mm:
Heliopan Vari ND Sony FS100 18-200 f3.5- (200mm shot) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viDz60IHpN0)
Heliopan Vari ND Sony FS100 Sigma 17-70 f2.8 Canon 50 f1.4 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upgNX79nx9s)
Heliopan 77mm ND Vari Tokina 11-16 f2.8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCpZlWqxS5E)

I just received my Heliopan ND. I have a 67 - 77 step up ring for use with the stock lens. I heard that there wouldn't be vignetting with this ND, but at the widest, which is 18mm (29mm with this camera), I get the bottom left and the upper right vignetting quite a bit. This seems to be alleviated if I open up the ND filter more. Did I get a bad filter, or is that just what I should expect?

I haven't been following the forum for quite a long time, so please update me:

- is the Heliopan filter Gabe has tested, the Variograu 0.3-2.0 model?
- any news on the announced availability of a version with front thread (for screwing on a sunhood)?

Thanks

Piotr

Piotr,

Yup, the one I tested was the 0.3 - 2.0 model. I have not heard anything
new, but apparently, according to my contact at Heliopan, they are
aware of the desire for a sunhood and are looking at making some
kind of 'snap on' sun shade that would work with the Heliopan. That's
all the info I have.

I just received my Heliopan ND. I have a 67 - 77 step up ring for use with the stock lens. I heard that there wouldn't be vignetting with this ND, but at the widest, which is 18mm (29mm with this camera), I get the bottom left and the upper right vignetting quite a bit. This seems to be alleviated if I open up the ND filter more. Did I get a bad filter, or is that just what I should expect?

Ryan,

I do not think this is the Heliopan. Instead, it is the effect of using
a step ring. What happens, is that now your Heliopan is further out
in front of the lens, which makes it more likely to vignette. I would
get the thinnest step up ring you can find....that will help. I found
very very slight vignetting, but I was using a step up ring, then a sunshade
screwed onto the step ring, then the Heliopan screwed into the front threads
of the sunshade (this sunshade had both back and front filters which I
thought would work well with the Heliopan, giving it a sunshade.) It
did work well, but from 18-22 or so, there was slight vignetting. So
I took off the sunshade and screwed the Heliopan right into the thin
step ring, and got rid of the vignetting. What would be nice, would be
a sunshade with 67mm threads in the back and 77 in the front so it could
serve as a combo sunshade and step up ring.

Which step up ring did you get? I got this one. Seems pretty thin.

Tiffen 67-77mm Step-up Ring (Lens to Filter) 6777SUR B&H Photo

Ryan,

That looks like the same step ring I got, not 100% sure as I bought
a 'thin' Tiffen step up ring from Amazon. Are you seeing vignetting at
the widest (18mm) setting on the lens? Is it constant, or only when
the ND filter is dialed to maximum strength? I don't see it on mine,
but I have heard of some people seeing it when the ND filter is
dialed into maximum strength. And to be honest, I have not
tested mine pointed at a white wall or something, I just haven't
noticed it in 'normal' shooting, unless I attached the sunshade
as well.

I see it from maybe 18 - 22 and when its at max strength. If you test yours at 18mm @ max strength, let me know what you find out.

EDIT: Also the weird thing is that its only dark on the bottom left and upper right corners - not all 4 corners. If anyone knows why this may be happening, please let me know. I'd be forever grateful :)

EDIT again: I linked the wrong step up ring... This is the one I got - B+W Step-Up Ring (Lens to Filter) 67mm - 77mm 65-069434 B&H

I have tested my 77mm Heliopan for just a couple of days, and mainly with my fast Canon FD primes. Today for the time I put it on the (otherwise surprisingly good) kit zoom lens, and - unfortunately - there is some vignetting at the lens' widest, and the Heliopan "closed down" more than half way...

I wonder what the thickness is of your 67-77mm step-up rings, Gabe and Ryan? Please post your measurements here, if you will. Mine is the the Marumi brand (made in Japan), and is only some 3,5 mm thick (excluding the thread) - and yet I can see shadows at the frame extremities...

Piotr