Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

I managed to search around the net until I found the Heliopan. It took some
doing as B&H and most of the usual suspects are backordered on it. I was
willing to pay the $400 for it, as I need something very good for my
new FS-100. It shipped today to me, so I should have it sometime next week,
and I can post my impression of it.

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

Sorry if this question was posted already but i have a Light Craft Workshop 77mm fader ND MK2 which i use with my canon 7d. I noticed circular rings when the lens is wide open when pointing to a blue sky is this normal for a ND filter or could the the lens be defective or is it just a bad design? I'm thinking of getting a Genus 77mm ND but don't know if i'm going to run into the same problem.

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

I got the Heliopan filter and have been using it for the past month.
It is just fantastic, maybe expensive at $400 but worth every penny in
my opinion. I have posted a test on my Sony NEX FS-100 with and
without the filter at different focal lengths to show how you can
get the 'shallow depth of field' look by using the ND filter.
You can also see there is no loss of sharpness or color cast when
using the filter. Here's the link:

FS-100/Heliopan depth of field tests By Gabe Strong On ExposureRoom

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

Where did you get your LCW ND MK2 from? I have never noticed anything like that with mine. Completely darkening the filter will lead to heavy vignetting and complete picture degradation before it resets and starts at its brightest point again.

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

Any Heliopan 77mm owners find a reliable slip-on or their lens cap for their filter? I am stuck finding something that works!

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

I have the light craft workshop and really don't like how it degrade the image. Anybody use Tiffen here and can comment on them?

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

I've been using the Fader ND Mk II for a while and recently started using the newer Digi Pro-HD version.

Built quality is better and it's overall easier to handle. It still gets a bit soft when on telephoto lenses but more common focal lengths it should work great.

Here's a review we did of it recently (Click CC for English subtitles)

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

I bought a Fader ND way back because I baulked at the asking price for the Shing Ray. It is garbage at anything past its half way setting, causing uneven vigetting, and a pronounced, but also uneven colour cast. I never ever use it, but my concience won't let me pass on such a lemon to anyone else.

So I now use Formatt Hitech 100mm resin filters, but besides a set of three GNDs, I only have the eight stop ND with gaskit, and it works flawlessly. To look through it is like a welding mask, but its effect is completely even across the frame, and there is no noticable colour cast.

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

Below are two pictures, the first was taken through a Fotga “Slim wide band FADER ND design for digital camera” variable density filter and the other through a Hoya UV(0) filter that I use as a lens protector. The Fotga is about $20 au including postage.

To eliminate camera movement as far as possible the Nikon D300 was tripod mounted and used in mirror up mode. The lens used was a 300 mm f4 Nikkor and the camera was set in aperture priority mode (f 5.6). The camera set the exposure that varied over an 8 fold range.

I used the full range of Fotga settings and the results were all very similar, i.e. no better or no worse anywhere over the full range.

Apart from the results l Iike everything else about the Fotga. I would be interested in seeing the results from more upmarket filters.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/images/a...attach/jpg.gif

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

I purchased a bunch of these filters and tested them on a GH2. The overall winner for me was the Fader HD. It is their most expensive and is made for video use. It has a two stop difference over the Heliopan.

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

Though I my tests were with a DIY vari-nd, it shows the same results as your's with a long lens, mine was a nikkor 80-200 f2.8.
HOWEVER, I found out that mated with the "right" lens, the filter can be consistently sharp at all apertures. In my case a 50mm f1.4 is sharp with the a vari-nd at all apertures and at different filter power settings.

For those interested here are the tests with color and resolution charts. And for those interested, how to DIY it.

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

Hi Ted,

I wonder why the longer focal lengths are so adversely affected? Does this happen with the up market versions?

Re: Fader ND filters - Any recommendations?
 

Hi Alastair,

I recalled back I saw a shootout done with some brands, if my memory serves me right, they compared the Singh ray and LCW and it showed loss of sharpness with long lenses. I just can't recall which. The heliopan apparently is sharp and useful with several lens types. I have no personal experience with that so maybe someone who tried it can chime in.

On a side note, I use the mosaic VAF-5D2, and it does the opposite! The longer focal lengths are ok but on the wide end its picky with certain models.