Neutral Density filters for a 5D...

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Phil Bloom

I have had great success with both the Fader ND and the Singh Ray Vari ND today in New Delhi on a commercial shoot.

Wow -- nice gig! Btw, what kind of mini rail-slider are you using there (at the side of the road)?

-- peer

[Wayne Avanson]

Peer, that's the Glidetrack compact. Glidetrack.com

Brilliant kit, I used mine in Canada on a music video shoot a couple of weeks ago where I couldn't take the long one.

Avey

[Jim Froom]

Originally Posted by Dan Brockett

I, like Philip, have the Singh-Ray and the Fader. The are both good.

Dan

I've had the Singh-Ray for about 6-8 weeks and use it all the time except for low light shots. Got the Fader in 2 days ago. Shot a test with everything being the same.

I was able to match color when properly white balanced under a single soft box with 5500k light. Colors matched up very closely and whites and skin tones were exceptional.

I did see a slight difference in sharpness. The Singh_Ray was a little sharper.

In my test I forgot to change my image settings which are lower contrast, low sat, and low sharpness so my images were a little flat to begin with.

I shot my test at F2 and shutter of 60 at ISO 1200 so I could get into the middle stops of the ND vari filters.

Next few days I'll try to match up colors with the Fader on my GH1 and see how the video looks trying to match the 2 filters and 2 different brand cameras.

The new low light capabilities, the video modes in DSLR's, the new toys for white balance and these new vari ND filters are the best things that ever happened to our industry.

[Silas Barker]

I have several 58mm and 77mm lens for 5d camera and a step up from 58 to 77mm so that my 77mm ND fader fits on all lens. However, a hood would be nice.........suggestions?

I have the 50mm lens, 70-300mm, and 24-105mm lit lens.

Thanks

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Silas Barker

I have several 58mm and 77mm lens for 5d camera and a step up from 58 to 77mm so that my 77mm ND fader fits on all lens. However, a hood would be nice.........suggestions?

Perhaps it's time to look into a mattebox..? Can use the same filter(s) for all lens sizes (and also grad ND's) and you'll have the best "hood" available, including french flags.

-- peer

[Silas Barker]

pretty expensive for a matte box, I could make something for less then $500 probably.
And I am the director and cinematographer for the film, so I dont care what it looks like as long as it works.
If i want to impress the crew and cast i'll play back a few clips we record hehehe

[Mitchell Lewis]

I've been very happy with our two Fader ND filters. (77mm and 82...or is it 86mm...can't remember) Anyway, when I first used them, I noticed a blue tint to what I was shooting. But that's when I first started using the camera. I've used them many times since then and never had any problems.

Shooting outdoors under bright sun and still being able to shoot at f/2.8 is pretty handy. Yesterday though I tried experimenting with shooting at f/2.8 (Fader ND set to max) and shooting at f/8.0 (Fader ND set to lowest setting. I liked the look of shooting at f/8.0 vs f/2.8. It wasn't as contrasty. Was that the Fader ND or the f-stop change? I'm guessing it was the change in f-stop.

One way or the other, an adjustable ND filter gives you additional options to get the best looking footage. A 4x4 glass filter in a matte box won't allow for this additional versatility.

Just my $0.02. :)

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Mitchell Lewis

Anyway, when I first used them, I noticed a blue tint to what I was shooting. But that's when I first started using the camera. I've used them many times since then and never had any problems.

HA! The same thing happened when I got my first 4x4 ND -- as I popped it in for the first test shoot I noticed that it wasn't very 'neutral' at all, but instead tinted all purple. Of course, I forgot to do a custom color balance before shooting, silly me.

-- peer

[Mitchell Lewis]

Haha! Good to know I wasn't the only one.

The thing that doesn't add up though, is most of the time I shoot outdoors on the 5600K (sun) setting. In otherwords, I don't White Balance. Weird.

I think what happened the first time I used it, was that I did a custom white balance (tends to look a little too blue for my taste) THEN added the Fader ND and it made the scene even look more blue. Live and learn. :)

BTW, I'm using a Photovision disc to white balance on the white and grey bars.