What’s Your Preference?

tjc · #1 (**permalink**) 01-30-2011, 03:02 PM

Hi all...

I have some money that I received as a crimbo present and have been thinking for ages now about getting a 10 stop screw in filter, 77mm for my wide angle.

So I`m just wondering which would be the one to go for...

I`m thinking about the B+W 10 stop ND but I`d like your opinions on the subject.

Plus some info too. I`ve read about them being "coated" or "uncoated" so what`s the difference?

Some have 110 after the name etc and some have 106 so what`s the difference there? What does that mean?

Any advice will be most welcome.

Cheers

tj

sk66 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-30-2011, 03:56 PM

I'd probably buy a Hoya over a B&W as I've heard a lot about the B&W having odd color casts. But personally I bought a LightCraft Variable ND (2-9 stops) as I like to have options and carry as little as possible. For use on a wide angle I'd probably suggest the Lightcraft ND500 as it is very thin to minimize vignetting and is getting great reviews...

Digidave · #3 (**permalink**) 01-30-2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sk66

I'd probably buy a Hoya over a B&W as I've heard a lot about the B&W having odd color casts. But personally I bought a LightCraft Variable ND (2-9 stops) as I like to have options and carry as little as possible. For use on a wide angle I'd probably suggest the Lightcraft ND500 as it is very thin to minimize vignetting and is getting great reviews...

That filter looks rather interesting. Seems a bit on the cheap side. The ones I've looked at were in the 100's of dollars range. How about a short & sweet personal review of the one you own. Do you have the ability to set it to its lightest setting for auto-focusing & then turn it to its darkest setting before taking the shot without any problems? Just a question I've always wondered about. How about the color casting on the one you own. Good, Bad, Ugly?

kirbinster · #4 (**permalink**) 01-30-2011, 05:22 PM

I've got a B+W 110 which is the 10 stop ND filter and love it. Have never noticed any sort of color cast.

Here are a few water shots I have taken with it:

This is the one I have: B+W 77mm #110 Neutral Density (ND) 3.0 Filter 65-066729 B&H which they currently sell for $95. They also have this one which is multicoated: B+W 77mm #110 Solid Neutral Density (ND) 3.0 1066186 B&H Photo for $150.

The multicoated should help reduce glare, but I have never had a problem with the "cheaper" one.

sk66 · #5 (**permalink**) 01-30-2011, 07:26 PM

I use autofocus with it without issue, and yes you can focus with it set lighter and then adjust it darker...but it's probably easier to manual focus since it's usually in conjunction with a tripod....
I have not had any issues with it at all, but I don't use it much. The main benefit of the variable ND is I can set the aperture/iso as I want it and then vary the density to get the desired shutter speed. That's not an option with a fixed ND.

As for color cast, and this is something I should have mentioned before, I work in RAW and almost always do a WB adjustment so it's of little relevance....It mattered much more in the day of slide/film.
But I haven't found any consistent issues with the Lightwares variable ND affecting WB.

It is significantly cheaper than the SinghRay version and that was a major deciding factor for me....For me it's a "special use" filter and I'm not as critical about "image quality" (same with wide angle lenses) so I thought it worth the risk. Happily I haven't found it to notably affect image quality.
I think part of that might be that being able to set the lens closer to "optimum" for a shot is a more significant"improvement" than a decent filter's "negative effect".
Here's an example shot.

tjc · #6 (**permalink**) 01-31-2011, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sk66

I'd probably buy a Hoya over a B&W as I've heard a lot about the B&W having odd color casts. But personally I bought a LightCraft Variable ND (2-9 stops) as I like to have options and carry as little as possible. For use on a wide angle I'd probably suggest the Lightcraft ND500 as it is very thin to minimize vignetting and is getting great reviews...

Thanks for the reply sk...

Heard a little about the colour casts with the B+W but then I`ve also read a good few other reports/posts to say there`s no cast whatsoever.

I`ll have a wee look at that Lightcraft though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirbinster

I've got a B+W 110 which is the 10 stop ND filter and love it. Have never noticed any sort of color cast.

This is the one I have: B+W 77mm #110 Neutral Density (ND) 3.0 Filter 65-066729 B&H which they currently sell for $95. They also have this one which is multicoated: B+W 77mm #110 Solid Neutral Density (ND) 3.0 1066186 B&H Photo for $150.

The multicoated should help reduce glare, but I have never had a problem with the "cheaper" one.

Cheers for the reply kirbinster. Those shots are really good. Glad to hear youv`e never experienced any kind of colour cast with the B+W.

Think that`s what I`ll be going for...

inkista · #7 (**permalink**) 01-31-2011, 11:37 PM

I've gotten the red color cast with a B+W 110,

Canon XT, adapted C/Y Zeiss Distagon 28m f/2.8, f/16-ish?, 20 seconds.

It leaks around the infrared end of the spectrum. The Hoya nine-stop leaks at the other end and shows a blue cast, from what I've read. Both forms of color cast can be taken care of with proper white balancing.

Kirbinster, what kind of shutter speeds were you using? My suspicion is that the longer the exposure, the stronger the color cast. For 3-10 second exposures, chances are it won't do much more than a skylight filter would. I'm always using the 110 for 30 second+ exposures, so I see it all the time.