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#1 |
Major Player
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Norwegian lost in California
Posts: 890
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Neutral Density filters for a 5D...
I'm looking to buy two 4x4 ND filter for my standard tray matte-box, and I wonder what would be the best price/performance. I'm also not sure if I should get two 0.3's, or one 0.3 and one 0.6, or perhaps one 0.3 and one 0.9, or...? I'm mostly gonna use them outside to get DOF when it's too bright. Any help appreciated.
-- peer
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#2 | |
New Boot
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: United States
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Quote:
If you're shooting in full sun and want to get to ƒ4 or wider you need much more ND than that. Something in the 1.2 to 1.8 range would be what you're looking for. Dave Smith |
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#3 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
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Peer:
Don't be a tightwad, spend the money, do it right. I have been extremely happy with it Singh-Ray Filters: Vari-ND Variable Neutral Density Filter Leave the 5D MKII at 1/60th ISO 100, dial in the DOF you want with your aperture, then control the look and exposure with the Vari ND. It's like having a second manual iris. Well worth the bucks. Dan |
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#4 | |
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#5 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Camas, WA, USA
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There are posts somewhere claiming that the lowest noise points are 160, 320, 640, 1250, and 2500 ISO. I haven't tested or confirmed it myself.
Anyway, with your variable ND, you could easily choose to hit 100, 160, or whatever you want, given enough light. @Peer: Personally, I wouldn't choose two 0.3 NDs. If I only had one, I'd probably choose a 0.9 for the situation where I want to open the aperture by three stops in daylight. Few in the audience will notice a one stop change in aperture. On my lawnmower timelapse, http://vimeo.com/4697740 , I used a 0.9, closed the aperture to f/22, captured one second open and one second closed (the minimum settings on my controller), and I still blew out the highlights. I wish I had a 1.8 at the time. I could have exposed two stops lower and opened the aperture one stop to reduce diffusion.
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Jon Fairhurst |
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#6 | |
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#7 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: May 2006
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Yes, that's correct. In general a single 1.8 is better in that it will have less flare and color shift. Also, if you buy a 0.9 and 1.8, you can get three values: 0.9, 1.8 and 2.7 (stacked.) Many people buy 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9, allowing any value from 0.3 to 1.8 in one stop increments - that's eight values - if you're willing to stack up to three filters.
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#8 | |
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Btw, do you have a good & affordable sucrose for 4x4 ND filters? -- peer
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#9 |
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Zanesville OH
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Hey, Jon. This will probably sound like a stupid question. Am I better off to have the ISO set to 1250, rather than 1000? I'd get less noise with 1250? That doesn't make any sense at all to me. Maybe I'm reading what you wrote wrong, who knows. Thanks for your help, Jon. I like reading what you have to say on here. You're a rockstar!
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#10 | |
New Boot
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Minneapolis, USA
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#11 | ||
Inner Circle
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Camas, WA, USA
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Here are some 3rd party photo examples: 5d Mark II noise tests, ISO 100 to 1000 - a set on Flickr People are theorizing that this has to do with the balance between analog (native to the sensor) and digital gain. I think the explanation is that the analog gain jumps in full stop steps and is native to 160, 320 and so on. The other levels are synthesized digitally, or so goes the theory. Also, turn off Highlight Tone Priority for lowest noise, though it can provide better highlight detail. Quote:
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#12 | ||||
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Quote:
ISO 250 is actually just ISO 200 with -1/3 EC. The camera brightens the image digitally to make it look like ISO 250, which means there is no additional highlight headroom like you would have gotten if you did it yourself. John Sheehy charted it all out here: Headroom, footroom, and dynamic range of all the ISO settings on the 5D Mark II Quote:
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Agreed. |
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#13 |
New Boot
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Minneapolis, USA
Posts: 17
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very informative on how this camera behaves and why. Thank you.
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#14 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
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Peer:
I guess it depends on what you are shooting. If you are shooting narrative, matte box and your glass filters all of the way. I am shooting more documentary stuff, chasing subjects all over big city, subway, on the street. My huge matte box and $5,000.00 worth of Formatt and Tiffen glass would be a bit out of place, way too slow and clunky. The beauty of the VariND is that it is fast, low key and infinitely adjustable instantly. If I shoot some of the shorts that I have in mind, I would use my matte box and follow focus. But for the doc I am on, the Vari ND is a Godsend, couldn't shoot without it. Dan |
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#15 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Feb 2009
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I just found a much cheaper alternative to the Singh-Ray variable density filters on eBay. I thought that I would risk $100 & order one. A nice feature is that it is an oversize filter effectively already in a step-up ring to avoid vignetting on wide-angle lenses. e.g. the filter for a lens with a 77mm thread is 82mm in size. Also unlike the Singh-Ray filters they come in a much wider variety of sizes.
This appears to be the site of the manufacturer High Quality Professional Equipments - Fader ND filter (ND2~400) This Hong Kong store that looks like it's the same eBay trader. High Quality Professional Equipments - Local Seller & Yahoo! ©ç½æ That last site is mostly in Chinese but it looks like the prices are even cheaper than on eBay. Perhaps someone could help with some translation? When I receive the filter I shall report back. If it's decent quality then at those prices I can afford to equip all my lenses. It's usually sunny here so any outdoor shooting requires ND filters if the lens isn't to be stopped right down. |
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