well. everybody that claims that a variable ND is pretty much two polarizers stacked on top of each other. you can build it yourself cheaper out of old circular polarizers if you want to.

right now i’m chasing a 10stop ND and a 4stop ND for a project. hard to find for hasselblads

so back to the variable nd filters…
does anyone here use em?
for 77mm size, there are ones that range from like $13, $25, $40, $50, and then up to like $100s.
cheap ones seem sketch though. anyone know?

@allen I picked up a 52mm Cameron brand Variable ND (8 stops or something) Works well in terms of cutting out light but I find the image quality is terrible.. I’m almost never in focus (2.8 on a crop Nikon) There is huge difference in image quality when the filter is on.

I think you gotta drop a lot to get a good product. @sam what brand do you recommend?

individual ND filters don’t have the same img quality issue as the variable ones eh?

seems like getting a 1 stop and 2 stop is probably fine really, to go from 200 iso to 100 or 50iso, i.e. to go from usually around f11 to f8 and f5.6, low enough for 35mm flashed skate photos.

just thought it woulda been cool to use the 8stop range for slow shutter non skate stuff too.
or shit, what if you did slow shutter flashed skate photos when it was sunny out. with like 6 stop ND, been done before?

I use both B&W and Hoya filters, non variable 3 stop ones. I don’t really notice any difference between the filters as far as image quality goes, I’m pretty sure the B&W ones cost a bit more though.

so the consensus i’ve got from brief asking around and research is,

- variable NDs get soft or affect image quality, unless maybe you buy the ones that are $200-$400.

- hoya and b+w brands are better filters than tiffen or random name brands. i’m surprised cause i thought filters were filters. b+w is pricier than hoya.

- maybe tiffen’s HT line is comparable, possibly cause they’re multicoated like the other 2 brands, while regular tiffen isn’t…?

- there doesn’t seem to be a 3 stop tiffen HT ND filter, at least not in 77mm or 52mm, shame too cause tiffen filters are made in the USA.