Any variable neutral density filters worth taking a look at?

8 years 9 months ago #446178 by Dan Spade
It's been some time since I have even considered one of these filters.  I started shopping for one last year and learned that they cause a "X" in your shots from the inherent design flaw in these filters.  

Has anything changed?


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8 years 9 months ago #446237 by garyrhook
They don't "cause" an X. The polarizing elements, if inconsistent across the filter, can resulting in aberrations or patterns. However, there is no set rule about that.

For example, here's a shot (just now) using my Opteka VarND turned as dark as I could eyeball it, taking a shot of the curtain in front of me (85mm, f/1.8 ISO 610, 1/125s) and the exposure cranked up 5 stops in LR. As you can see, plenty of noise, but no X.

This was a very modestly priced filter. YMMV.



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8 years 9 months ago #446268 by Shadowfixer1
Some do leave darkness in the form of an X across the image. Cheap is not the way to go with variable neutral density filters.
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8 years 9 months ago #446533 by Happy Snapper

Shadowfixer1 wrote: Some do leave darkness in the form of an X across the image. Cheap is not the way to go with variable neutral density filters.



This is true for ANY filter, not just neutral density filters

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