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I got in on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (bmpcc) fire sale and in preperation for receiving my new camera I have been researching neutral density filters. What I would like to know is what are people's preferences between single ND filters and variable ND filters. And also your thoughts on IR filtration for the bmpcc. I already know if you go the "straight" variable ND route Tiffen seems to be a good trade off as far as quality and price. Dave Dugdale did an incredible review of "straight" variable ND filters. Honestly it is amazing it took an amateur like Dave to do such a test. I see so many posts on the internet from people who could have either saved themselves money or used a higher quality product had someone simply done what Dave did and test them out. These people are pros mind you! So the choice was simply, right? Wrong! I then came across another video showing IR (near infrared) issues with the BMCC... and other cameras including Alexa products. So there are numerous solutions. One could say the near IR pollution thing is nonsense and just get a "straight" Tiffen variable ND. Or you could go with a set of individual ND filters and skip the variable. You could also get an IR cut filter and use either single NDs or variable ND. Or you could get the Tiffen combined IRND variable filter. Or you could get the single IR ND filter sets. B&H has a strong three filter set for $164.50. Okay, that is a lot of options. The reason I posted is I want to know which one will give you the best results. I know the variable NDs have the polarization "issue." Sometimes I like using a polarizer on video so it isn't always an issue for me. Also there is a hack where by you turn the whole filter assembly en bloc to reduce or get rid of the polarization effect. I don't know how effective that is. This guy shows the "hack" to optimize the use of a variable ND filter... Here is a video showcasing the Tiffen IRND variable filter. So what should I do?
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I broke my L.C.W Fader Variable ND II a while back, and finally got around to replacing it. I decided to give the Bower variable ND a try, at $40. Bower makes decent lenses, so I thought I might luck out. And luck out, I did. It's definitely better than the L.C.W, with less bokeh striation / "texture", no noticeable color shift up to the strongest setting, and the characteristic 'X' pattern only shows up at the very strongest settings (7/8+), as opposed to on the L.C.W where it dominates the image at every strength above 2/3 or so. I haven't tried many higher end variable ND filters, but I'd like to see how this one stacks up against them. So far I'm very impressed. The only issue I have noticed is that the first 1/5 of the adjustment throw seems to go from a strong polarizing effect to a more transparent effect, without any ND loss or gain. After that the polarizing effect stays minimal, and the neutral density increases as expected. On the plus side, this quirk might mean that the filter could double as both a variable ND filter, and as a linear polarizer. The bokeh texture / "striation" is my biggest complaint, but it's still not as coarse as the L.C.W Fader mk. II that I used to own. The 'X' pattern also doesn't show up until a strength that I find myself unlikely ever to want to use anyway (e.g. T1.3, 1/50s, bright sunlight, ISO 1600). Color shift is negligible. Sometimes green things seem to get an ever so slightly brownish cast, but it's so, so subtle. Softening is also quite mild. In my testing it's not an issue, and if anything seems to be a subjective change rather than an objective softening. I have not used it on a lens longer than 85mm, though, so maybe it's worse on teles. My verdict is that, for $40, this is should be an obvious choice for a budget VND. If I had more money of course I'd buy a Schneider, Singh-Ray, or Heliopan, but this performs like what I'd expect from a VND in the $150-$250 range. I've attached one sample. For more, look here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gbf684pt21g64zg/AAA-Mk1MYCRdxuQwN98UkC22a?dl=0
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- neutral density
- variable neutral density
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Went out to play with the Trump before sending it off for a few weeks. Tom was nice enough to demonstrate balancing these Rocks by the beach. Nice guy and I got to shoot into the sun for a bit. Nikon D800 DSO Trump 58 with 2X Oval Anamorphic aperture DSO TERRY NORTON’S FLARESEX MODULE
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- Anamorphic
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Or so it would seem. I just ordered a set of these for my Iscos: [url="http://www.xumeadapters.com/"]http://www.xumeadapters.com/[/url] It should make swapping and combining diopters a snap. I will let you know my thoughts when I receive them.
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Hi new here, joined to ask the following question: Does anyone produce (or has experimented making) a lens adapter (nikon to nex for example) with a built in ND filter wheel? hope this isn't too stupid a question to ask. thanks, dan
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- lens adapter
- ND
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[size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I am trying to better understand the difference between of these filters. I have come across several resources: From Tiffen: [quote][color=#000000]Unlike many photographic films, the CCD or CMOS of a digital camera is inherently susceptible to infrared contamination, even when the manufacturer attempts to reduce this problem by adding an infrared absorbing filter on top of the image sensor. Because these filters do not have a sharp cutoff at the infrared wavelengths there has to be a compromise in order not to exclude visible red wavelengths. This results in some infrared wavelengths being allowed to pass. While minor infrared contamination does not normally cause much of a problem for visible images, when using conventional neutral density filters especially denser grades, this issue is multiplied by the filter factor[/color][/quote] From Cavision: [quote][color=windowtext]The Hot Mirror filter reduces the amount of infra-red light entering the lens while having no affect on the wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum. Digital sensors are especially sensitive to IR light, which can cause aberrations and colour shifting in the image. The hot mirror filter is especially useful when using a neutral density filter because the ND filter will increase the ratio of IR light to visible light. The Hot Mirror ND filter accomplishes both tasks in one combination filter, freeing up an extra filer stage in your matte box.[/color][/quote] Is there anyone using IR or hot mirror filters that can clarify? How significantly do these filters improve your image?[/font][/size]
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In my quest to find the perfect matte box, I have been doing some research that I will share here in the hope that someone else may benefit from it (this is a cross-post, there is also a thread on Personal-View: [url="http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2876/matte-boxes-and-filter-thickness/p1"]http://www.personal-...er-thickness/p1[/url]). Not all matte boxes on the market will take Tiffen or Schneider filters. Take for instance the DMatte from DFocus. It's a bargain for the price, but when I finally brought one home, I couldn't support my Schneider filters because they were a millimeter too thick. I've since returned it and resumed my search. It looks like these are my options at this point:[list] [*]Arri (confirmed by forum member) [*]Chrosziel (personal test) [*]LockCircle (manufacturer confirmed) [*]Lanparte (confirmed by forum member) [*]Cavision (personal test) [*]Cinematics (confirmed by forum member) [*]Cokin (website info) [*]Vocas (manufacturer confirmed) [*]Genus (manufacturer confirmed) [*]Movcam (manufacturer confirmed) [*]Century Optics ["Sunshade Filter Holder"] (confirmed by forum member) [/list] I have no confirmation, but I'd be surprised if the matte boxes from O'Connor, Bright Tangerine and TLS Raven could not hold 4mm filters. If you know of any others, please comment and I will update the list.