Using ND filters for EFP

[Enrique Blein]

i'm with mike on this - dropping in or screwing on filters is a pain in the ass when you're covering actuality and moving indoors / outdoors, full sun / shade etc. there's just got to be some way to achieve really quick variable nd. or else be able to manually dial the iso rating of the camera without having to go into menus or whatever. cheers, david

I use variable NDs but the are not "clear" at any point, so you end up having to unscrew them for critical indoor situations: they are not the ultimate solution.

[Steve Gibby]

I use variable NDs but the are not "clear" at any point, so you end up having to unscrew them for critical indoor situations: they are not the ultimate solution.

True, variable ND filters aren't clear at any point. There really is no "ultimate solution" to filtering, whether you use a matte box with drop ins, or screw in filters with a lens hood. There are naturally tradeoffs involved. For highly mobile outdoor shooting with 35mm still lenses, a variable ND is a good solution, as is a set of regular screw in filters. If you're going alternately indoors and out in mobile work, then a set of screw in filters does fine - many here have been working that way with Red for years now.

Horses for courses...

[Ryan Lalonde]

Hey Steve, do you run into a lot of IR problems with the cheap screw on NDs?

[Steve Gibby]

Nope...and I don't use "cheap" screw on filters. I use good ones...

[Joe Pontecorvo]

For now I am using a combination of Matte box with 4x5.6 ND filters for shorter lenses, and series 9 filters for long lenses.
But I was just wondering...
Do you think some type of electronic ND could be created, something that could be built into a future firmware update?

[James McLellan]

There is some speculation on reduser that a future camera brain could include a few built in nd filters. That would rock IMHO.

[Trevor Meier]

Steve (and anyone else who wants to chime in), any preference for your brand of screw-ons?

I like Hoya for the glass & coatings, but dislike their aluminum rings (makes them hard to attach/remove). B+W is nice but their selection is limited at 77m (my preferred size).

[Steve Gibby]

Trevor:
Most of my screw-on filters for my Red cameras and my DSLR cameras are Hoya - their top of the line multi-coated versions. I've had very good results with them. That said I've owned and used multiple B+H, Tiffen, Formatt, and Singh-Ray filters too. They cost much more than the Hoya filters, but they're generally better built. To me Hoya offers the best performance to price ratio in screw-on filters.

James:
I love cameras with built-in ND filters - a feature regularly found in mid-sized and full sized EFP camera systems, but usually not found in digital cinema cameras. I believe some DC cameras have began to feature, or are planning to feature built-in ND filters. Sure, built in ND isn't a traditional feature on DC cameras - but then again DC cameras borrow significant parts of their technology from EFP cameras , so why not internal ND? Flange depth needs of some lenses would be an answer for that - to a certain extent. Cine traditionalists aren't demanding internal ND in their DC cameras, but those who arrived at the DC camera usage from the EFP industry, and are using their new DC cameras in a mobile/hybrid/EFP style of shooting, could seriously put internal ND to great use. BTW - beyond its multiple other EFP-friendly features, the 2/3" Fixed Scarlet was scheduled to have internal ND filters - something I felt very good about. As you might guess, all along I've been a proponent of considering placement of internal ND on Red cameras.

[James McLellan]

My background is mixed. Currently I always shoot with a matte box but I could see the advantage of built in ND's. I think when our Epic arrives I will be moving to still glass and thread on nd's. Undecided though. Might just stick with a matte box if I have too many different thread sizes. I guess the flange focal distance is an issue though. As I understand it the leica M mount has a very short flange distance so things like that might make it an unworkable concept.