ND, IR and Polarizer filter help for Scarlet

[Carelton Holt]

Hey Phil,
I have read thet ahe Heliopan is considerably sharper, but that is really good feedback about the Singh-ray... why spend $300+ on anything that softens the image. We do a lot of still work here too and I am hoping one of our pro shops locally might have a Heliopan I can demo... if so I will follow back up with a post if available.

I read a post from Phillip Bloom that the Heliopan was "tack sharp," (quite a bit sharper than the Singh-ray), but it did not discuss what that really meant.... whether it was 1080P from a 5D or stills at 5K+, I just don't know. So, Singh-ray is definitely out for me, if anyone has any experience with the Heliopan at 4K+ resolution (either stills or video), please chime in :-) Thanks!!!!

I haven't tested the Heliopan, but I have tested the Singh-Ray and a couple other brands. I have to see which ones are in my kit. I really don't use then nor recommend them as they noticeably soften your image past 50mm. That effect gets multiplied with longer telephoto lenses and even worse the closer you get towards infinity.

[steven moreno]

What about the tiffen IRND's? Anybody have experience with them?

[Lliam Worthington]

Posted about these on first page. Phil said he would do some tests when he got the chance. But short answer is, bit of green colour shift the higher you get but not too hard to correct out in post. Personally prefer the greenish tinge than the reddish brown some others seem to exhibit.

[Joel Arvidsson]

How much nd is 0,9 and 1.5? How does it work? I read some where that every 0.3 is a stop is that correct?

[daniel caruso]

What about the tiffen IRND's? Anybody have experience with them?

I bought a 5 stop tiffen from Abel, who is amazing, but still no Scarlet to test. I will do some tests with them once it arrives, I hope they were a good deal. I'm sure Tiffen got it right, though I am sure Schneider did too, just didn't go that extensive on the spending =].

Joel, yes that is correct. Each 0.3 value is a stop, thus if you read 4 and want to shoot at a 2.8, you will put an ND 0.3 infront. As you go up it just doubles, so 0.6 is 2 stops, 1.2 is 4 stops and so on. The reason for IRND is that digital sensors read the infrared, and blacks become off hue, magenta, brownish if it is severe (to put it in simple terms). The more ND you stack infront, the more IR you will see in your image. As the digital sensors become more sensitive to light and the need for higher ND becomes the norm, having and IRND set is invaluable so you can put on thos high values and stop down a lot, while maintaining you high ISO if that is your preference.

[Phil Holland]

Posted about these on first page. Phil said he would do some tests when he got the chance. But short answer is, bit of green colour shift the higher you get but not too hard to correct out in post. Personally prefer the greenish tinge than the reddish brown some others seem to exhibit.

Sorry about the delay on this front. I've been mega busy. I'll attempt to do this by next week if possible. Hopefully getting a larger matte box as well. I'm working on it! It's honestly the only test I really haven't been able to do yet.

[Carelton Holt]

You are correct, every 0.3 equals 1 stop, so a 0.9 is three stops and a 1.5 is 5 stops. I just saw a review of a Schneider Optics Variable ND with 1 1/2 to 11 stops that looked pretty promising. It is $450, but not bad if it performs well. Probably about the same as buying and stacking the appropriate filters to get to 11 stops. Schneider makes really good stuff and I plan on talking to them about its feasibility at 4K resolutions. The demo is pretty impressive and it would certainly be nice to "dial in" the appropriate ND! It seemed to be sharp at 1080, but 4K is a different animal. Color shift seemed good as well, with only a slight warming at the lower range. Shooting RAW, a slight color shift should not be much of an issue.

How much nd is 0,9 and 1.5? How does it work? I read some where that every 0.3 is a stop is that correct?

[Phil Holland]

I had a minute to test out the Schneider IRND 1.8. Posted my thoughts here:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...l=1#post932253

Surprising results. I'm going to need to much more elaborate tests. But, I'm suddenly feeling very happy about my Formatt HMNDs.

[Tommaso Alvisi]

I'm going to need to much more elaborate tests.

Thanks Phil for your tests, any news about the Platinum IRNDs vs Formatt HMND?
I really like that the Platinum IRNDs have not the front mirror surface...
I also thought: if the Platinums have a strong green cast, maybe they are stackable with plain NDs which have a magenta cast?