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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Best screw-in variable ND filter in 4K ?

J

Jack Colquitt

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I know the better is to use regular ND, but in this case,
I can't use a mattebox, and can't use a set of regular screw-in ND.

So I read on many forums that Kenko NDX and Heliopan are the best (sharpness and color),
LightCraft Workshop, Singh-Ray, Schneider are more soft (especially on long lens) and less contrast for the Tiffen,
and the worse are Polaroid, Genustech, Hoya, and Formatt / Hitech.

Any advices ?

I also read there is lots of IR pollution (beginning at ND.9) on those variable ND,
so what's you favorite solution for IR blocking ? HOT MIRROR or IR CUT filters ?

Last question, if I need to protect those ND + IR, is it better to use UV or transparent filter ?
But I'm afraid that will be impossible for HOT MIRROR without reflections problems...

Thanks for your help.
 
Thanks. Any pictures samples to show us ? ; )
And do you use IR blocking filter with this 96mm front filter thread ?
 
Last edited:
Just got the Heliopan last week. Shot this weekend with it and absolutely LOVED it. Bought the one that fits our Canon 24-70 but also grabbed step rings so I could use it on our 70-200 and it worked great on both.
 
And, you don't have any problems with IR ?
I saw it's impossible to use IR filter because there's no front thread on the Heliopan...
 
I had no problems with IR. I wasn't using it at it's full setting, though, but close.
 
Kevin Wild said:
Just got the Heliopan last week. Shot this weekend with it and absolutely LOVED it. ...
Click to expand...

Jack Colquitt said:
And, you don't have any problems with IR ?
I saw it's impossible to use IR filter because there's no front thread on the Heliopan...
Click to expand...

I have the Heliopan as well, an 82 mm that I use with step-up rings, and I am very happy with it! The Heliopan IS made with front threads. However, the front thread version is not exported to the US. I ordered mine direct from Germany (about half the cost) with front threads. I used it extensively last month in Italy on a Nikon G 24-70 zoom, along with a collapsible wide angle Heliopan rubber lens hood. Quite simple and very effective.

___________________________________
Scarlet X # 1859 “Bettie Page”
“… preparing to ‘whip’ the competition …”

Zeiss Lenses:

CY 21/2.8
ZF 28/2.0
CY 35-70/3.4
CY 50/1.4
ZF100/2.0

Nikon Lenses:
G 14-24/2.8
G 24-70/2.8
D 80-200/2.8

Tokina Lenses:

11-16/2.8
 
Thanks for your help !
I decided to buy the Kenko and the Heliopan and make test for sharpness, color, and IR.
And I will post the result here.
In between, if you have any advices, don't hesitate to post here. ; )
 
Jack, anyone else with experience, I am also really interested to hear about the Heliopan with the MX sensor specifically.

Appreciate any insight whether or not it is a suitable option or if there are any other variable nd's that work well with Epic and don't have the usual softness and ir pollution we see with some of the more popular options.
 
This new Lightcraft Workshop Digi Pro HD is more sharpness in 4K than the previous Fader ND Mark II ? And what about IR ?
 
Steve Conry said:
... I am also really interested to hear about the Heliopan with the MX sensor specifically. Appreciate any insight whether or not it is a suitable option ...
Click to expand...

Worked just fine for us. No observable color-shifts or softness. However, as with most, if not all, variable ND filter, if you crank it up to the full setting you will probably see some strange optical anomalies. Normally it is just a matter of backing off the full setting slightly. I have read on line that others have been able to completely rid themselves of the optical anomalies in the Heliopan by slightly adjusting or rotating the top filter in its ring. (There is a small screw that you can loosen on the ring to allow you to do that.) If you are inclined to get the Heliopan, I would urge you to consider ordering it from Foto Mayr in Germany. That way, you can get it with front threads, allowing you to use a IR or hot-mirror if you think it is necessary (probably not) and a lens hood.


___________________________________
Scarlet X # 1859 “Bettie Page”
“… preparing to ‘whip’ the competition …”

Zeiss Lenses:

CY 21/2.8
ZF 28/2.0
CY 35-70/3.4
CY 50/1.4
ZF100/2.0

Nikon Lenses:
G 14-24/2.8
G 24-70/2.8
D 80-200/2.8

Tokina Lenses:

11-16/2.8
 
Thanks Bill, gonna go ahead and pick one up I think. I'm in the states, though, not sure about ordering from Germany. Would be great to have the threads I suppose, so long as it didnt add much time or cost to the shipping.
 
Steve Conry said:
... gonna go ahead and pick one up I think. I'm in the states, though, not sure about ordering from Germany. Would be great to have the threads I suppose, so long as it didnt add much time or cost to the shipping.
Click to expand...

No big deal to order it from Germany. Here is the link to the filter-w-front threads:

http://www.fotomayr.de/webkat98/index_fi.htm

Look under "Graufilter" and then to the left "Variograufilter" and there will be a link to "Heliopan Variograu."

The customer service rep. is a woman named, "Sally." But, pretty much the entire staff speaks / reads / writes English. As you can see, the savings over B&H are substantial. If I remember, the shipping cost was around 30 Euro (a bit high). My only complaint was that they used DHL (Deutsche Post) to send the filter. It took nearly 3 weeks and it was impossible to track. Because we were leaving for a gig in Italy and we thought we might not get it in time, we asked them to send another filter to us by plain old registered mail. They did ... AT NO ADDITIONAL COST! We received it in about a week. So, we actually had 2 filters. We sent the one we finally got from DHL back to Germany and Foto Mayr even reimbursed us for the return shipping. The moral of the story: If you do order from them, send them an e-mail first and ask that they ship by registered mail, rather than DHL. (In both instances we paid no duty.) It is definitely worth getting one with front threads.

___________________________________
Scarlet X # 1859 “Bettie Page”
“… preparing to ‘whip’ the competition …”

Zeiss Lenses:

CY 21/2.8
ZF 28/2.0
CY 35-70/3.4
CY 50/1.4
ZF100/2.0

Nikon Lenses:
G 14-24/2.8
G 24-70/2.8
D 80-200/2.8

Tokina Lenses:

11-16/2.8
 
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