I got hold of a Lightcraft Fader ND MkII variable ND filter as a try out to see if I like the effect and whether I would go ahead and perhaps get a ND filter with some good light stopping power.
This is a user review and not a technical review. There are loads of technical reviews out there that you can go and read up. My review is just plain user orientated without the blah blah jargon.
I will discuss the following.
1. Build quality
2. Ease of use
3. Effectiveness
4. Verdict
It has been a while that I have wondered if I should purchase a ND filter with high light stoppage ability. We are talking about the ability to absorb up to 8 stops of light maximum or as little as two. What is actually delivered is another story. This ability to absorb light is determined not just by the filter, but also the focal length of the lens you are using. I said we won’t get to technical but I could not get a full 8 stops at 20mm on my wide angle lens. Which defeats the object really. These filters are not cheap by a long shot. That said…this specific filter has been discontinued to my knowledge and been replaced with another version which I have not tested yet.
1. Build quality
Ocean water flowing underneath and over a narrow bridge leading to rocks in the ocean. 13 sec exposure, ISO100, f16.
Make no mistake, this filter is well built. Consisting of two opposing polarizers, the rear one is stationary while the front one lets you adjust the amount of light it lets through. Turning the unit is easy and smooth. It is stiff enough to stay in the position that you adjust to but easy enough to adjust with one finger and a light touch. Markings on the filter ring are clear although on my 24-70 lens I could not get them to be at the top for easy looking. I did not have the same problem with the Sigma though.
2. Ease of use
As I mentioned the filter turns easily. What I do feel however is that a filter that is of the screw in type should screw in easily without a lot of fiddling and trying to line up the thread. The filter lives up well to this requirement. Once on the lens it is easy to see the effect of the filter. I would recommend using live view on your camera. It will make focusing and composing your shots much easier and allows the camera to still autofocus relatively easily. You will obviously be using a tripod with this filter. Selecting the amount of light absorption is easily done with the markings on the filter ring. What did annoy me is the fact that neither of the lens hoods were usable when using the Fader ND. The front part of the filter is too large and prevents the lenshoods from being used. This made for some flaring issues with long exposure shots Easily rectified by just shading the lens with your hand but you get my point.
3. Effectiveness
Down to the nitty gritty. Does this filter work? Yes and no.
It does give you the advantage of being able to compose and focus without having to remove the filter as is the case with a square filter giving you 10 stops of light. Liveview worked well on a Canon 60D with a Canon and Sigma lens attached. I did however not like the limited amount of light absorption when attached to the Sigma. Shooting at 10mm gave you a very, very limited amount of benefit from the filter. So much so that if you are buying it to use with a ultra wide angle, think again. With the Canon 24-70 it gave a much greater effect and performed a little better but still gave the dreaded banding and polarization artefacts. I was however able to get acceptable images with both lenses. I did find however that with the Sigma 10-20 I lost sharpness and contrast in my images.
I did not notice any distinct colour cast which plagues so many of the filters. This is however easily corrected. It did however appear to have a slight warming effect in some shots.
4. Verdict
As I mentioned previously, ease of use is excellent and yes it does allow you to stop some light and get those long exposures. I would personally however rather buy a dedicated 9 or 10 stop filter instead of a variable. Options like the Hoya ND400 and Tiffen ND3.0 are both good options. If you can wait and save up some cash rather look into a proper filters such as the LEE Big stopper (or there new Little Stopper). I don’t think that the variable ND filters are worth the money and for a little more you can invest in something proper.
Keep safe and keep shooting.
Michael.
Ocean water rushing out between rocks along the Garden Route, South Africa. 8 sec exposure, ISO100. f16
