# Best ND1000 3.0 Filter?



## abcde12345 (Nov 17, 2013)

I've recently been looking at strong ND filters, and it had drawn my attention to their prices too! They are absurdly expensive! (Well, Lee Big stopper, B+W and some other brands are particularly the ones I looked at.) After reviewing Mr. Google, it seems like other brands would work just as well, even for screw-in filters. A few brands kept coming up, which are as below: Hoya, Bower, Tiffen, Haida, NiSi, Camdiox and others. Have anyone tried these cheaper brands? And are there any difference?


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## neuroanatomist (Nov 17, 2013)

The difference is how 'neutral' they they are. None (even the expensive ones) are true neutral - the B+W has a warm/red tone, others have a cool/blue tone. I believe the cool tone is harder to remove, and I often prefer the warm tone of my B+W 10-stop filters. I have the Lee Big Stopper, too - that's the way to go if you want to combine with grad NDs. 

Much of the warm tone is due to 'leakage' of infrared light (the amount that gets through the IR cut filter at the sensor is insignificant with short exposures). Therefore, the only way to get a true neutral long daytime exposure is with a 'hot mirror' IR-ND filter. But, those don't work with an AoV wider than ~35mm (on FF), and if you think good quality regular 10-stop NDs are expensive...

I'd stay away from the cheap-o brands (Bower, etc.). The high end Hoya filters are fine, and I've read good things about Haida but have no direct experience.


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## abcde12345 (Nov 17, 2013)

That's a very interesting thing to know. Wouldn't taking in RAW then solve the problem? Since I can control both the temperature and hue of my photo? Also, for the leakage part, would screw in filters thus solve the problem? I read something about light seeping through when square filters were used, but I'm not too sure how that works.


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## neuroanatomist (Nov 17, 2013)

Shooting RAW is a given, but when a filter causes a selective color problem, global WB changes aren't always able to fix it. 

The 'leakage' I'm referring to isn't a light leak at the filter edge (although that can be a problem if you've got the Big Stopper in an outer slot of the Lee holder), but rather that the IR blocking filter that sits on top of the sensor isn't perfect - a ~1% IR transmission is insignificant when there is plenty of visible light, but when you're also attenuating 99% of the visible light, that little bit of IR matters.


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## abcde12345 (Nov 17, 2013)

Wow, I didn't knw about that IR thing! I guess there is a reason then why Lee Big Stopper is so popular. I've been trying to find out how many companies are offering ND1000 slot in filters, but so far I can only find Lee and another Europe (or somewhere) company that goes by the name of Stealth Gear. Even brands like Hoya and Cokin don't offer it. Do you have any recommendation for this?


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## duydaniel (Nov 18, 2013)

i used a B+W 3.0 and it has a violet reflection when viewed in daylight.
It reproduced the color very good though you will probably prefer blackwhite color when doing several minutes exposure


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## abcde12345 (Nov 18, 2013)

duydaniel said:


> i used a B+W 3.0 and it has a violet reflection when viewed in daylight.
> It reproduced the color very good though you will probably prefer blackwhite color when doing several minutes exposure


Thanks. Does it come as slot-in filters?


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## abcde12345 (Nov 18, 2013)

Interesting thing: I've found out that Haida has one of the best review around. Will definitely try to get my hands on one of those. They do offer 100mm slot-in filters too. Now to find it...


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## RLPhoto (Nov 18, 2013)

Here is an example of the LEE big stopper pro glass filter. The blue cast in my copy isn't totally terrible and I can correct in LR+PS. What I found is you do want to slot it closest to the lens to avoid that leakage neuro talks about.


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## duydaniel (Nov 18, 2013)

abcde12345 said:


> duydaniel said:
> 
> 
> > i used a B+W 3.0 and it has a violet reflection when viewed in daylight.
> ...



The one I used was 77mm screw-in filter.
I doubt that B+W has slot-in filter.


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## Hillsilly (Nov 18, 2013)

I have a Hoya ND x400. Its "only" 9 stops (or, more technically, just under 9), but it is well priced and high quality. It doesn't have a significant colour cast problem and is a nice filter to use.


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## neuroanatomist (Nov 18, 2013)

duydaniel said:


> I doubt that B+W has slot-in filter.



B+W used to sell 100mm square filters, but I believe they dropped them from their lineup. Their parent company, Schneider Iptics, does make both square and rectangular filters, but only as dark as 6 stops. They are sold under Schneider's MPTV line, which also includes a wide selection of graduated neutral density filters, and all of their filters are made of Schott glass (almost all other grad NDs are made of resin). Their filters are also 4 mm thick, which means you need different spacers for the Lee foundation holder, or to purchase a filter holder from Schneider (which is made for them by Lee, and uses the Lee adapters).


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## bitm2007 (Nov 18, 2013)

Formatt Hitech produce a slot in 10 Stop ND

https://www.formatt-hitech.com/en/products/ProStop-IRND~25.htm

The IRND version is relatively new, my Dad has an earlier version. It produces very similar results to my Lee, cool/blue cast.


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## bf (Aug 10, 2014)

I have the similar question. I am down to these three models; what is your recommendation?

B+W ND110 MRC
Hoya Pro ND1000
Kenko Pro ND1000 (listed around $10 cheaper than Hoya on Amazon; I'm not sure if it is the same as Hoya)


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## Anthony (Aug 10, 2014)

The best ONE is NISI at good price

http://www.lovinpix.com/blog/2014/03/17/test-filtre-nd1000-f-stopper-de-nisi-par-arnaud-bertrande/


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## charlesa (Aug 10, 2014)

As a guy specialized in long exposure I think I can weigh in. Buying cheap ones will just result in poor results, then again if you only want to experiment with long exposures and still unsure whether you are getting into the genre they might be a good bet. Otherwise, if you work with ND filters day in day out, Lee or Formatt-Hitech are your best bet. FH seem to have taken an advantage recently, with their latest Firecrest filter being extremely close to neutral in colour cast, as well as adding a 16 stop filter to their repertoire. Come at quite a cost though.


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## neuroanatomist (Aug 10, 2014)

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/10-Stop-Neutral-Density-Filter.aspx


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## bf (Aug 10, 2014)

I need this filter for a mirror-less system (EOS-M). I want to avoid the filter holder solution to avoid the bulk.
Everybody says B+W has red-brown cast. On Hoya ProND1000 I can find mixed reviews and no real person feedback or sample yet.
In this review Hoya shows poor sharpnes where as the reviewer says he has used it with open viewfinder!?
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/10-Stop-Neutral-Density-Filter.aspx

In this comparison Hoya wins the perfect score:
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/05/22/best-nd-filter-6-top-models-tested-and-rated/3/

I will research about the availability of NISI in USA for 55mm.
Please share your experience if you have tried any of these filters? 
Thanks


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## EOS rebel (Aug 10, 2014)

I've ordered the Hoya pro ND 1000 after seeing those reviews. Will give my impressions once it arrives. Hopefully the sharpness problem won't actually be an issue


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## bf (Aug 10, 2014)

I appreciate it. 
With no doubt the B+W is very sharp and claim to be element resistant. However, most of the works people publish on the web using this filter are Monotone. I personally go with Hoya if sharpness is not an issue. I am not a post processing master and like to spend a little less for a better result.


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## neuroanatomist (Aug 10, 2014)

bf said:


> I personally go with Hoya if sharpness is not an issue.



When is sharpness not an issue?


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## canonvoir (Aug 11, 2014)

I am all in on the Lee Big Stopper and frankly I can't imagine useing another brand. I also have a few gradient filters I use from time to time but I find the gradient filters from Nik getting more use.


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## bf (Aug 11, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> bf said:
> 
> 
> > I personally go with Hoya if sharpness is not an issue.
> ...



This review concerns me; he says Hoya PRO-ND1000 generates shadows. Although I wonder why he uses these filters with an open viewfinder. He has another CPL review in favor of XS-Pro line. I want to verify if this is a biased article or the issue exists as he points out.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/10-Stop-Neutral-Density-Filter.aspx


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## EOS rebel (Aug 16, 2014)

Reporting back in on the Hoya Pro ND1000.

So after taking a few test shots today I would say that the colour rendition seems to be very natural using daylight WB and that, in terms of sharpness, the pictures are only a bit softer at 100%. Overall, I'm very happy with the results of my test.

In terms of methodology, these tests were done on a cheap $40 aluminum tripod (I don't have a good one and am not sure about getting an expensive one yet because I rarely use tripods) with the legs only partially extended, with the viewfinder blocked, and remote cable release on a slightly windy day. I started by trying out my 24-105 shot normally as a control shot. As for camera settings, I shot using ISO 100 in aperture priority mode while wide open for the most part except for my last shot in shutter priority mode at 30s to see how much blur I get in the clouds. I pre-focused using liveview AF without the ND filter and then switched to manual focus. I took the shots while still in liveview so the mirror was already up. Afterwards I repeated the shots with the addition of a CPL filter to see how much it affects vignetting and then testing it on my 10-22 to see how it vignettes on that (did not try the CPL on my 10-22 since I know it vignettes horribly at 10mm).

Will try to post pictures whenever I figure out how to do so...


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## bf (Aug 19, 2014)

Thank you EOS Rebel.
I also tested Kenko Pro ND1000 and Hoya Pro ND1000 side by side in a few occasions with a control shot. I have an EOS M so no view finder interference exists. I just did JPEGs with auto WB. 
I can say the sharpness loss is negligible. I see the sensor's noise at long exposures more affecting the results than the filter. 
Comparing Kenko and Hoya the colors are identical on my eyes. I feel my Kenko was a little sharper. Moreover, I could buy it around 15% cheaper and I received it in a better condition (new vs. opened in my orders). I went with a 55mm Kenko Pro ND1000 for my EOS-M.


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## Skirball (Aug 19, 2014)

bf said:


> ... and like to spend a little less for a better result.



Can't argue with that. Sage wisdom, up there along with "buy low, sell high".


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