- In this video we're talking about
four different popular veritable ND filters
to see if there's any difference between them
and to see if price really makes a difference
on whether one's better over the other.
Let's get into it.
(epic music)
If you're new near this channel, my name is Jeven Dovey.
I'm an adventure filmmaker, and on this channel
you're gonna find education for creators.
So make sure you hit
that subscribe button and turn (air whooshes)
on those bell notifications (bell dings)
so you don't miss one of these videos.
So the four veritable ND filters
that we're going to compare in this video
is the Moment, Polar Pro, Freewell and Syrp.
And the reason that you would use one of these filters
is that you'll get multiple stops of ND
so that you can carry one filter
in the place of multiple filters.
The point of using an ND filter
is to basically bring down your shutter speed
so you don't have super jittery looking footage
and so you could shoot at a more wide-open aperture
so you can get that shallow depth of field
without cranking up your shutter speed.
If you want a more in-depth explanation around ND filters,
I'll put a link down below in the description
to a video that I did all about why you use ND filters.
(upbeat music)
So I'm down here at the beach with my buddy Dan.
He's got a couple channels, right?
- Dan Whitmer Vids is my like personal one,
and then Jump Rope Dudes is my business channel.
He's gonna do some skating
so I can film the different ND filters that we have.
(upbeat music)
So the three things that I'm going to be looking at
when comparing these filters is first the color shift.
Is there any sort of color shift on the image?
So throughout this video all the footage
that you're gonna see is shot with a locked-in white balance
so that we can see if there is any sort of shift
with each filter.
The second thing I'm going to be looking at
is cross-polarization,
and you're gonna really notice this
when you use wide lenses, and what happens is
different parts of the image will get darker,
and it ends up ruining your image
because it's not a consistent look across the entire image,
and the third thing that I'm gonna be looking at
is the experience working with the filter.
So just my thoughts about actually shooting
with these filters and which ones I like
based on feel and based on how easy they are to use.
So let's get started with the Moment filters.
So this is the case that comes with the Moment filter.
It's a screw-on lid, and for me I've actually had
the most issue in terms of cases with this.
Now obviously you can ditch your case
and get a different case that works better,
but when putting this back on
it's actually a pain to get it back in there.
It's not as easy as some of the other ones,
and it's just one thing that I've noticed
that really bothers me.
So with the Moment variable ND filter
you get two to five stops of ND.
Something that's unique with this filter is that
instead of having just stops in terms of number,
you have two stops, three stops, four stops of ND,
they're actually telling you how much ND
you're putting on your lens.
So you have an ND-4, ND-8, ND-16, and ND-32.
A little bit different, something that you don't see
on the other veritable ND filters.
Now all the filters that I have in this video
all have hard stops, and what that means is that
you can't twist it past the range
that you can use this filter in.
So with the Moment filter, I do like the look of it.
It's got a nice red band around it.
It's easy to attach to your lens,
and it's super easy to get off.
So it's been a great experience working with this filter.
Now one thing to note is that this filter
is super wide compared to the others.
It's probably the biggest when it sits on your lens.
For me when I keep this on my lens
it is a little frustrating that it's so much wider
than the rest the lens.
Now what's really cool about this filter
is that you can put the lens cap on it,
the lens cap that came with the lens that you're using.
So you don't have to have some special
proprietary lens cap to go on this,
and it works great.
Now the price for the 67 millimeter is $149,
and to get the pack of two
so you have two to five stops and then six to nine,
if you get the pack of two, it's 279.
So it's a little bit cheaper than the Polar Pro ones,
but it's also not the cheapest out of all of them
that we're talking about in this video.
(chill music)
So I saw some issues with the image quality
when I was shooting with this one.
It has a green-yellow shift,
and you can really see it when you put it
next to an image that has no filter on it.
Now the second thing I noticed was the cross-polarization
gets bad when you're on four or five stops of ND,
and this is on a super wide lens.
With longer lenses you're not gonna see
this cross-polarization, however, it is noticeably there
when you're using a wide lens,
and for me cross-polarization is a big issue
because I do a lot of shooting on wide lenses.
Anytime I'm vlogging, I'm gonna use a wide lens,
and I want to use ND filters so that I can keep
my shutter speed at the proper shutter speed
so that my image isn't distracting,
and also I want to be able to have the blurry background.
I wanna have shallow depth of field.
So I like to use ND filters when I'm vlogging,
and cross-polarization is an issue,
and this definitely has it on four or five stops.
You start to notice it a little bit at three,
but it's really not super noticeable.
So the Moment filters have a unique problem
that you don't see on the other ones.
The front element of this filter is super reflective.
So when I'm looking at my lens
I'm seeing like a super clear image of my face.
Right now I'm just staring at my lips talking.
When you look at the other lenses they're much darker.
So you're not seeing the reflection
like I'm seeing right now.
If you're shooting talent
and they're seeing themselves in the reflection,
it could pull them out of whatever it is
that you're shooting,
whether it's a scripted scene or even like a documentary,
someone who's not natural on camera,
they're seeing themselves in the lens,
it's gonna be really distracting,
and for me it keeps pulling me out.
That's why I'm having to cut so much
'cause I keep getting, I keep losing my train of thought
as I'm looking at this.
I mean I guess you can get over it after a while,
but it's something that's super noticeable.
So next up, let's take a look at the Polar Pro filters.
Now these are the most expensive
out of the entire batch here.
The two to five stop is $250,
and the six to nine is $300,
and you can get the combo pack for 450.
That's a big chunk of money
that you have to shell out for two filters.
Now when it comes to the case, the case is nice.
It's got a magnetic close.
So it's easy to slip in your bag, and as a square.
Now the actual filter itself has a special cap on it,
and this is one thing that I personally like
about the Polar Pro over
all of the other veritable ND filters,
and you have this rubberized cap,
and this rubberized cap is super useful
if you're filming in any situation
where things might be a little bit more rough.
So whenever I've been out hiking or climbing
I always bring these filters with me with this cap
because it's gonna protect the lens.
One huge benefit of using the Polar Pros is this.
Now Polar Pro has another product called a Defender
which is similar to this,
but it hooks around kind of your whole lens,
and so if you don't want to pay
for an expensive variable ND filter,
but you still want this style of cap,
there is options for that, and I do like those as well.
Now with the Peter MacKinnon Polar Pro veritable ND filter
you can see the numbers pretty easily.
You do have to tilt the camera slightly.
It's not that big of a deal.
With the Moment one, it's a little bit easier
because the numbers face you.
It's the only variable ND filter that actually does that,
but it comes at a cost of being much wider.
So this one is super easy to see
all the numbers on the filter.
It's easy to put on and off your camera.
I've had no issues of getting it on and off,
and it moves well, it slides well, and it doesn't slip.
(upbeat music)
So I've been working with the Polar Pro veritable ND filter
for a while, and I do like the way that it looks.
I've haven't really noticed any massive color shifts.
However, when I went down to the beach
and I did the side-by-side comparisons,
the Polar Pro filter was the only one out of these four
that shifted a little bit more into the cool spectrum.
So a little bit more of the blues.
I definitely saw cross-polarization issues
when I was shooting at four and five stops.
So it's definitely not a perfect filter.
I think it works great.
I've used them for a while.
So from my experience, I've liked them,
but you do have cross-polarization issues on wide lenses.
So next up is the Syrp filters.
So these are priced somewhere in the middle.
It's 139 for the 67 millimeter,
and it's 189 for the 82 millimeter.
So these filters are the smallest of the entire batch.
Now the case, it's got a nice leather case
with a zipper, seems to work well.
I haven't had any issues with this case.
So this filter goes from 1.5 to eight stops of filtration.
So that's the big selling point over the other filters.
This one gives you more ND in one filter.
However, that comes at a cost.
With this filter, it's gonna sit flush on your lens.
So that's good because when you add it onto your lens,
nothing's sticking out the sides.
Now you can use your normal lens cap on this
and it seems to work pretty well.
Getting it on and off is actually kind of hard
because you have this small ring around the edge
which is supposed to be your grip,
and your fingers don't really,
it doesn't really work very well.
So like to get it on and off,
you really have to squeeze tight,
and if it's on there tight,
you really have to like crank on the lens to get it off.
Nope, and I just messed up my shot
that I was doing to try and match up all these shots.
The colors tend to shift a little bit more warmer
as you get darker on this ND filter.
It doesn't seem to be consistent
across all of the ND stops as the other filters.
Now once you go past four or five stops of ND
on this filter, it's completely unusable.
There it suffers from major cross-polarization.
Now you might not notice this
if you're on a super long lens,
but when you're shooting on wide lens, you definitely see
some massive cross-polarization happening.
And I actually took this filter with me
to the Azores last year, and I ended up shooting
a ton of footage that was all ruined
because of the cross-polarization.
So having the eight stops seems great,
but it definitely opens up a world of potential problems,
and personally I don't want to have this in my bag
and accidentally pull it up too high,
and then end up with bad footage like I did in the Azores.
So the last filter we're gonna be talking about
is the Freewell.
So the Freewell is the cheapest out of all of these filters.
The case itself is very cheap.
It's just like a plastic case.
There's nothing special about it.
It holds the filter.
That's what you need it to do.
So it's not that big of a deal.
Now when it comes to this filter
they have a different system setup.
You can't use your lens cap on it.
You have to use their proprietary magnetic system
that they've built.
For some people this is gonna be awesome
because the magnetic system allows you to take filters
on and off your camera super fast.
I have a set of these filters that are not variable ND,
and you can switch between the different NDs
super easily by just magnets popping on and off.
However, for me when I'm throwing my gear around
a little bit more, have it in a backpack,
I've noticed that these magnets tend to pop off.
So I personally am not the biggest fan
of the magnetic system just because it's not super secure.
I would rather see this magnet system
with like a half-turn that ends up locking it.
So that when you put this in your bag,
there's no chance of it popping off.
So that's just one thing to think about
if you are to go with the Freewell system.
However, you might actually like the magnet system.
So it might be something for you to check out.
The other thing is that this is the cheapest
out of all the filters that we're reviewing on this.
It's $109, or the set of two,
two to five, six to nine, is $200
which is a huge difference than the Polar Pro
which are 450 for the same two veritable ND filters.
So it's just something to consider
if price is one of those things
that's really deterring you from getting
one of the more expensive set of variable NDs.
These ones might be the one to check out.
Now I haven't had any issues
getting these on and off the lens.
They have nice hand grips even though they're thin.
You can still get your fingers on there
and pop it off super easily.
(upbeat music)
So with this filter,
I saw a similar shift as the Moment filters.
Has a little bit of green-yellow in the image.
Now it also suffers from cross-polarization
when you get into four or five stops.
So my conclusion after working with all of these filters
is that there is no perfect variable ND filter.
They all are gonna suffer from one issue or another.
When it comes to the color shift, you can fix that easily
by just white balancing with the filter on.
You could also just do a little tweaking in post,
and it could fix any sort of push towards yellow or green
that you're seeing in your image.
Now the issue is the cross-polarization.
You can't fix that.
There's no way to fix that in post.
So what I've been doing is basically using
both the two to five and six to nine,
and really only using them in the middle,
and that's not the best solution
because you are still opening yourself up
to a world of problems if you are using wider lenses
and you crank it all the way to the end.
I think that a better solution
is just to have a set of normal ND filters
where there's no opportunity for you
to have some cross-polarization problems,
and I think for me after doing this test
and going through all these filters
and trying them in the different settings
side by side by side, I realized that
variable ND filters might not be the best way to go.
They make it easier
because you don't have to carry as much gear,
but what I'm finding is that I'm gonna be carrying
at least two of these filters all the time.
So if I could find two to three, four filters
that I use often and just carry those instead
and have non variable ND filters,
that's gonna be a better solution
because there's gonna be no chance
of this cross-polarization happening.
So guys I'd love to hear your thoughts
down in the comments below.
This completely made me rethink
how I'm going to be using ND filters,
and I think I'm actually gonna be
getting rid of my variable NDs now,
but guys that is it.
I will see you in the next one.