ND filters

[Matthew Sonnenfeld]

Schneider ND/IR combo filters are excellent as are Tiffen ND. Schneider and Tiffen are really the standards for 4×4/4×6 motion picture filters. Not cheap but a worthy investment that will outlast any camera in the same way that good lenses are the investment, not the body.

If you are really trying to save money, I would recommend looking at your lenses and deciding what the most common filter thread is between them. If you use Canon lenses, this is probably 77mm. Then look into getting a variable ND filter that can just screw in to the front of your lens.

Co-President at fourB Productions, Inc.
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[Richard Martz]

YEP. Tiffen and Schneider to be sure. The only ones I own. And be sure that you only get glass filters. There are some really cheap plastic ones out there that last like 5 minutes.

Sincerely,
Richard Martz

MagicMartz Media
Atlanta, GA

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[Marco Solorio]

I agree with everything Matthew and Richard already said. Just to add, the Schneider filters are the best IMO, with Tiffen a close second (some Tiffen filters seems to have a very slight green shift, almost unrecognizable). The Schneider filters use some of the best glass manufacturing methods available and are thus extremely clean and transparent with very little shift. And yeah, as Matthew said, if these filters are out of your budget (namely the Schneider filters) then look into a variable ND filter that screws onto your largest lens and use step-up rings for your smaller lenses (we’ve enjoyed the Singh-Ray Vari-N-Duo over the years as it’s both a circular polarizer and variable ND in one).

BUT DON’T FORGET…

If you use heavy ND filtration, you’ll need to accompany it with an IR CUT filter as well or you well get major brown/magenta shift in the blacks. Every CMOS camera is susceptible to this and depending on the camera/sensor (even the ARRI Alexa), you need the right IR CUT. For the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, the Schneider IR CUT 680 is the best.

Get ready to pay some coin!

Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | ORM Blog | Facebook | Twitter | BMCC Newsletter

[Ali Quintana]

Thanks for all the tips.

Will the ND filters work good combined with Circular Polorising filters?

Using both together in the Mattbox (so not the vari Duo?

Also can with the heavy ND the color of the blacks being brown can that be fixed in post color correction instead of buying an aditional
Schneider IR CUT 680.