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ND Filter - X5S - Video Professional Question

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Is there any difference in final video quality (contrast, color, dynamic range) if you use a ND FIlter as opposed to stopping the lens down, excluding depth of field.

Ex. Bright Strong Overcast Day

Video A - No ND
1/60 , F11

Video B- ND Filter 3 stop
1/60, F4

Thanks for any Input
Dave
 
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Yes all are affected but mainly the sharpness then the colors and contrast. It depend on the quality of the filter. Better quality in most cases gives better sharpness but the colors are still off.
On my X5R I use Heliopan variable ND filter and so far am very happy from it, very sharp. Only 2 bad sides, heavy and at max density have a visible vignette like diagonal gradient. The color shifting I'm fixing with the use of xrite color chart at the time of shooting and later in post the colors are adjusted automatically trough the xrite plugin.
 
Sharpness and color shifting is definitely something to consider with ND filters. I've been through several "cheaper" brands that suited me well early on, but I now have standardize on the Formatt Hitech ones. They are very sharp and not noticeable color shift.
I've tended to avoid variable NDs for the reasons stated above, but I've never had one sharp or with little colorshift. In fact my footage has typically been subpar when using these, with difficulty trying to correct in post.
 
Yeah, they are expensive. On their website they show the B+W, Lee, Formatt Hitech and Breakthrough ND's. Lee is blue for water. B+W is warm for landscape. Hitech is greenish and good for forest. Breakthrough most neutral for whatever. I have the Lee and the B+W and they do have a strong color cast to them in the 10-stop density.

Bad part is the smallest BT is 49mm, but it is very thin so maybe it can be used in place of the 46mm on the 45mm lens with a 37-49mm thin step-up ring.

Added later:

I bought their new 46mm size in 3 and 5 stops ND from them. Weight is 14.4 grams per filter. A 37 to 46mm step ring is 3.3 grams. That would make the 45mm Olympus a total of 130 grams.
 
Last edited:
Is there any difference in final video quality (contrast, color, dynamic range) if you use a ND FIlter as opposed to stopping the lens down, excluding depth of field.

Ex. Bright Strong Overcast Day

Video A - No ND
1/60 , F11

Video B- ND Filter 3 stop
1/60, F4

Thanks for any Input
Dave

Most lenses have a happy spot between f5 and f8 +/- especially with the Olympus M 4/3rds lenses. The reason for the ND filter is to keep the f stop in that range and also to keep the shutter speed about twice the FPS of the video format you have chosen. Pick and choose the ND filter to do that and you can also adjust the ISO (100 -600) to keep the the video parameters to the standards I mentioned. I never seem to be able to fly and take video without an ND filter of some density.

I do use the B+W Pro ND filters.
 
Yeah, they are expensive. On their website they show the B+W, Lee, Formatt Hitech and Breakthrough ND's. Lee is blue for water. B+W is warm for landscape. Hitech is greenish and good for forest. Breakthrough most neutral for whatever. I have the Lee and the B+W and they do have a strong color cast to them in the 10-stop density.

Bad part is the smallest BT is 49mm, but it is very thin so maybe it can be used in place of the 46mm on the 45mm lens with a 37-49mm thin step-up ring.

Their tests were for sizes I don't use for drones (6-stop, 10-stop). That's the issue with tests I've seen in the past, they aren't the exact type I'm using. I know for the 3-stop and 4-stop Formatt's I don't notice a green shift. I do know some of the cheaper ones tended to shift towards blue or red. Red is the worse, very difficult to correct.
 
Unfortunately, like with lenses, the better the filters cost a lot more but are usually worth it. For video it comes down to a tree off.

You have to weigh the benefits of using an ND with the down side.

Of course the benefit is being able to keep shutter to the '180 degree' rule, but the other benefit is that it eliminates the risk of jello.

For me, I use a 16 on bright sunny days to keep my shutter at 60. I use the Polar pro set which seems to be ok for its price point. I also reduce contrast and sharpness and saturation some (all great tips found on this forum), then bring it all back up in post. Not 'film, quality, but I usually do commercial real estate work.

On overcast days I sometimes don't use ND at all because there's lower risk of jello and I can get better colors.

As you may know, if you don't use ND and you don't get jello, the video will, arguably, be too clear. Viewers are used to a certain amount of blur (thanks to film) so when video is too clear it gives it a Soap Opera effect.

With 60 and 120hz TVs and Clear Motion, I think that may be changing though.

I would think Shooting sports would benefit from faster shutter speeds but you still have to worry about jello.
 

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