Progrey 10 Stop ND filter

John Soliven

John Soliven

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Talk Photogrpahy has been one of my sources of informations on photography and other related stuff. I'm ust sharing this to the forum as my way of paying forward to the community.

It is more than a year now since I have started shooting landscapes and part of my photography kit are the essential filters needed for landscape photography. My filter system is composed of GND soft and hard in various densities and reverse filter, all from Progrey USA, and some ND filters from different companies.

I have been using the GND and reverse filter for all of my shots and I have always been satisfied with the results I am getting from Progrey USA.



Finding a neutral ND filter in 6 and 10 stop is quite a monumental task, and the market has been populated with other brands that have strong colour cast on their filter. Since Progrey USA doesn't have any ND filter when I started shooting landscapes, I settled on those ND filters with colour cast with hopes those companies will improve their product and soon produce a neutral 6 and 10 stop ND filter.

Until recently, as I looked on Progrey USA website searching for new products, I came across to an item. And to my surprise, they are now offering their own ND filter! The ND filter came up in various densities, in 3, 7, 10 and 12 stop that I was gladly dreaming of.



Quoting from their website:

“Highest quality ultra-clear glass filters in various densities (up to 12 stops!) and sizes to fit Progrey holders and other "thin design" holders. These filters will produce little to no color shift, yielding natural results. Have an anti-reflection and anti-static coating making them easier to clean than other filters on the market. Includes a premium quality, soft fabric bag with velcro flap.”

With these informations on mind and armed with knowledge of quality products produced by Progrey USA, I immediately placed my order for a 10 stop ND filter.


After a couple of days waiting, the item arrived in no time, packed very carefully in a secured packing box. Unboxed it and took some pictures of it.








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Side by side with Lee Big Stopper:

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Did a quick comparison between the Progrey 10 stop and Lee Big Stopper:​







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I was blown away with the initial result of this quick comparison. Firstly noticed the neutrality of the filter! And no vignetting on the edge! As compared to Lee’s Big stopper, know to many for its cool/blue colour cast and vignetting on the edge of the frame. It appears this is the filter I have been waiting for so long. Can’t wait to use it in the field and do a more extensive test.
 
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Would like to see a comparison with this and the Hitechs Firecrest ND filter which im told is nuetral as well. I have the Progrey holder and adaptor for my 14-24 and an adaptor for my 24-70. I waited ages for the Progrey filter then when it did eventually came out then the cost put it in with the Lee and the Hitech- still havent decided but for now i will likely get the Hitech offering.
 
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How much did the Progrey 10 stop cost please
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Would like to see a comparison with this and the Hitechs Firecrest ND filter which im told is nuetral as well. I have the Progrey holder and adaptor for my 14-24 and an adaptor for my 24-70. I waited ages for the Progrey filter then when it did eventually came out then the cost put it in with the Lee and the Hitech- still havent decided but for now i will likely get the Hitech offering.
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Hi Mark, hope you are enjoying your Progrey holder in your Nikkor 14-24. I remember we are exchanging messages about the holder :)


TG. said:
How much did the Progrey 10 stop cost please
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The cost of the Progrey 10 Stop ND is £115.68 delivered from the US.
 
Hi mate, yeah im good. Enjoying the holder a great deal- lovely holder and works very well. The last time i looked the 150mm version was working out at £150-£155 if i remember looking but will go back in the morning and have a look and if it is that price then i will likely try it out. Cheers.
 
Progrey>Lee, but Lee is available in EU market. Color cast can be corrected via grey cards. Thus ppl spend money on Lee. It's not really surprising to me what you have discovered. On America forums and review sites, progrey rates a heck lot higher than the one we buy on this side of the pond.

And you only got to search "Lee" on this forum to see how many lemins are been recommended by other lemins.
 
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Then came my free dates, checked weather, packed my things and travelled 350 plus miles from my place to the north coast and put the Progrey 10 stop in a proper shoot. I was lucky the weather for long exposure is on my side and manage to use the filter on the vision I had in mind. Pictures are SOOC, I just resized them for web posting.















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And the processed versions:








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I am very happy with the results I’m getting from Progrey’s 10 stop ND filter! It’s the filter many photographers longing for! Their products are best in class!
 
Im still tempted but wish they had some sort of following here in the UK as i hear a lot about the Firecrest filters which are superb but hear nothing about the Progrey and with them being a similar price its a hard choice. I think the Firecrest is actally a little bit cheaper than the Progrey but would love to see a direct comparison.
 
Mark, if you want any of these filters, u can buy then from BH Photographic, the massive electrical store in NYC. Order online and get them shipped here. The only think I am concerned about doing that is the custom charges. Not really looked into how much import duties are on photography items. But may be worth the while if you can't find them here.

Firecrest progrey are well documented in America. So u can find plenty review and user experiences on FM forum or do review forums etc.
 
Ricky, i have some Progrey holders and adaptors and they are great. I buy straight from Progrey USA and if asked they can help with customs charges etc. no doubt they are great quality and i watched their progress for months before they were released. I may opt for the 10 stop soon but would have liked a UK seller in case of issues.
 
Good point about issues, but they rarely ever occurs. How did they deal with custom etc? I am interested only as I know BH stocks and sells these things. In the rare occasion I go to NYC then it can be part if my long shopping list. But wud be nice to know if there is a viable option there
 
oh yeah, i wonder where i found it previous. but they have these singh-ray stuff eye-wateringly expensive ::
 
ricky1980 said:
Good point about issues, but they rarely ever occurs. How did they deal with custom etc? I am interested only as I know BH stocks and sells these things. In the rare occasion I go to NYC then it can be part if my long shopping list. But wud be nice to know if there is a viable option there
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They will happily help you with the custom, just send them a message before ordering :)
 
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popeyebx said:
They will happily help you with the custom, just send them a message before ordering :)
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I've recently purchased from B&H, when you get to the payment section you can tick a box and ask them to sort the customs charges for you so your item is not held in customs. B&H then re-calculate the final payment for you.

Strangely mine did not increase, probably because my order was not of high value. When the item arrived, the customs sheet was all ticked off.
 
Ended up ordering the Progey 150mm 10 stop ND filter as i believe it to be the best so i will see shortly if that was a correct assumption by me or if i should have gone with the Firecrest-defo not interested in the Lee 10 stop because of the cast, if paying that money i dont want a bad cast which i need to remove from each image.
 
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