Varaible ND Filters - Yay or Nay?

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bildo

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Name
Bill
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I've been shooting far more than ever this year, about 90% of it has been motorsport in various places across Europe.

Since I don't get to choose when the event happens (sadly) nearly all of my shooting is done in harsh sunlight (10/11am-5/6pm). I've been finding myself using ND filters more than ever to stop the aperture rising to crazy numbers and also to keep the speeds down.

I've currently got 2-stop filters for my lenses, however I'm intending to go to 3 or 4 stop. Whilst browsing through Amazon I got the usual "Are variable ND filters really THAT bad?" question pop into my head.

Looking at this Tiffen 77mm in particular - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tiffen-Vari...5&sr=8-1&keywords=variable+77mm+ND+filter#Ask

The reviews are HUGELY mixed, people saying it's the best and worst thing ever. It can't be both, right?

Does anyone have any experiences they could share? I would probably be willing to pay a bit more if something was genuinely the perfect answer, but with the Tiffen the results seem a little mixed for me to want to risk it.

Cheers guys.
 
Before talking about ND filters, what are your settings in those motorsport photos?

Having a harsh light should be in your advantage, use as low ISO value, then try to stick with f8 if you don't need to blur more, and the speed? WOW, in sports i like to have high speed, the harsher or stronger the light the higher speed i can use.

Post some photos and let's see what is your problems before you invest in ND, you said you have using one mostly, it is really strange that you need another or more stops ND for example.
 
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I say YES!
One of the must have in my bag, but a good one!
 
You could also consider step-up rings, but I suppose hoods are important if the light is that harsh.
 
Nay! Never had any joy with these!
 
All vari-ND filters use cross-polarisers to create the variable ND effect. When used with wide-angles at higher density settings, this creates a dark cross pattern right across the image - rendering the useless. Even the most expensive ones. With longer focal lengths, this is not a problem.

But longer focal lengths magnify any imperfections in the filter and a loss of sharpness is common. That can be even worse with a vari-ND as they contain two filters. It also means there are four glass surfaces to cause flare and other image quality issues. Stick to fixed-density ND filters, and good ones, if you want best image quality, though it's not clear why you are having these problems with motorsport (as mentioned above). With four stops of ND, you may find the viewfinder image gets pretty dark.

A polarising filter might be worth having, especially if you shoot tin-tops as the windscreen is often at just the right angle (30-40 degrees) to cut reflections, so you can see the driver. A polariser will also reduce overall exposure by 1.5-2 stops, though again it's important to get a good quality one, especially with longer lenses.
 
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Everything what Richard says. They're useless at short focal lengths, they're a pain at long focal lengths.

Also, it's impossible to figure out what exposure to use without sucking it and seeing. When I use my 10-stopper I know I need to adjust the exposure by 11 stops. When I use a VND I've no idea what exposure is needed.

A polariser plus 6 and 10 stop NDs will cover everything I need.
 
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