has anyone used the marumi non-vari ND's? thinking about getting a 77mm ND8.

I'm still debating on which Vari ND to get? Can anyone share any insight or even a comparison on the pros and cons between these filters?

77mm Vari ND Filter - Light Craft Fader ND Mark II or Marumi DHG Digital Variable ND ND2-ND400 or Genus ND Fader or Tiffen Vari ND?

Thanks

I used cheap Tiffen ND 0.6 filters for my old HV30, a 77mm "Polaroid" vari-ND that maxed out at "400x" (actually a little less if you wanted it to work right) and a Hoya 77mm 9 stop ND (not vari). All were screw in.

It should come as no surprise that I had the best experience with the Hoya (didn`t vignette my EF-S 10-22mm which the Polaroid vari-ND did) and I loved using it for timelapse photography. A little strong for video (takes what would be 1/8000 second and makes it require 1/30 at the same settings) but the image quality has been noticeably better than the others, even while being higher strength.

sorry I did not read this before:

Jow to order Heliopan Vari filter from a german site http://www.fotomayr.de

I don't know the german site, and I don't know how credible the ordering process is.

I know Fotomayr for many year since I was running my own E-6 film lab. Over all these years they were reliable and had a excellent service. I bought 2 Heliopan ND faders last year from there.

@Swiss_Boy @bheath Okay, just a quick response to you guys from my phone before I grab the laptop and head for the nearest Wi-Fi.

@Swiss_Boy Larger filters can be used on a wider variety of threads, so functionality wise it makes sense to get the largest you can afford. Of course the larger they are, the more expensive they get. My largest lenses use a 77mm thread so I tend to buy filters that size and use step-up rings for the rest. If you use a step-up ring with a larger filter, you also decrease the chance of vignetteting. Ofr instance, when I use a 52 to 77mm step up ring, I can fit 4 77mm contrast filters onto the lens without signs of vignetting on the Gh2 in standard 24H video mode. If I put 2 of the same filters on another lens on a 1.6x crop body, I can already see vignetting. It is not a scientific experiment (too many uncotrolled variables, like the lenses) but it gives you an idea of the potential.

@Bheath It is a great filter. I shot the partial eclipse with it using a Canon 100-400mm L series. Gorgeous.

I'm using a Genus ND and don't have any issues. Color and IQ are good.

All my filters are 77mm and do have issues with the step up adapters on faders. For some reason they all get stuck on the filter at some point and are impossible to remove without destroying the ring. (Yes, I have filter wrenches.)

@cp_from_oz

They do not interfere with AF system of mirrorless cameras using contrast AF, like all Panasonic cameras. With DSLR you can have linear polarizers affecting AF, yep.

@danyyyel

Buy the Tiffen. Thats's the best! I've had no problems with that set, at all, ...even stacked high to get minimum light reduction.

@bubba Not to nitpick, but stacking 3 traditional ND filters cuts 99.999% of IR, 57.8125% of near-IR, and 31.8528% of the red spectrum.

The math goes like this, taking near-IR as an example: 100%-[(100%-25%)^3], or 1 - .75^3.

Of course this is still only an approximation using somewhat-arbitrarily designated categories, but it is more accurate than adding percentages.

@bubba thanks, in fact I was going to ask the question if it was ok to stack them to be able to have more ND.

I have a 62mm Heliopan Vario ND with a step down adapter to 46mm (to fit the 25mm and 14mm primes). Purpose is for filming snowsports (mostly snowmobiling) where the snow can be "blindingly bright". I'm happy with it, but I only make home movies and have nothing to judge it against.

All Marumi filters are good quality, very respectable brand in Japan. I use their ND's exclusively stacked when needed, not tried their Vari-ND though, but would be surprised if it didn't perform as expected.