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Cheap resin 4x4 ND filters
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    Chinese guys started to sell quite cheap ND filters

    Including ND2, ND4, ND8, Graduate ND2, Graduate ND4, Graduate ND8.

    It seems that all are resin filters.
    I really do not know about actual quality.

    image

    Price: $39

    http://www.ebay.com/sch/fotocola/m.html?_kw=4x4

    4x4.jpg
    700 x 500 - 24K
  • 52 Replies sorted by
  • TobsenTobsen

    @disordinary thx. The photos would help to see how bad the color cast is.

  • disordinarydisordinary

    @Tobsen, just took them out - it was getting late so couldn't do much but I was satisfied that they were optically clear, didn't seem to soften the image or interfere with focus. However they did have a slight color cast, either adding blue or removing yellow as you darken the image. I'll attach some photos later.

  • disordinarydisordinary

    @Tobsen, sorry pulled out the rig but my Girlfriend had my camera, I'll do it this weekend and let you know, at the very least I'll take a photo through each one and pop it up Saturday which is Friday in the US.

  • TobsenTobsen

    @disordinary Did you have a chance to test them? I am being quite impatient I know...

  • kazuokazuo

    Come on VK, dun want to name names here. let's take this offline, then I will tell you which ones.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @kazuo

    First, stop generalization, no such stuff as "Chinese filters" exist. Also no such thing as "respectable brands" exist, Hoya also have crap and have better filters.

    All the else, is, really, anecdote here.

    And show me this filters, please.

  • kazuokazuo

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    I am not exaggerating. To truly see that your images don't focus well with the Chinese filters, shoot some stills and then magnify images to check resolution. Compared to respectable brands like even Hoya, these filters will give you very blurry edges among other things.

    Here's an anecdote I heard from a Canon spokesman: A client recently picked up the 5D mk 3 and went off a happy man. Two days later, he came back with the camera, apparently something was wrong with the set: either there was back focus issue or the lens was not aligned properly or something, cos the images he had shot so far were very soft. The Canon techs examined the cam body, and tested the lens, they were dumbfounded cos the camera is band new. But when the body was paired with another glass in the workshop, the images looked fine. The techs then relooked at the lens that came with the 5D. They opened it up, cleaned the glass, tested the elements, everything seemed fine. When they tested the lens again, the images looked kind of blurry. Then the tech decided to remove the lens filter. The rest of the story is legendary: the next picture he took with the lens was razor sharp!

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @kazuo

    I really do not know where you got such stuff. If you do not buy $1 filters I never saw any "cheap plastic that tries to pass off as glass" in reality.

  • kazuokazuo

    Some cheap filters will look cheap. I tried on some. Man, I had to throw them away. To cut the long story short, my lenses could not focus at all with the cheap glass in front. I suspect these filters are not even made of glass - some cheap plastic that tries to pass off as glass, not unlike the material they use for protective films for LCD screens. I ended buying good 4x4 filters. Cost a bomb, but when you see the quality, you will understand why.

  • TobsenTobsen

    @disordinary I would be great if you could give us your opinion about them. I am really interested.

  • disordinarydisordinary

    I bought them but haven't used them in anger yet (they arrived yesterday) - big, solid, and glass - will try and have a play with them on the weekend.

  • TobsenTobsen

    Did anyone buy the ND filters from PV deals and could give first impressions about the quality?

  • goannagoanna

    @kavadni Yep, that's what I was able to do with postage for both 3x3" Cavision Glass ND filter posted together with my order for 3" Matte Box. Bigger, much heavier, but only $32.86 postage. I think B&H must have a minimum postage fee to deter us from making frivolous purchases.

  • kavadnikavadni

    @goanna .. definetely an issue with shipping. B&H shipping is quite smart, it calculates both weight and dimensions .. I ordered an extra 64G card at the same time, and a grip head .. shipping stayed at $32

  • goannagoanna

    @kavadni

    Thanks - I was interested but B&H want $31.66 to put the piece(s) of cardboard in an envelope and post it to Australia!

  • kavadnikavadni

    I've ordered this .. adapts cokin P series to 4x4 .. they are cardboard and you get three

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/87155-REG/LEE_Filters_CCM84_Filter_Frame_4_x.html

    Note: It doesn't say you get three, but when I bought the 5.5x4 pack I receieved 3

  • goannagoanna

    Just bought this 3x3" Cavision Glass ND filter for $39 to go with my new 3" Matte Box. Certainlly cheap enough for this category - I'll tell you how it performs quality-wise.

  • TobsenTobsen

    yep, compared to the filters on top of this thread the Tecpro filters cost twice as much.

  • TobsenTobsen

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev ok, cheap is a relativ term. With cheap I mean comparing for example their 4x4ND filter (60 Euro) to its Tiffen and Schneider Optics counterparts (minium 150 Euro).

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Tobsen

    I doubt that they can be considered cheap.

  • TobsenTobsen

    Ok, I was just looking for cheap used LED lights on Dedo Weigert's website and came across those really affordable 4x4 filters under their house brand Tecpro.

    http://www.dedoweigertfilm.de/dedo/default.php?la=0&pg=000000090500&id=TP-Filter&section=0

    Anyone tried those or knows if they are any good????

    As we found out so far, there are no good cheap filters around now, but maybe these could be worth a try since they come from a company that usually doesn't sell crap. Still, for that price it could...

  • goannagoanna

    @Pechente

    Totally with you on this one. "Affordable 4X4 ND Filter" deserves to be added to a separate Holy Grail Watch-List of items which are achievable but as yet unavailable.

  • PechentePechente

    @goanna Yeah, that's true but we shouldn't give up on the idea of finding cheap 4x4 filters one day as there are really cheap screw-on filters out there that are still decent. Theoretically it can't be that hard to produce the same filter in a slightly larger square shape. Some manufacturer just needs to have the balls to actually do it.

  • goannagoanna

    It seems more and more that the title of this thread," Cheap 4X4 ND filters" is itself an oxymoron. What you get for anything under $150 may well turn out to be more like a fog-filter which also darkens the image with a colour which is far from neutral.

    I also think the elephant in the room here is that many of us have built rigs with affordable 4X4 matte boxes, only to discover later that the very filters we need to fit them are unaffordable.

  • turbojeffroturbojeffro

    I bought this Goja for the NDs and ND grads and it also has a lot of color grads that I've been experimenting with. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Square-Filter-Compatible-Series/dp/B00796I546/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1345584118&sr=8-6&keywords=nd+filter+set

    They're not glass but are surprisingly good for the price and fit all my lenses. My only disappointment with them is the holder is cheaply made and sometimes you have to force in and out the filters but that's not too big of an issue.

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