Screw-in ND Filters for 16-35mm f/2.8L II

[yanzhang]

 

<p>Dear all,<br>

Currently I am using 82mm Singh Ray Vari-ND filter on my EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens with 5D MarkII body. However, I found most of the time, the out door shooting results (I am doing landscape photography) with this filter at more than 4 stops are not acceptable - the exposure is very uneven, the middle sky and foreground got very dark.<br>

So I am considering to buy a fixed stop screw-in ND filter, because the reviews for fixed screw-in large stop ND filters didn't report this problem, though other problems such as color cast exist. But this always exists for all these kinds of ND filters I guess.<br>

The two filters I am considering are B+W 82mm ND106 (6 stops) and B+W 82mm ND110 (10 stops). But I was advised by B+W that they no longer produce these 2 filters on 82mm size.<br>

So my question is: Have some people bought any 82mm screw-in ND filters at 6 stops and 10 stops recently? Or any other suggestions?<br>

Many thanks for your help.<br>

Yan</p>

 

[alan_bryant1]

<p>I would think the market for such filters must be very small. Looks like B&H sells some from a company called Formatt. I haven't heard of them before, but they might be worth looking in to.</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>No, but I have a Hoya NDx400 9-stop screw in filter in a smaller size. Seems to work pretty well (uniform). Some post exposure color balancing may be required.</p>

<p>Unfortunately I think the largest size they make them in is 77mm, at least I've never seen an 82mm version. That 82mm filter requirement is a bit of a pain.</p>

<p>You can get 82mm ND-8 (3 stop) Hoyas . You could stack two of them to give you 6 stops, but you might get slight vignetting with stacked filters at 16mm.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Another possible solution is a Cokin-style filter holder and filter squares (<a href="http://www.cokin.fr/ico15-A.html">link</a> ). That is absolutely better for <em>graduated</em> ND filters, but full ND filters are also available. The Z-Pro size might be necessary for so large a lens as 82mm. The same holder and filters can be used for smaller lenses with appropriate ring adapters.</p>

[aperryproductions]

<p>I've used p-series on my 16-35. 82mm is the largest size for the P-series but it still works. <a href="http://www.cokin.fr/ico2-p1.html">http://www.cokin.fr/ico2-p1.html</a> I can't remember if I saw some vignetting with it, but it's a relatively inexpensive solution to get the the ring and the holder plus the same filters on all your lenses. </p>

[yanzhang]

<p>Dear Alan, Bob, JDM and Alex,</p>

<p>Many thanks for your input. I use Singh Ray's Vari-ND 82 mm for stops 2-4 are fine. This filter has a maximal 8 stop ND effect. But the difficulty is that anything more than 4 stops is unusable.</p>

<p>So I am looking for DN filters with 6 stops and if possible, even 10 stops. I think the Cokin or Lee holder-style ND filters are not suitable for my purpose due to the light leaking during a long exposure time. So screw-in filter is the solution. But I cannot find any 82mm such high stop ND filters except B+W. But B+W has stopped producing this size ND filters.</p>

 

[craig_meddaugh]

<p>Well... you're SOL. You should keep an eye on ebay in case anything comes up but you're either going to have to stack filters or go with a cokin/lee system. </p>

<p>I wonder why the dropped the rear gel holder on the II version of this lens. </p>