Recommend me a 'big stopper'

[Reschsmooth]

In light of the 16 stop thread, and my broken 8 stop ND filter, I am after recommendations for a dark ND filter, hopefully about 10 stops or so. I know there are options such as B+W screw on and Lee filter/filter holders.

[aim54x]

A few of us are using the B+W 10-stop!

[photohiker]

B&W 10 stop from Mainline. They had a special deal a while back (August 2011) that someone posted here.

[Wink]

Yep. I bought one on that special.
It's a good filter and it works well.

If you're interested in a secondhand one send me a PM as I have a Lee setup and plan on getting a big stopper to suit that.

[robert]

I'm interested too-
At the risk of a hijack, for those with variable ND how often do you use it at full. Trying to decide between variable and +10,
Robert

[Remorhaz]

If you want a really strong nd go the ten stop and not the variable.

FYI to all I have all three - B+W screw in ten stop, Lee big stopper and a 2-8 stop variable

The variable works at lower strengths but goes very funky at higher and/or wider lenses - basically think unusable from about 5 or 6 stops onwards - I basically never use it

[biggerry]

Lee 10 stops ND
*$150 delivered.
*easy to compose
*colour cast manageable (not as good as the BW in terms of quality according to some)
*if you have the lee filter holder you are laughing.

otherwise, BW 1000X ND, cheap and cheerful from mainline.

[robert]

Thanks Rodney, will start looking for +10,

Gerry- not sure if just a throw away comment but it seems the B+W is actually more than the lee price you quoted- not so cheap or am i looking at the wrong thing?

[biggerry]

Thanks Rodney, will start looking for +10,

Gerry- not sure if just a throw away comment but it seems the B+W is actually more than the lee price you quoted- not so cheap or am i looking at the wrong thing?

Hi Robert,

the BW 77mm screw in one I bought from Mainline when they had a special on (I think it was a like a 10% discount from a code posted on this site). The list price on the site is $159, you can buy it for sub 100 online O/S if you wish.

The Lee filter can be brought at Vanbar for $220 but compared to Teamwork in the UK for $150 delivered it's imo outside the pain threshold for a local seller.

I hope that clears it up a bit.

[Matt. K]

Someone care to enlighten me on why a piece of glass the size of a Tasmanian scollop cost around $150?

[sirhc55]

Someone care to enlighten me on why a piece of glass the size of a Tasmanian scollop cost around $150?

Have you seen the price of a Tasmanian scollop Matt?

[PiroStitch]

Can someone enlighten me to the difference of a ND10 filter instead of stacking ND2, 6 or 8 filters?

[Remorhaz]

Gerry- not sure if just a throw away comment but it seems the B+W is actually more than the lee price you quoted- not so cheap or am i looking at the wrong thing?

I got my B+W ND3.0 from maxsaver.net for $83.50 when I bought it.

Someone care to enlighten me on why a piece of glass the size of a Tasmanian scollop cost around $150?

Apparently with the really strong ND's you get a low yield (hard to make)? That said the price of the 100x100 and 150x100 Lee filters in general is reasonably high (>$100 per filter) so the BigStopper isn't a whole lot more than say getting one of their grads. The hard part is getting one - they are in high demand and on back order all the time - I've seen people offering to sell them on eBay and other places for like $300+

They cost more but the big advantage is their consistency (both individually and when stacked - see below). e.g. stack two or three Lee grads and you get no cast and a consistent result - ask Suren what happens if you stack some Cokins

NB: Matt it could be worse the Heliopan (105mm) CPL I bought to go in front of my Lee kit costs from about $350 - $500 depending on where you get it from

Can someone enlighten me to the difference of a ND10 filter instead of stacking ND2, 6 or 8 filters?

The main difference will be consistency of the ND and the cast - you "can" stack a bunch of ND's to get 10 stops but you'll get a few things happening - vignetting's a likely given but you also often get funky practically uncorrectable casts - you'd also need to use screw in ones so you don't get light leakage - when you're blocking 99.99% of the light any leakage is going to be very noticable.

[biggerry]

Someone care to enlighten me on why a piece of glass the size of a Tasmanian scollop cost around $150?

ya seen the size of the lee slide in filters? lets see a scollop that size

Can someone enlighten me to the difference of a ND10 filter instead of stacking ND2, 6 or 8 filters?

same light blockage but definitely different quality of light, the more bits glass you stick in front the less the quality (contrast, colour and sharpness will all take a hit) not too mention the definite vignetting on WA lens

[photohiker]

Someone care to enlighten me on why a piece of glass the size of a Tasmanian scollop cost around $150?

Don't worry Matt, it's 'just' $69 for the XPro 52mm: http://www.mainlinephoto.com.au/prod350.htm

[PiroStitch]

Thanks. That gives me food for thought about whether to get a Cokin ZPro or stick with my current P series.

Colour cast doesn't worry me much as I do most of my work in black and white. Lost of contrast is a different matter though. I'm not going to be using any UWAs. The widest I have is either 20 or 24 on a FF SLR or a 50 on MF.

[Mj]

So I ended up spending way too much (IMHO) on a Lee setup, but after much consideration it was really the only option for me at the moment.
Longer term it provides a quality setup for stacking GNDs as well as a range of ND's including the BigStopper.
If I was just going to use a 10stop ND, especially for say architecture work, I would consider a screw-in like the b&w as it is much more convenient on it's own, but once you start looking at doing landscapes with stacked filters I think mixing screw-ins with other systems like the Lee becomes a pain. Like many things out there the price seems disproportioned to the product. Just think carefully whether you really need what it provides or it ends up gathering dust on the shelf. Many filters are redundant these days, ND's and CPL's are for the moment still required for some images, but there are vendors working on solutions that will also make these unnecessary.

[CraigVTR]

Thank you gentlemen, a very timely thread. I recently found out my .6 Lee ND filter does not bounce when it is dropped on wet rocks. SO I have been thinking about weather to go the big stopper or the 10 stop ND.

One other thing about stacking filters is you have to really clean them all if you get a bit of splash from that incoming wave mid shoot. After I broke the .6 I stacked a CPL and a reverse grad for a sunrise and only noticed the water drops on the cpl when doing the pp back home, I only cleaned the grad after that splash. Too far to go back and reshoot this year so will have to get the clone brush going when I get the spare time.

[Reschsmooth]

I picked up a B+W 10 stop filter and, whilst having had a quick play on the D800 (using my old, beloved 17-35), I am very much looking forward to using it on the 4x5 - using FP4+ at ISO65, at the sweetspot of the lens at about f/22 and allowing for reciprocity, I can see myself getting daytime exposures of 30-60 minutes. Better pack a book (or some beers) next time I go out.

[biggerry]

I can see myself getting daytime exposures of 30-60 minutes. Better pack a book (or some beers) next time I go out.

faaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkk

thats not a bigstopper...thats a daystopper

[aim54x]

I can see myself getting daytime exposures of 30-60 minutes. Better pack a book (or some beers) next time I go out.

faaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkk

thats not a bigstopper...thats a daystopper

Now that is exposure!

[Reschsmooth]

I can see myself getting daytime exposures of 30-60 minutes. Better pack a book (or some beers) next time I go out.

faaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkk

thats not a bigstopper...thats a daystopper

It's a black hole whose event horizon extends out well beyond the field of view!

[CraigVTR]

Better pack a book (or some beers) next time I go out.

You will also need a driver to get you home after those beers as I am sure you will need to have more than one composition.

[Reschsmooth]

Better pack a book (or some beers) next time I go out.

You will also need a driver to get you home after those beers as I am sure you will need to have more than one composition.

Indeed. That will be the time I remember to take the darkslide out after I finish the exposure.

[rex]

hi guys..

any of you using cokin ND filter? i want to blur the motion (cars, people) but my ND4 is just not enough to slow the shutter. question do i have to buy another ND8 and stack the two together in the filter holder or ND8 is enough? will two stack filters in front of the lens make the image quality suffer? what's the highest ND in cokin anyway?




TIA

[aim54x]

I routinely stack ND4 and ND8 grads in the cokin P series. You needcould get some blurr with the stacked combination but you will have to experiment with the aperture to get a slow enough shutter speed. I virtually never stack anything in front of my full NDs so I opted for screw in

[Mj]

Rex,

There is no real clear answer to your question as it depends on a number of factors including ambient light, aperture and iso ... but this table may help...

Filter Reduction Stops
ND2 1/2 1
ND4 1/4 2
ND8 1/8 3
ND16 1/16 4
ND32 1/32 5
ND64 1/64 6
ND128 1/128 7
ND256 1/256 8
ND512 1/512 9
ND1024 1/1024 10

So an ND8 will give you 3 stops reducing a shutter speed of 1/500 to 1/60.
Yes you can stack and yes it will impact quality... how much? best to try and see.
Need to slow down more? You can also stop down aperture and reduce iso.
Cokin filters have never been considered the best quality though I've used them in the past with no substantial problem. Stacking ND's only could well be fine.

[rex]

thanks guys. off went to nearest camera shop and asked for cokin but he offered me a china made ND8 instead. that's the only brand they have and cokin would be pricey anyway. sigh i took the filter for hk$95 (aud 11). ND8 is just enough for the job and skipped the existing ND4.

carousel. = 13s f/22.0 ISO100 12mm

[aim54x]

These look pretty good!

If I was in HK I would go visit our friends over at Phottix (PhotoKit - Sim City, Mong Kwok and PhotoKit - Windsor House, Causeway) they do a good range of cheap but decent quality accessories.

[biggerry]

FYI, if you want a Lee filter (bigstopper), the turnaround time from teamwork is a week and 104 pounds delivered, not a bad deal at all i reckon.

[surenj]

FYI, if you want a Lee filter (bigstopper), the turnaround time from teamwork is a week and 104 pounds delivered, not a bad deal at all i reckon.

That's a very good deal. Teamwork are quite a good place to buy. I got my Hitech filters from them; they are good enough for non pro use.

[biggerry]

FYI, if you want a Lee filter (bigstopper), the turnaround time from teamwork is a week and 104 pounds delivered, not a bad deal at all i reckon.

That's a very good deal. Teamwork are quite a good place to buy. I got my Hitech filters from them; they are good enough for non pro use.

international post is pretty awesome now, even by ship things are not that bad...