18Aug Light Craft Fader ND v.s. Polaroid Fader ND first look.
I started filming comparison footage of the Polaroid and Light Craft Fader ND filters this afternoon. Early tests seem to point towards the Light Craft fader ND as a clear step up from Polaroids offering. Both do a good job of reducing the light into the camera, but the polaroid Fader ND really seems to add it’s own color adjustment to the image.
(Click on the image for full resolution)
I made every effort to get the exposure as close as possible, which really means I checked my meter and eyeballed it. From this example it’s very easy to see that the Polaroid casts a blueish hue over the image. It isn’t horrible but it is very noticeable next to the Light Craft Fader ND filter results. You could probably recover most of the color with some correction in post but from the footage I’ve shot so far, it really does seem like the Light Craft ND filter is worth the money.
If all goes well I should be finished filming test footage tomorrow and have a video up this weekend. I was expecting a difference, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this dramatic. I think, depending on your taste, many people would still be just fine with the results from the Polaroid fader ND filter. I know I’ve used it for quit awhile without noticing the difference.
August 18th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Typical case of Cheaper vs Expensive filters!
August 18th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
That is exactly what she said.
August 19th, 2011 at 10:21 am
[…] didn’t think about needing neutral density filters for daylight video. I can use my polarizing filter to take the exposure down two stops. Beyond that I guess I’ll […]
August 19th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Deejay i missed your videos mate!
August 19th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
I’m working on it right now. I’ve had so much film work over the past 2 months that I haven’t had time to do the fun stuff. Next month I don’t have anything scheduled, so hopefully I can get caught back up.
August 19th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Cool 🙂
August 21st, 2011 at 8:20 am
Why does the faded filter come with a lens cap fo the front but not the back and the plastic case it comes in wont close with the lens cap on?
Not really a complaint just confusing.
August 21st, 2011 at 9:06 am
I think the Extra lens cap is there in case you want to leave the filter on the lens.
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:35 am
I’ve read that some people have noticed their image looked a little soft with the Light Craft filter. Have you experienced or noticed anything like that?
August 22nd, 2011 at 11:19 am
I haven’t seen the problem in video mode. It could be an issue for stills. I’m almost done filming test footage and should have a video up soon. Testing was slowed down by 3 days of rain. The sun is out today, so hopefully I can finish things up.
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:21 am
Excellent. I look forward to seeing your test footage. I’ve had my eye on them for awhile.
September 3rd, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Just wanted to say thank you so much for all the effort you put into this blog! Really helped me a lot in the past! Keep up the great work and I am really looking forward to the video for this post.
September 3rd, 2011 at 2:52 pm
The test footage should be up today. I botched the first set of tests when I accidentally set the camera to AWB mode and ended up having to wait for another sunny day to re-shoot.
September 3rd, 2011 at 6:22 pm
[…] all the results aren’t nearly as dramatic as I thought they would be. My earlier shot of that train car was probably a AWB problem more then a filter problem because I didn’t end up seeing anything […]