Variable ND for Nikon Z 180-600

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dupcak

dupcak

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Hi,

Does anyone have a recommendation for a VND filter for the Nikon Z 180-600? We're heading up to AK on vacation soon and I realized I forgot to purchase a filter for the newly purchased lens. In our household I handle the stills side of things and am way more picking about quality than I should be. My wife handles the video side and we are both happy with "reasonable" quality of our vacation memories so things like minor color shifts and slight X pattern is OK. Recommendations or anti-recommendations (things to avoid) are welcome.

I can't imagine that any of them can be used with the hood on, but correct me if I'm wrong. For her 24-200 we have to remove the hood so it would surprise me if that wasn't true across the board.

- Rob
 
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I currently have several ND filters both fixed and a couple variable ND's.

They include a 95mm 2-5 stop Freewell VND that pretty much lives on my Sony 200-600mm, a 77mm Tiffen VND of about the same # of stops, and lastly 3 Formatt-Hitech Firecrest fixed NDs.

These have been primary used for video and some stills.

I've been pleased with all. Before shooting I try to pay close attention to setting a correct white-balance and do a custom white-balance when possible. Never notice any color-shifts.

With the VNDs I always stay within the filter's stop range indicator marks and there hasn't been any noticeablele X patterns. The Freewell has rotation stops to ensure the filter is set within it's range.

Hoods are removed when the filters are installed.

If you buy a filter large enough to fit your biggest lens consider also a set of step-up/step-down adapter rings to allow use of the filter on smaller lenses. Also never tighten a filter or adapter rings more than barely finger tight or you risk the fine threads seizing up.
 
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PhilcTx said:
I currently have several ND filters both fixed and a couple variable ND's.

They include a 95mm 2-5 stop Freewell VND that pretty much lives on my Sony 200-600mm, a 77mm Tiffen VND of about the same # of stops, and lastly 3 Formatt-Hitech Firecrest fixed NDs.

These have been primary used for video and some stills.

I've been pleased with all. Before shooting I try to pay close attention to setting a correct white-balance and do a custom white-balance when possible. Never notice any color-shifts.

With the VNDs I always stay within the filter's stop range indicator marks and there hasn't been any noticeablele X patterns. The Freewell has rotation stops to ensure the filter is set within it's range.

Hoods are removed when the filters are installed.

If you buy a filter large enough to fit your biggest lens consider also a set of step-up/step-down adapter rings to allow use of the filter on smaller lenses. Also never tighten a filter or adapter rings more than barely finger tight or you risk the fine threads seizing up.
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Thanks for the info. I hadn't stumbled across the Freewell filters yet so I'll have to check those out.
 
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I've been using a 95mm Nisi True Color 1-5 stop variable ND filter on my 600pf and some other lenses with step-down rings...very pleased with it for video usage. I can use it with the lens hood if I unscrew the small post/handle that is used to rotate the front element for adjustment. Typically, I'll adjust for conditions with the hood off, then put the hood back on. I've thought about buying an aftermarket hood and routing a slot in the hood for the small post to extend through if I ever found myself in conditions varying enough to need to change the setting frequently, but so far, I've not resorted to that.

I also have a Formatt-HiTech mount for 100mm glass ND filters that I will use for stills and things like a solar eclipse, welding video, etc., where I need 10-20 stops of ND. Not really practical for hand-held usage.

Cheers!
 
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MotoPixel said:
I've been using a 95mm Nisi True Color 1-5 stop variable ND filter on my 600pf and some other lenses with step-down rings...very pleased with it for video usage. I can use it with the lens hood if I unscrew the small post/handle that is used to rotate the front element for adjustment. Typically, I'll adjust for conditions with the hood off, then put the hood back on. I've thought about buying an aftermarket hood and routing a slot in the hood for the small post to extend through if I ever found myself in conditions varying enough to need to change the setting frequently, but so far, I've not resorted to that.

I also have a Formatt-HiTech mount for 100mm glass ND filters that I will use for stills and things like a solar eclipse, welding video, etc., where I need 10-20 stops of ND. Not really practical for hand-held usage.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Interesting! DIdn't know those lever/post things were removable. That opens up the possibilities.
 
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Nimi said:
Not only that, but they are "most likely to get lost!" I forgot the gauge, but I procured a bag of tiny bolts that fit.

Joke aside, like @MotoPixel, love the Nisi.
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Exactly, which is probably why a spare was included in the kit! :) If I were not planning to remove it regularly, I'd probably put a dab of Loctite on it.

Phil touched on a super important point about how easy it is to cross-thread or over-tighten these larger filters...had that issue years ago with a 200-500 and a stuck filter...had to get very creative to get that one off...should have made a YT video of that effort!
 
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