10 Stop ND Filters – Cheap vs Expensive
What’s the best 10 stop ND filters for the money? Is it worth spending a fortune on a branded 10 stop ND filter or will a cheap one do? These are questions I get asked a lot and luckily for you I have a lot of experience in buying and using 10 stop ND filters. Here I share all my knowledge and put head-to-head a cheap 10 stop ND filter against an expensive one! The results are quite surprising!
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The 10 Stop ND Filters Comparison
In this test I’m putting head-to-head a Nisi 10 stop ND filter with a 100mm filter holder system, valued at approx. £180 and a cheap screw on 10 Stop ND filter bought on amazon for £15. NB. This is the value at the time of making the test. Full product details via the links below.
£180 Expensive - 10 stop ND Nisi filter holder system
£15 cheap filter - Green L screw on 10 stop ND filter
The Shot
To compare the filters, I’m going to create a long exposure photograph of this beautiful Tutor Church near to our office here in Essex, England. I want to create a 60 second exposure which will allow the clouds to streak in the sky. You cannot create a picture with that effect without using a ND filter so this is a good test to put these through their paces!
To learn how to take long exposure photography properly, click here.
Church shot with no filter - Camera Settings: 18mm Focal length - 1/30 Sec - F.16 - ISO 100
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First Comparison
Using an exposure calculator, I worked out the correct exposure settings which was f22, 60 seconds, ISO 50. I then took the same shot with the same settings on each of the 10 stop ND filters. What you notice straight away is that the picture taken with the cheap ND filter is brighter, it’s overexposed. This means that it is not a true 10 stop ND filter.
After doing a few more test shots, I figured out it was approximately 1 ½ stops out, meaning it’s actually an 8 ½ stop ND filter (approx.). Although you can work around this, it’s not great if you want to get accurate exposures. Doing further tests an exposure of 30 secs with the cheap filter yielded similar results as a 60 second exposure with the expensive 10 stop filter.
To get our free exposure calculator, click here.
Below are the 3 photos from the test. These are RAW files straight out of camera with no processing.
Nisi Filter - 18mm Focal Length - F.22 - 60 seconds - ISO 50 – Raw file
Cheap Filter - 18mm Focal Length - F.22 - 60 seconds - ISO 50 – Raw file – underexposed by approx. 1 ½ stops
Cheap Filter - 18mm Focal Length - F.22 - 30 seconds -ISO 50 – Raw file
To learn about stops in photography, click here.
The Finer details
Looking into the pictures further, I noticed the cheap filter had a slight green cast. Having said that, the expensive filter had a slight magenta cast. These colour casts are not really something to worry about as it can be taken out very easily in post processing.
The other thing to note here is that the cheaper 10 stop ND filters tend to be the screw on type. This means you can’t mix them with other ND filters such as graduation filters. Therefore, if you are thinking of using grad filters with ND ones, the filter holder system would be best. Also by using the filter holder system you can use the same filters on several lenses using adapter rings.
Nisi 10 stop ND filter holder
Screw on 10 stop ND filter
For our recommended filter systems to buy, click here.
Or check out our new Photography Equipment list including Recommended Filters here.
Processed Pictures from the Comparison
Does it really matter if you’re going to process the pictures anyway? Not really is the quick answer to that. Once processed you wouldn’t know the difference between most ND filters! Especially if you’re turning it black and white.
Below are the processed pictures from my 10 Stop ND Filters Comparison. NB, I have used the 30 second exposure version of the cheap filter as it was a better exposure.
Nisi Filter - 18mm Focal Length - 60 Seconds - F.22 - ISO 50 – Processed photograph
Cheap Filter - 18mm Focal Length - 30 Seconds - F.22 - ISO 50 – Processed photograph
Nisi Filter - 18mm Focal Length - 60 Seconds - F.22 - ISO 50
Cheap Filter - 18mm Focal Length - 30 Seconds - F.22 - ISO 50
To learn how to process your photography properly, click here.
10 Stop ND Filters Comparison - My Verdict
So let’s cut the chase! They will both produce the long exposure affects you want. If you are just playing around with this technique, the £15 filter will do the job fine. The colour cast can be taken out easily in post processing and you will just have to compensate for the inaccuracy of the fact that it’s not a true 10 stop ND.
If you are in any way thinking of taking long exposure photography seriously you would be better off buying the more expensive filter holder system. This is because you can use them on different lenses and mix them with other filters like grad filters which is something you do a lot with this type of photography. You will also get accurate exposure times when using your exposure calculator, saving lots of grief and poorly exposed pictures!
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