Long exposure daytime photography has always been a technique that I have wanted to add to my bag of tricks. Unfortunately, I always found the price of a 10 Stop Nuetral Density (ND) Filter to be cost prohibitive, especially considering I was not sure I would like the effects it produced or, that I could find enough situations to make the investment worthwhile. That was until I stumbled across a forum post about a brand of ND filter that was relatively low cost and still produced quality images. That brand was Haida.
Haida filters are made in China and are not carried by any photography retailer that I am familiar with either locally or online. The only way to purchase one of these filters is through ebay or amazon. After hours of researching and looking at sample images I decided to roll the dice and ordered one from Amazon.com for the low price of $88.00 shipped. All reviews and discussions had nothing but great things to say about the Haida Pro II 10 Stop Filter. To my surprise my filter arrived 3 days after I placed the order.
Prior to purchasing the Haida ND 10 Stop Filter, the two things I was most concerned about was color cast and the effect of the filter, if any, on image sharpness. I can report that neither is a problem. The Haida ND 10 Stop Filter produces very little if any color cast. Using the camera’s auto white balance may sometimes produce an ever so slight cool cast, but unless you compare an image taken with the filter with one taken without the filter side by side you would not notice any negative effect on the captured image. Any color cast/shift can easily be corrected with the temperature slider in Photoshop or other RAW image editor.
Some 10 stop ND filters produce a very strong color cast that causes the resulting image to be a hue of blue or tan depending on the brand of filter. Some filters create a stronger color cast than others. A strong color cast can be very difficult to remove in post processing and can render the filter useless for producing wall hanging images. Therefore, I am very happy that the Haida ND 10 Stop filter I purchased has virtually no color cast that is visible to the naked eye.
I have attached 4 images I took to test the color cast of the filter. Two of the images were taken at f/10 one with the filter and one without. The remaining two images were taken at f/22, again one with the filter an one without. In regards to color and white balance I cannot visibly see a difference between the four (4) images. The image taken with the filter at f/22 was a thirty (30) second exposure. The images were taken at around 12:30 in the afternoon with unimpeded sunlight on a windy day (thus the blurry tree branches and leaves). I used my Canon 16-35 f/2.8 ii lens.
The second issue I was concerned about was the effect that the filter would have on the sharpness of the final image. In the photography world, typically you get what you pay for. Therefore, I was concerned that a cheaper filter would use inferior glass that would ultimately degrade the image. It makes no sense to spend thousands of dollars on high quality lenses to only place low quality glass or plastic filters on the end of them. Expensive lenses plus cheap filters usually lead to subpar images.
In the case of the Haida ND 10 Stop Filter, there was no effect on the final image. The images captured with the filter and without the filter were identical in terms of sharpness. I have attached 100% crops of a bucket I used as a test subject to see the effect the filter would have on the image quality. Both shots are equally sharp to the naked eye. The two shots were taken at f/11, one with the filter and one without the filter. I again used my Canon 16-35 f/2.8 ii lens. The image with the filter was a 10 second exposure.
I would highly recommend this filter to anyone looking to purchase a 10 Stop ND Filter. I researched other brands before purchasing the Haida. Many of the other well known brands had issues with color cast or the ones that did not have color cast issues were much more expensive than the cost of the Haida. The only unknown for me is the durability of the filter and will it stand up to the elements a landscape photographer like myself will expose it to. I believe the answer is yes but only time will tell. The filter feels solid in my hands. The filter ring is made from aluminum so it is also element resistant and lightweight. Even on the slim version the standard Canon lens cap will still attach to the lens with the filter on.
I purchased my filter through Amazon.com. The seller was GoShot Camera located in California. The filter arrived earlier than originally projected and was well packed.
Two real world test shots taken out in Everglades National Park. It was a very windy day but the 10 Stop Filter rendered the water smooth and added motion to the clouds to give a very dull composition wise photo some interest.
All images in this post were straight out of the camera. Click on the thumbnails to see the full size image.