10 stop ND: Lee Big Stopper vs. Singh Ray vs. Breakthrough Photography

Philmar

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Recently I moved to within a 2 minute walk of Lake Ontario which opens new photographic opportunities for me. I am ready to take my photography to the next level and want to buy a quality 10 stop ND filter and polarizing filter. Up to now I have been using a cheapo Cameron variable ND filter. Although photography is my hobby, I’ve been able to generate income through image sales on Getty Images. So I am willing to pay for a top-end filter.

I am trying to decide between the Singh Ray, the Lee Big Stopper and the Breakthrough Photography X3 ND. I had never heard of Breakthrough Photography until I read this stellar review on

10 Stop Neutral Density Filter Review

I have trusted that site for lens reviews many times previously (the lens quality comparison tool is great).

However, NONE of the other ND filter reviews I’ve read mention the Breakthrough Photography ND filter so any feedback on that filter would be very useful.

The Lee filter system looks like it is more time consuming to use in its set up but exposure metering and focusing could be faster once set up. And it looks like there is a more pronounced colour cast with it. I am also curious if they are more likely to be dropped by a klutz such as I. Looks like the system is good for stacking filters.

Can one stack the Singh Ray filters (i.e. polariser and ND filter) without significant vignetting?

Any insight on these systems would be greatly appreciated !

I thank you in advance.
 
Hey Phil,

Here's the LEE Big Stopper versus the X3 ND comparison that you were asking about:

LEE-BIG-STOPPER-vs-X3-ND-10-STOP-CLOSEUP.jpg

Lee Big Stopper vs. X3 ND (color)
The Lee filters, especially the popular 'Big Stopper' 10-stop filters have significant blue casts. It's worth mentioning that Lee specifically states that it has a blue cast: Big Stopper - Blue cast Customer Feedback for LEE Filters

Lee-Big-Stopper-vs-X3-ND-10-stop-Closeup-B.png

Lee Big Stopper vs. X3 ND (sharpness)
The sharpness as you can see is quite a bit degraded on the Lee filters. This is not because the Big Stopper has no MRC or nano coatings, which is true, but because the glass is thick and more importantly it's situated further away from the front lens element than a standard circular filter. Light is therefore being bent at a right angle invariably causing light falloff and as you can see, a big falloff in terms of sharpness.

X3 ND Reviews as of May 4th, 2015:
- 10 Stop Neutral Density Filter Review
- http://contrastly.com/breakthrough-photography-x3-nd-filters-review
- diglloyd - Filters - Breakthrough Photography X3 10-stop Neutral Density Filter
- Pro Video Coalition - X3 ND The Sharpest and Most Neutral ND Filter by Jose Antunes

If critical sharpness and color neutrality are important consider the Singh-Ray Slo-Mo or Breakthrough X3 ND filters are the best current options available.

Vignetting
4.2mm is the filter frame thickness at which point vignetting starts to occur at 24mm and wider on full-frame wide-angle setups. The Hoya NDs are around 5.46mm, and you can see from the-digital-picture.com ND breakdown the vignetting as well (10 Stop Neutral Density Filter Review The X3 ND is 3.1mm, which you can see reflected on the vignetting comparison shots over at the-digital-picture.com

By the way, I'm with Breakthrough Photography. Click the link below to check out the comparison images that we have. If your results differ from the images on that page we'll refund you 110%.

Color cast shootout gallery: X3 Neutral Density - Breakthrough Photography

Graham

Control-vs-X3-ND-6-stop-vs-Formatt-Firecrest-ND-6-stop-vs-B-W-ND-6-stop-Review-Closeup-1.jpg
 
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Keep researching. There is a lot of good critique on this forum and on CambridgeInColour.
Yes, they spell it that way. It has a lot of tutorials plus the forums. I bought the SinghRay 3-8 stop but am new at it. I am getting some vignetting on my 11-16 Tokina, but not all the time.
It is highly rated, you just have to know what you are doing :{

If you strictly went by photos posted on this Forum, Jake (above post D-B-J) is one of our finest with the filters!
 
I bought the SinghRay 3-8 stop but am new at it. I am getting some vignetting on my 11-16 Tokina, but not all the time.
It is highly rated, you just have to know what you are doing :{
Thanks. Is there a common factor when you get the vignetting? i.e. usually when shooting at the wider focal length (11 mm) of your lens?
I have read that ONLY Singh ray makes a decent variable ND yet on another forum someone said all the variable ND filters were not that good when shooting at the wider focal length.
 
I bought the SinghRay 3-8 stop but am new at it. I am getting some vignetting on my 11-16 Tokina, but not all the time.
It is highly rated, you just have to know what you are doing :{
Thanks. Is there a common factor when you get the vignetting? i.e. usually when shooting at the wider focal length (11 mm) of your lens?
I have read that ONLY Singh ray makes a decent variable ND yet on another forum someone said all the variable ND filters were not that good when shooting at the wider focal length.

Hey Phil,

Of all the variable neutral density filter's I have used the Singh-Rays are definitely the best in terms of sharpness and color neutrality.

Variable neutral density filter's are built by using two planes of circular polarizing film. At 24 mm and wider it produces an 'X' pattern. This is a result of the double polarization and cannot be avoided unfortunately.

In short variable neutral density filter's are essentially useless on wide-angle setups, unfortunately.

But they can work great for video shooters typically use longer focal lengths.
 
I invested in the Lee system, and have never once wondered if I should have chosen something else. I'll link my blog post below that is a good intro into the Lee system and what it offers :)

Neutral Density Filters and Why You Need Them for Landscape Photography Red Skies Photography

Let me know if you have any questions!

Jake

Thanks for the blog post. I've given up waiting for the Breahthrough filters to ship - I might still get their 10 stop as a lighter easy carry around when I don't have space for the Big Stopper system.

But Jeez, when I look at the Lee big stopper system there's a myriad of choices: 4"x 4", 150mm x 150 mm, 100mm x 100mm, 75 x 90mm Seven5 Big. Which one for use on the discontinued Canon 24-70 f2.8 L and the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L ??? First one has a filter size of 77 mm and the latter has 82 mm filter thread.
 
I invested in the Lee system, and have never once wondered if I should have chosen something else. I'll link my blog post below that is a good intro into the Lee system and what it offers :)

Neutral Density Filters and Why You Need Them for Landscape Photography Red Skies Photography

Let me know if you have any questions!

Jake

Thanks for the blog post. I've given up waiting for the Breahthrough filters to ship - I might still get their 10 stop as a lighter easy carry around when I don't have space for the Big Stopper system.

But Jeez, when I look at the Lee big stopper system there's a myriad of choices: 4"x 4", 150mm x 150 mm, 100mm x 100mm, 75 x 90mm Seven5 Big. Which one for use on the discontinued Canon 24-70 f2.8 L and the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L ??? First one has a filter size of 77 mm and the latter has 82 mm filter thread.

You need the foundation kit, an adapter (go with the wide angle ones) for each lens, and use the 100mm filter. The seven5 is meant for mirror less. The foundation kit will fit both the 77mm lens and the 82mm lens with the proper adapter.




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