ARE THESE THE BEST ND FILTERS?

Hey guys! Welcome back to another blog post!

First of all, I want to thank STC to send these filters over, just to be clear, they are not paying me, so this is my honest opinion.

So, I’ve been looking to get a native ultra-wide lens like the Sony 12-24 f/4 to shoot Time-lapse for a while, and the only thing that stopped me was the bulky filter system you need to buy to get motion blur during the day! Because these kinds of lenses don’t have a tread on the front, like a 16-35! - And I hate the huge filter systems, it takes up a lot of space, they are expensive and they can get dirt on it very easily, not ideal for shooting Timelapse!

There are some solutions out there for these lenses, for example, the Sigma 14-24 or the Canon 11-24 have a gel holder on the back. Or a trick I saw on the internet is to get a 77mm screw-on filter and add some velcro or tape around it and stick it on the front of the 12-24, but you lose the 12mm as it gets a lot of vignettes! Also, you can buy a no-native lens and get an adapter for the Sony mount with variable ND, like the ‘Fotodiox’ which I did! But I didn’t like the canon version very much.

So one day I was complaining a bit about that to a friend of mine and he shows me these filters!

So here we are! I was a bit sceptical at the beginning as you need to apply the filter very close to the sensor, but STC assure me that this filter fits perfectly without the danger to touch the sensor! 

They are very easy to put it on, lay down the camera, with the sensor looking up, put the filter first at bottom of the frame and click the top in, and that’s it! Once it’s clipped in, it won’t move! And to take it out pull the top lid. Just be careful to not drop it. 

The only downside of putting these filters on is the risk to get dust on your sensor, as you need to take your lens off. 

Since I moved to Sony in 2016 I stopped using graduated Nd filters and I only use the Screw on ND filter for my Timelapse, I’ve been happily using the Hoya ND PRO system for years and they are pretty good! So I went out and shot some Timelapse with the HOYA, the STC Filter and also with the ‘Fotodiox’ Adapter with the variable ND to compare the quality! 

I used the Sony A7rIII with the Canon 16-35 f/4, so I could easily see the difference. 

All the Time-lapse have not been edited, they are straight out of the camera, on the first test I use the ND1000, AKA the Big Stopper, I shot all the Time-lapse at the same settings and with the same White Balance 5.6 Kelvin.

You can already see the colours difference, the Hoya and the Fotodiox are tending to the blue and magenta, while the STC is a bit warmer and slightly greenish. But very easy to correct it in post.

As for the sharpness, in the centre, everything is pinpoint sharp on all the systems. However, the STC is losing a lot of details on the left corners compared to the other two, and weirdly there is no loss of details on the right side. I tested all the STC ND filters, and all of them have the same issue. The Fotodiox is loosing just a little bit of sharpness, and the Hoya on other hands remains very sharp. 

I tried as well the ND64 and the results are pretty the same compare with the ND1000.

I also did a flair test, by pointing the camera directly into the sun, on the STC the flair it appears in front of the sun with a weird magenta glow. On the Fotodiox you can see also some flair, and last on the Hoya, you can’t see any flairs, which is the best result from the three.

I test these filters with the Sony 12-24mm f/4, and thank you so much to Miguel for letting me try this lens!

We met at the Wanda Stadium here in Madrid and did a couple of tests. The result, unfortunately, weren’t great, there is still the same problem of the left side being not sharp, I thought maybe using a native lens could make a difference, but I am afraid it doesn’t really matter. I am not a very technical guy, so if you know why this is happening, let me know, I am curious. 

I made a last test comparing different focal lengths, and you can see that from 16 to 24 the blur on the left side is very noticeable, but then from 24 mm it goes away. So I guess, this kind of filters are meant to be used with medium and longer lens. Which is a bit disappointing as this system could have been a perfect solution for ultra-wide lenses. 

So, the price of these filters is 100$ each; you also have the choice to buy a set of 3 or 4, which would be a bit cheaper. It also comes with a travel case, which is great.

I’ll link the STC website here, so you can check it out, they make these filters for almost any cameras, and they also have a different kind of filters, for Astro, Infrared and a sensor protector.

So, would I recommend it?

Well, If you are using this filter with a 24-70 or longer lenses, and weights and size are essential to you, then these filters will do a great job.

But if you were planning to use it on an ultra-wide lens like me, I am afraid this is not what you are looking for. 

If you have found a solution to this problem, please let me know, I would appreciate it! 

Of Course, if you have any question regarding the filters, feel free to ask me by leaving a comment below or through my social media.

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I'll see you in the next post! 

Thanks for reading!