Photography News Issue 45

Photography News | Issue 45 | absolutephoto.com

First tests

B+WNanoSquareNDFilters £129.95

Specs

Extreme long exposure photography is a niche technique but that’s not stopping the filter makers from introducing new products. We tested a rugged SRB 10EV ND last month and now we have two NDs from renowned German brand B+Where. In the world of still photography B+W is probably best known for its round filters with brass mounts but the new ND filters are 100mm square for its new holder and available in 2, 3, 6, and 10EV strengths. This means, of course, that they will fit Lee Filters’ 100mm system holders and that was the holder used for this review, where we tested the Nano 806MRC 6EV and the Nano 810MRC 10EV versions. The filters come in nice cases embossed with the B+W logo, with the filter sitting in a moulded plastic insert designed to retain it in position with indents, so you can easily get it out without risking planting fingerprints on the surface. Evenwith gloved hands getting the filter box open and the filter out is not a problem but it is fiddly. Presentation rates highly but perhaps there should have been more of a nod to practicalities because if you’re standing in the strong breeze or it’s freezing cold you might prefer a wallet rather than a smart case. In the case is a small piece of foam that can be used for cleaning the filter. I started the test checking out the filter factors using a Nikon D810. It was a case of metering the scene manually to obtain a correct exposure and then taking a shot, and then applying the filter and increasing the exposure by the intended filter factor. In both cases, the filters were about 0.3EV less dense than claimed so the 6EV filter more 5.7EV and the 10EV filter being 9.7EV. No real problem with such small variations and this was with the supplied samples and it is not uncommon for minor batch to batch variations to occur. It is worth noting that the 10EV ND does not have a foam baffle – either supplied separately or glued to the filter itself. For reference, the Lee Big Stopper has a foam baffle to prevent any reflections between the holder and the filter during very long exposures. To see if there would be any issues, I used the 10EV B+W in a Lee Filters holder and tried a range of exposures from four to eight minutes with the camera and lens in direct sun. I took shots facing towards the sun and also

Prices £129.95 Type Neutral density filters Filter factors

802MRC ND0.6, 2EV, 4x 803MRC ND0.9, 3EV, 8x 806MRC ND1.8, 6EV, 64x (tested here) 810MRC ND3.0, 10EV, 1000x (tested here) Size availability 100x100x2mm – B+W has a holder available with adapters from 62mm to 82mm. These filters fit Lee Filter holders Material Fine ground special glass Front filter thread Not applicable Coatings MRC anti-reflection layer (seven per side) Final dirt- and water-repellent nano protection layer Contact Manfrotto.co.uk/bwfilters Left This scene was shot on a Nikon D810with a 50mm lens mounted on a Gitzo Systematic tripod. The first control shot was done on AWBwithout any filter, then each filter was fitted and exposed using AWB and then at preset colour temperature values. The exposure for the 106 filter was 1/15sec at f/11 and 1sec at f/11 for the 10EV filter. The Raws were processed through Lightroomwith no changes made to the white-balance of the file.

pointing to one side, 90° to the sun. To eliminate any reflections from light entering the eyepiece, the viewfinder eyepiece was closed, the eyepiece then sealed with black gaffer tape and for good measure a black cloth draped over the camera. I didn’t experience any reflection or ghosting issues although I got some flare spots from the sun striking the filter front so beware of that if you are shooting in bright conditions. But in respect of filter and filter holder reflections, none were experienced up to eight minutes in bright sun. In terms of white-balance I used the D810 and also a Fujifilm X-T2. Starting with auto white-balance and then at fixed Kelvin values. With the 6EV filter this yielded very slightly warm pictures so no problem at all. In manual WB, shooting 5880K on the D810 gave lovely, very similar to AWB results and if slightly cooler results are preferred go 5260K. The scene with the 10EV filter was very similar and AWB is certainly useful if you want spot-on straight out of the camera results. Such consistency helps when changing from filter to filter. There was no sign of any brown colour casts which indicates infrared pollution with either filter. Optically, apart from the odd flare spot in bright sun, no problems at all and these filters will not impact on the quality of your lenses. WC

No filter, AWB

Nano 806MRC, AWB

I didn’t experience any reflection or ghosting issues

Verdict

B+W has built its tall reputation on quality products and these Nano MRC ND filters certainly live up to expectations. With first rate rawmaterials the filters will have minimal impact on the optical qualities of your lenses and can be used with AWB which makes life easier when you’re mixing extreme long exposures with normal photography. The inevitable comparison is with Lee’s Big Stopper and that filter is on sale at £95 so the B+W filters are currently more expensive, but well worth considering with their consistent white-balance performance. Pros Give neutral results in AWB, optical quality Cons Nice cases but not very practical, price

Nano 810MRC, AWB