Photography News Issue 67

Photography News | Issue 67 | photographynews.co.uk

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First tests

NovoExcel Pro filters From£14.90

Specs

Filters creative photography, and even if you have a set you rely on it’s always worth seeing what new models can offer. The latest designs and engineering canmean improved image quality and handling, and that’s the claim Novo makes for its Excel Pro range. The Excel Pro line-up – including screw-in Ultraviolet (UV), circular polariser (CIR-PL), ND and Vari ND models – boasts ‘Superior B270 Schott Super White glass’, thin aluminium frames, nano anti-reflective coatings, and a water, oil and scratch repellent finish. We tested 77mm versions of all three, and an 82mm ND, using 20mm and 24-70mm lenses. Starting with the Excel Pro range’s generic attributes, all of the filters screwed in smoothly, with none of the grating you sometimes get from cheap, badly machined threads. The aluminium frame should keep them that way, as it certainly seemed strong enough to preventing misshaping. The filters also stood up to water, oil and scratches as promised – a light spray, and cleaning was easy. It was the same story with fingerprints and smudges, and even dried-on water marks were quick to remove. In an unscheduled drop test, one took a 1.5m fall onto concrete and was unscathed. The Vari ND covers a range of ND8- 2000, equating to three to 11 stops. Like most variable NDs, it widens at the front, allowing the rotation required to vary the light stopping effect. It has a well-grooved ring and turns easily but does not slip, and you can focus without taking it off (drop the strength, use AF, then turn it back to where it’s needed). There’s a guide on the bezel that shows the strength of the effect, and it are vital for

Unfiltered

9 stops

Prices ND8, prices from £49.90 ND8-2000, £79.90 Circular polariser, prices from £29.90-£89.90 UV, prices from £14.90-£59.90 Availability ND8, 82mm ND8-2000, 77mm Circular polariser, 40.5mm to 105mm UV, 40.5mm to 105mm Coating Scratch coating, oil and water repellent Contact novo-photo.com

runs from min to max with nine dots denoting the stops of power. The scale, which covers about 70°, is therefore only visible from a particular angle, and no matter what I did it seemed to be on the wrong side of the lens. But that’s only a problem if specific strengths are required. Testing the ND8-2000, I found that it was mostly good. There’s a slight shift in colour temperature, and with the WB locked at 5000K, comparing filtered and unfiltered versions the former was slightly warmer with a green shift; when set to auto, WB colours were consistent with and without the filter, the camera making a -650K and +11 magenta shift (figures determined using Lightroom) to compensate. Importantly, the colours don’t shift within the range, so it’s consistent when in place. In terms of exposure, the sample I tested was a mixed bag when it came to accuracy. At the first of the stops, which should be three stops, I measured just over four-and-a-half stops, but at the last, 11-stop marker it was pretty much bang on. Because of the way they’re constructed, variable NDs are prone to patchiness at stronger settings. Shooting at 20mm, this becomes obvious at around the eight-stopmark and it’s very severe at 11. If you zoom in, the patchiness becomes much

less obvious, and almost invisible at 70mm. Thanks to its thin frame, the ND8 filter showed no vignetting at 20mm and no discernable loss of sharpness. Measuring exposure, the filter cut out fractionally under three stops: going from unfiltered at 1/50sec to 1/6sec at f/4.5 ISO 200 was fractionally underexposed. Testing filtered and unfiltered at 5000K produced a slightly cool and green shift, and shooting on auto WB, colours were accurate compared to the unfiltered view, with the camera showing a shift of +900K and +13 magenta. The circular polariser also showed no vignetting at 20mm and no loss of sharpness. When turned to full polarisation, it produced a light loss of between 0.3 and 1.3 stops, depending on the focal length used, as the effect obviously covers less of the frame at wide angle. Our 5000K colour test showed a slight shift to warm. In auto WB results weren’t completely accurate, with a slightly cooler look, as the camera had dropped around -300K to compensate. The UV filter produced no shifts in colour or fall in sharpness and, like the other filters, it also handled flare, reflections and ghosting well, even shooting into the light, thanks to the coatings used, as well as the semi- matte anodised coating. KS

It features a well-grooved ring and turns easily

Below Sturdy and reliable, each of the filters tested are well made and as resistent to oil, water and scratches as they claim

Above The Novo Vari ND shows slightly warmer, greener tones when pictures are filtered, compared to unfiltered

Verdict

Novo’s Excel Pro filters offer decent results at good prices. They’re strongly built, well machined and very durable, with their claims of water, oil and scratch repellence well founded. They’re also thin enough to avoid vignetting, and produce excellent sharpness and no ghosting or reflections. We found exposure accuracy on the ND and variable ND a little less than accurate, but not problematic. Though both showed slight colour shifts, they worked very well with auto white- balance. When used on a wide- angle, the variable ND produces lots of patching at its highest settings, but this disappears as you zoom in and it’s certainly a handy filter to own. The polariser and UV also performed well, and though the former showed some shifts from the standard in AWB, they’re not heavy. Pros Affordable, no flare or ghosting, tough build, mostly good results Cons Slight colour shifts, variable ND is patchy at highest settings

With polariser

Without polariser

Above When tested with our picturesque river scene, the polariser shows the difference that using this particular filter can give

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