Ever heard and/ or tried this?

rollin · 03-01-2010, 11:45 AM

Its called the Fader ND Filter and it can fade from ND2 - ND400? Just curious if anyones ever tried out this filter and if it does what it says..

Thanks..

**Canada_Rockies** · 03-01-2010, 11:55 AM

It's a combination of two polarizers. As you cross them, the light passing through is reduced. You can read the company advert here:
Light Craft Workshop - Fader ND adjustable ND filter (ND2~400)

Ratmagiclady · 03-01-2010, 12:01 PM

Neat. Never saw it, but I presume it operates off of cross-polarization, somehow color-corrected, but I can't think of anything that says it shouldn't be possible to make something which can do what this says. If you stick a linear polarizer on top of another polarizer, you can see the effect: it just tends to come out ugly cause they really aren't made for that.

mickeyobe · 03-01-2010, 12:10 PM

Rollin,

I have achieved the same effect using two stacked polarizing filters.
I wanted to darken everything during a thunderstorm so I could leave the shutter open for a long exposure to capture a number of lightning flashes.
It worked very well but the lightning stopped so all I got was a very uninteresting landscape.

When I was a child during WW II a friend of the family who was a motorcycle dispatch rider in the army showed me his goggles which had a knob, between the two eyepieces, that could be turned to considerably darken the image.

Mickey

Last edited by mickeyobe; 03-01-2010 at 12:16 PM.

Ben_Edict · 03-01-2010, 01:36 PM

Faders (crossed polarizers) were very much standard for film making, both professionally and for amateurs, in pre-video days. You used them to fade out a scene to black or fade in from black, which made cutting much easier during those days, when you worked with several film rolls.

Also a fader, combined with a blue filter was used to produce the "Holywood Night" effect, those night riding scenes in Westerners - which were actually shot in broad daylight.

With video and digital post-production, this is completely obsolete. But ofcourse the extreme density could be used to increase expsoure times, though a single ND filter would certainly yield better results. A crossed polarizer has 4 glass plates, and is very thick. Also polarizers often induce colour shifts even on their own. So oine would need a high quality fader, which is going to be very expensive…

Ben

rollin · 03-01-2010, 05:15 PM

Well I just learned a bunch today!!! Great info guys, thanks so much..

rollin

panoguy · 03-02-2010, 09:35 PM

One quick note about the specific "Fader ND" you mentioned, and if you want to try this yourself. They are made with a *linear* polarizer on the front, and a *circular* polarizer on the back next to the lens. Hard to explain, but this arrangement of different types of polarizers is necessary for both the fade effect and for your autofocus and metering to work (as best they can without much light).

03-01-2010, 11:45 AM	#1
rollin Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 88	Ever heard and/ or tried this? Its called the Fader ND Filter and it can fade from ND2 - ND400? Just curious if anyones ever tried out this filter and if it does what it says.. Thanks..

03-01-2010, 01:36 PM	#5
Ben_Edict Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: SouthWest "Regio" Photos: Albums Posts: 3,309	Faders (crossed polarizers) were very much standard for film making, both professionally and for amateurs, in pre-video days. You used them to fade out a scene to black or fade in from black, which made cutting much easier during those days, when you worked with several film rolls. Also a fader, combined with a blue filter was used to produce the "Holywood Night" effect, those night riding scenes in Westerners - which were actually shot in broad daylight. With video and digital post-production, this is completely obsolete. But ofcourse the extreme density could be used to increase expsoure times, though a single ND filter would certainly yield better results. A crossed polarizer has 4 glass plates, and is very thick. Also polarizers often induce colour shifts even on their own. So oine would need a high quality fader, which is going to be very expensive… Ben Last edited by Ben_Edict; 03-02-2010 at 02:58 AM.

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03-01-2010, 11:55 AM	#2
Canada_Rockies Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,385	It's a combination of two polarizers. As you cross them, the light passing through is reduced. You can read the company advert here: Light Craft Workshop - Fader ND adjustable ND filter (ND2~400)

03-01-2010, 12:01 PM	#3
Ratmagiclady Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: GA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,563	Neat. Never saw it, but I presume it operates off of cross-polarization, somehow color-corrected, but I can't think of anything that says it shouldn't be possible to make something which can do what this says. If you stick a linear polarizer on top of another polarizer, you can see the effect: it just tends to come out ugly cause they really aren't made for that.

03-01-2010, 12:10 PM	#4
mickeyobe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,759	Rollin, I have achieved the same effect using two stacked polarizing filters. I wanted to darken everything during a thunderstorm so I could leave the shutter open for a long exposure to capture a number of lightning flashes. It worked very well but the lightning stopped so all I got was a very uninteresting landscape. When I was a child during WW II a friend of the family who was a motorcycle dispatch rider in the army showed me his goggles which had a knob, between the two eyepieces, that could be turned to considerably darken the image. Mickey Last edited by mickeyobe; 03-01-2010 at 12:16 PM.

03-01-2010, 05:15 PM	#6
rollin Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 88 Original Poster	Well I just learned a bunch today!!! Great info guys, thanks so much.. rollin

03-02-2010, 09:35 PM	#7
panoguy Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,327	One quick note about the specific "Fader ND" you mentioned, and if you want to try this yourself. They are made with a *linear* polarizer on the front, and a *circular* polarizer on the back next to the lens. Hard to explain, but this arrangement of different types of polarizers is necessary for both the fade effect and for your autofocus and metering to work (as best they can without much light).