ESFotoClix Blog

Until now, I have avoided the use of neutral density filters to slow down my exposures. Having to cart an adapter and several filters to get just the right number of stops in light reduction up and down a steep trail or fiddling with them on a windy beach hasn’t appealed to me — not until I heard about Singh Ray’s Vary-ND and Vary-N-Duo.

The Vary-N-Duo comes with neutral density and polarizer filter functionality combined, and this appealed to me, especially after I saw the demo photo at the Singh-Ray site. A single, fairly light device, easy to carry and install, it seemed ideal for my Nikkor AF-S 17-35 f2.8.

Vari-N-Duo on AF-S 17-35 lens

As you can see, the Vari-N-Duo has an outer ring, used to adjust the neutral density filter, and an inner ring (closest to the lens) to adjust the polarizer.

I took the filter for a test-drive, and quickly discovered that even at 20mm, and even though I purchased the thin mount, the filter vignettes heavily. It didn’t become usable until around 24mm. Before I show some sample shots with the Vary-N-Duo, here is the scene I captured, without the filter.

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @ 24mm, f/16, 1/60 sec, ISO 200

For my outdoor shots, I don’t like to close down aperture below f/16, and neither do I want to take my ISO below the base ISO 200 setting. As you can see in the above example, even in less than full sun (8:30am), the shutter speed I get is 1/60 sec, enough to blur the water, but not nearly enough to get the “foamy look.”

This next photo uses the Vari-N-Duo at about 1/2 of its maximum setting. As the manual suggests, the increase from the filter’s minimum setting of 2 2/3 stops to its maximum setting of 8 stops is not linear and cannot be measured using the line increments, which are more of a rough guide. Best let the meter tell you what the exposure should be and adjust should the meter misread due to low light.

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @ 24mm, f/16, 1/3 sec, ISO 200
Vary-N-Duo at 1/2 of its maximum neutral density setting

The two sample shots that follow use the Vari-N-Duo’s maximum neutral density setting of 3/4 max and maximum, respectively.

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @ 24mm, f/16, 1/1.3 sec, ISO 200
Vary-N-Duo at 3/4 of its maximum neutral density setting

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @ 24mm, f/16, 1.3 sec, ISO 200
Vari-N-Duo at its maximum neutral density setting

You will notice how for each of the samples I also varied the polarizer effect. I took several more samples, varying the polarizer effect and neutral density setting, and the filter produces some interesting effects.

Note also how it appears that at least for the scene I photographed, the Vari-N-Duo does not produce 8 stops of light reduction at its maximum setting. Since my non-filtered exposure was 1/60, closing down 8 stops from that baseline we get: 1/30 sec (1 stop), 1/15 (2), 1/8 (3), 1/4 (4), 1/2 (5), 1 sec (6), 2 (7), and 4 (8). Since I got an exposure of 1.3 sec at the Vari-N-Duo’s max setting, either it is not working as advertised, or I under-exposed by 2.7 stops. A histogram examination of the last exposure I posted above reveals that indeed there’s some under-exposure. Through application of exposure compensation in post-processing I can see only 0.6 EV before the histogram clips. So I’m still 1.1 stops short.

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @ 24mm, f/16, 1.3 sec, ISO 200 +EC=0.6EV in ViewNX
Vari-N-Duo at its maximum neutral density setting

However, in addition, it appears that the first exposure clips the blues by about 0.3 EV. Add that into the mix, and now I’m only 0.8 stop short. I’ll keep digging into this and coming up with other test cases to see what I find.

I’ll definitely need to do more testing to familiarize myself with how the Vari-N-Duo works, learn its idiosyncracies and better integrate it into my field workflow. Overall, it looks promising.

To summarize, the Vari-N-Duo does produce significant vignetting, and this may persuade some to stick with the more traditional neutral density (and/or polarizer) approach. Cost may also discourage many from getting it. On the plus side, the Vari-N-Duo offers a variety of polarizer and neutral density settings in a compact, easy to carry package, and might come in handy for the landscape, back-packing shooter.

What to include and what to exclude from a photo remains one of the hardest composition questions for me. Part of this struggle arises from my love for wide angle perspectives when I shoot scenery. I’m slowly coming to agree with what I’ve read often: don’t forget the longer focal lengths when shooting landscapes.

Here are two sample images from a previous blog entry where we discussed the usage of different lenses. At the widest 50mm setting we get a nice composition that shows a surfer in context with the surroundings. In one way, it is a complete composition, including a nice moment where the surfer poses with a unique stretch, also telling us the story of the environment he’s about to enter. On the other hand, one could ask what the subject of the photo is: the pier (looming largest in the photo), or the surfer. I want it to be the surfer, but have I thrown in the kitchen sink?

Nikon D300 & AI-S 50-135 @ 50mm

Seconds later, having completed his stretching routine, the surfer heads into the water. This time I chose a longer focal length, giving me a tighter, simpler composition. The interplay the large pillons against the determined surfer make for a nice contrast, and one could argue there is less of a question about what this composition is about. Simplicity has produced a compelling image, and I’m left wondering whether I should have used the longer focal length for the first composition as well. I console myself with the observation that during his stretching routine, the surfer is farther from the pillons, and a composition equivalent to this second image wasn’t possible. I also note, perhaps more objectively, that simplicity doesn’t give us everything the first image portrayed. For instance, if the goal had been an image portraying a surfer in Manhattan Beach, California, the first image would fulfill the job better.

Nikon D300 & AI-S 50-135 @ 135mm

The last point I take away from this is that one shouldn’t always assume wider focal lenghts are most effective for landscapes or scenic photos. It appears that longer focal lengths, when put to proper use are just as effective. Here are two additional samples to drive this point home:

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @17mm

Nikon D300 & AI-S 50-135@100mm

There are times when I question my own sanity for carrying two DSLRs, each equipped with a lens. The weight alone, not to mention the looks one is bound to get, is disincentive enough to avoid it. On the practical side, however, carrying two camera bodies, each with a different lens greatly reduces the need to swap lenses. I often shoot in dusty and/or windy environments, sandy beaches among my favorite, where a lens swap is asking for trouble. Two cameras with two lenses also reduces the time needed to go from one lens to the other and the likelihood I will miss a shot because I’m in the middle of a lens swap.

This past week I made it to one of my favorite spots for some “beachscape” photography. The two lenses I used, a wide angle zoom and a normal to telephoto zoom, complemented each other nicely as I explored the subject over the course of a few days.

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @ 35mm

Nikon D700 & AF-S 17-35 @ 17mm

Nikon D300 & AI-S 50-135 @ 50mm

Nikon D300 & AI-S 50-135 @ 135mm

These two lenses are quickly becoming a favorite duo for landscape photography. If you are blessed to have the opportunity of carrying two camera bodies, I think you will find doing so for more than having a backup body, as some point out.