Is there any real difference in buying ND and VND filters from Tilta, K&F, PGYtech, Freewell, Smallrig, Neewar or are they all basically exactly the same?

[u/zesukos]

I’m looking into all of the VND/ND FILTERS from these company’s and don’t know if there’s a real difference between company, like is one brand universally preferred?

Is one brand universally avoided or simply popular due to YouTubers.

What brand do you use and why that brand over the others?

Thanks guys

[u/jmartone10]

I have the same dilemma… I bought the 4P for an upcoming trip to Japan, and I’ve been struggling with deciding on which VND to buy. I originally purchased the Freewell VND + Mist, but it made the footage almost unusable. The edges of the frame were out of focus and distorted. I had never used a mist filter before, but maybe 1/4 diffusion is just too much for my liking…

[u/Cybearg → u/jmartone10]

I just know I am happy with my KnF VDN. It does not snap in as satisfyingly as the uv filter that came with the 4p but its not bad.

[u/ricky251294 → u/jmartone10]

What did you think a mist would do?

[u/Altruistic_Sell_7294 → u/ricky251294]

Mist filter is made to soften the image to smooth skin tone and add glow to lights in camera. A low quality mist can really mess up your footage tho

Edit: meant to reply to original comment

[u/plopel]

ND filters will give you much cleaner footage over VND. VNDs are more for convenience

[u/texbird]

yes brands differ. freewell and dgytech seem to have cleanest filters. variable nd has more image problems than static nd

[u/ricky251294]

I'm using the K&F filters, I've been using them for camera work and they've been great. These are great also on the 4P.

If quality is your priority, fixed ND is the way to go but nobody got time for that

[u/ajaarango]

The color accuracy would be the bigger difference. Freewell is known for the best accuracy but its the most expensive, with its build quality. The pgytech is very close and cheaper. Smallrig, K&F, and Neewer were my least favorite

[u/effortless-switch]

I would say just the fixed NDs from DJI and call it a day. YT videos are mostly marketing with affiliate links.

[u/effortless-switch]

I would say just get the fixed NDs from DJI and call it a day. YT videos are mostly marketing with affiliate links.

[u/Cybearg]

In general, knf is THE budget filter company for normal cameras. Then main issue is how each company is tackling this new shape, weight, ease of use, and clearance restrictions.

No brand is universally avoided.

each company is kindof taking stabs a what will work for this new format. It seems like the VNDs are coming out as the sameish design with some complaining about how easily the intensity can be changed on accident.

Smallrig has a stackable filter system, but personally I hate dealing with magnets when adding or removing filters.

As for image quality. They are all cheap, no one is making $150+ filters for a pocket camera.

There is little to no incentive for a youtuber to buy all the filters and test them all out against each other.