GobeNDX 62mm Variable Neutral Density ND2-400 ND Filter (1Peak)

Easy to attach to the lensEasy to adjust to different lighting.Works as intended and no issues at all. worth the money.

The main reason I chose GOBE was their environmental ethics. With 5 trees planted for every item purchased, they are well worth the cost, and do not disappoint in quality. As a semi professional photographer robustness and optical quality are key, the metal construction and the high quality glass give you confidence that you can get the shot when you need to. With an incredibly satisfying buttery smooth rotation there is no risk of the filter moving once set to the required ND setting. The scale printed on the rim of the filter is also a very useful feature.The image below is the first shot I took using the GOBE NDX, it was taken on an overcast but bright day rotated to almost MAX to allow for a 20 second exposure of some rocks in the sea, this is the kind of effect you can expect.TIP: if you have multiple lenses, buy the filter to fit the largest lens, then use step up rings on your smaller lenses.

I'm a big fan of Gobe (now Urth) kit and this is a great addition to my arsenal of filters and converters. As always with Gobe/Urth, it's solidly built and it oozes quality. The rotation is well buffered - it feels positive and precise when you turn it.It's best used with your camera set to aperture priority, giving you shallow depth of field while avoiding over-exposure. Alternatively you can use it for ultra-long exposures (blurring moving water for example, although in my opinion that's a bit of an over-used trick).I bought the 46mm version, which is a fairly standard size for Micro Four Thirds lenses. One slight niggle with this (I can't comment on other sizes) is that the rotation mechanism is wider than the screw thread diameter, which means that you can't use a 46mm lens cap. And that's is a bit of a pain if you're carrying the camera around and want to protect the filter.The other minor beef is that the metal container hasn't got any retainer, which means that the filter rattles around inside when stowed away. Most of my other Gobe canisters have fitted padding to hold the filters in place. This one just has a thin sheet of padding on each section of the canister. Really minor issue though.The first image was shot hand-held with the filter mounted on a 30mm f/3.5 Olympus lens on a Panasonic Lumix GX-9 camera (Micro Four Thirds). The second image shows the issue with the canister.

The ND Filter arrived packaged really well and I love the metal case it comes in.On first use though I encountered a problem. I got the filter to go with my Canon 24-70/f2.8 and hoped i could now get some good long exposures but as soon as I go past what feels like ND8 I get arcs converging in from the sides on my images until it becomes a big dark 'X'Checking the GOBE website it turns out they do warn there may be problems on a wide or telephoto lens.Please keep this in mind when ordering the filter...From the GOBE FAQ site:I’m getting an X-pattern with my Variable ND2-400 filter, how do I fix it?Make sure your filter is set between the Min and Max marks. Adjust your focal length and your position and then reduce the ND’s density value by rotating the ring towards the Min mark until the pattern disappears.Because there are so many combinations of cameras, lenses, sensors, and other factors, it is very hard to predict which circumstances will create the x-effect. The x-pattern is usually caused by rotating your variable ND filter past its maximum setting. Using a variable ND with a wide-angle lens can increase your chances of encountering an x-pattern. The ND2-400 has limited application with wide angle lenses because the field of view is so broad. The filter can only be rotated about halfway along the Min to Max range without encountering the x-pattern – you can thank physics for this restriction. Variable ND filters consist of two polarizing filters, which can cause issues because the polarizing effect varies so much across the broad field of view of wide-angle lenses. For this reason, we recommend using fixed ND filters, or Variable ND2-32 or ND8-128 with wide-angle lenses, and suggest you avoid stacking filters to avoid any vignetting

I love Gobe stuff normally, the variable NDs have been great and normally the first things I buy when I get a new lens - however, the 82mm ND, when fitted on the Sigma DG DN 24-70mm ART, is just unusable.The vignette at ND2 is just too prominent. It's a heavy black edge and unless you're planning on an extreme crop, just isn't good enough. Please look at this GOBE, I want to buy your filters but this particular one isn't working for my lens.

I use a lot of vintage lenses which may or may not be coated against sunlight. By buying a bunch of cheap filter adaptors (49-77, 52-77, etc) I've been able to use this one filter on all of my lenses, and it's provided excellent protection against over exposed shots like a champ.Even my Helios 44-2 (which is legendary for its lens flares) benefits from this filter. I personally love image appropriate lens flares, and careful use of this filter gives me what I want without blowing out the image. It's cheap and the company has a great cause. If you're worried about the quality of this filter, don't be (this is coming from someone who triple checks reviews before buying anything!)