PowerXND 2000: 11 Stops Variable ND Filter

A new Kickstarter project tries to bring a super powerful variable ND filter that can – for the first time – allow for long exposure stills photos to be shot during daytime with the added flexibility of a variable ND rather than the more conventional ND filter.

According to its creator – the “PowerXND 2000 is the most powerful variable neutral density filter with up to 11 stops (ND 2000) of light stopping power”. Why would you need such a powerful filter – well, for instance if you want to shoot long exposure images during the day – even at base ISO and closed aperture you would still be getting way to much light in – so you need a way to cut it down – way down.

Now you can use a regular ND filter – but those are not always so convenient to use – after all they have just one level of stopping power – so they can be too strong or too weak – forcing you to change other settings (which sometimes you don’t want or simply can’t).

What about pricing – the current price is set at $115 on Kickstarter for 67, 72, 77 or 82mm versions (sadly the kit doesn’t seem to come with a step up/down rings – like the Syrp – but it is less expensive) and has a slim profile of 5.5mm. The PowerXND 2000 already reached its goal in terms of financing.

We have recently  tested the Syrp Variable ND Filter which is very good for video work, however for stills it is simply not powerful enough and so having 11 stops in a variable ND filter can really prove to be useful – if the filter will make good on its promise in terms of both stopping power and image quality (another interesting point we would like to test on this filter is how gradual the ND is – the Syrp starts very weak and only near the very end jumps abruptly – making it highly non-linear).

We are hoping to have a look at the PowerXND 2000 later this year and see how it performs in real life.

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Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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