[Comparison] LEE Big Stopper vs B+W ND110


Francis247

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Jul 10, 2005
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There are quite a few articles talking about the comparison between the LEE Big Stopper and B+W ND110 that are available on the net .
E.g.
Lee Big Stopper 10 stop ND v’s B+W 3.0 10 stop ND filter by Mattlauder.

Having to say so, nothing is better than testing out and doing the comparison by myself and sharing my findings with my fellow photographers and photography community.

Here are some shots taken by Nikon D300.
Setting as follows :

Exposure : Manual Mode
ISO : L1 (100)
Aperture : f16
Shutter Speed : Bulb Mode (Exposure of 151 secs)
White Balance : Auto WB for both shoots

All shots taken in Nikon RAW format.

Taken with B+W ND110
DSC_3797_1800.jpg


Taken with LEE Big Stopper
DSC_3798_1800.jpg
 

As we can see, there is a very slight tinge of red cast with the B+W ND110 but an observable blue cast with the LEE Big Stopper.

Using the B+W ND110 as the reference, I adjust the WB setting using Nikon Capture NX for the shot taken with the LEE Big Stopper.

WB adjust to Daylight-Direct Sunlight (5200K)
DSC_3798_1_Daylight800.jpg


WB adjust to Cloudy (6000K)
DSC_3798_1_Cloudy800.jpg


WB adjust to Shade (8000K)
DSC_3798_1_Shade800.jpg


WB adjusted to 9090K (Max under Shade)
DSC_3798_1_9090K800.jpg


At 9090K, the WB seems to be correct. However, in order to achieve the same effect as B+W ND110, I did a Colour Balance and adjust +50 for Red Channel and the result is as follows

DSC_3798_1_9090KandRedBalance800.jpg


Hope that you all will find this article useful.
Hope to be able to try out other ND filter and do a more thorough comparison.
 

wow, and i thought the big stopper was touted to be neutral.

seems like your camera has corrected for nd110 pretty well, but definitely nd110 introduces a heavy red cast without autowb. :)
 

thanks for your effort :) looks like nd110 has a decent out of cam photo. ;p
 

wow, and i thought the big stopper was touted to be neutral.

seems like your camera has corrected for nd110 pretty well, but definitely nd110 introduces a heavy red cast without autowb. :)

Nightmare86 : So far all my shots with B+W ND110 appeared more neutral (at least on my screen :embrass:) and the LEE Big Stopper has a strong blue cast. I usually use Auto WB and do not change the WB to daylight unless really needed. Do feel free to share your photos here if yours got the red cast.

We are all here to share and learn. :)

Thanks and cheers.

thanks for your effort :) looks like nd110 has a decent out of cam photo. ;p

KelvinDestiny : Thanks.
 

Nightmare86 : So far all my shots with B+W ND110 appeared more neutral (at least on my screen :embrass:) and the LEE Big Stopper has a strong blue cast. I usually use Auto WB and do not change the WB to daylight unless really needed. Do feel free to share your photos here if yours got the red cast.
i don't have much problems with it because i generally shoot raw and for daytime shots, the auto wb tends to correct it well similarly, like what you have experienced.

i think you can easily tell what cast is introduced when you output jpg from raw and select the correct wb. let's say if you take a picture with nd110 in daytime blue skies conditions, and you select wb as daylight, it should give something close to correct. maybe not spot on, but it would look ok enough. with the nd110 being used, it would have red cast added, that's what i meant.

i haven't really used the lee big stopper, cos i got no money to try or buy. :bsmilie:

for sunset timing, it is more obvious, but red cast... is always ok for sunset. :) and easily corrected, if not desirable.
 

i don't have much problems with it because i generally shoot raw and for daytime shots, the auto wb tends to correct it well similarly, like what you have experienced.

i think you can easily tell what cast is introduced when you output jpg from raw and select the correct wb. let's say if you take a picture with nd110 in daytime blue skies conditions, and you select wb as daylight, it should give something close to correct. maybe not spot on, but it would look ok enough. with the nd110 being used, it would have red cast added, that's what i meant.

i haven't really used the lee big stopper, cos i got no money to try or buy. :bsmilie:

for sunset timing, it is more obvious, but red cast... is always ok for sunset. :) and easily corrected, if not desirable.

I see, thanks for sharing. :)

I am now a bit regretted that I sold off my Hoya ND400.
If not I can do another comparison. :cry:

Was thinking of doing a comparison with the Kenko ND400 and the ND400 Pro series but so far, I'm quite satisfy with B+W ND110 and finally found a way to do post-processing for the RAW file when using the LEE Big stopper. :think:
 

I see, thanks for sharing. :)

I am now a bit regretted that I sold off my Hoya ND400.
If not I can do another comparison. :cry:

Was thinking of doing a comparison with the Kenko ND400 and the ND400 Pro series but so far, I'm quite satisfy with B+W ND110 and finally found a way to do post-processing for the RAW file when using the LEE Big stopper. :think:

hoya nd400 tends to give reddish cast also, wonder why the big stopper gives bluish cast..

i am also happy with b+wnd110. if only they would make it slimmer though, but not sure if that's possible, would make stacking it with gnd at 10mm better - right now get the filter holder appearing at the extreme corners.
 

wow, and i thought the big stopper was touted to be neutral.

seems like your camera has corrected for nd110 pretty well, but definitely nd110 introduces a heavy red cast without autowb. :)

Actually the big stopper is not neutral. It is a lot cooler. But cooler is easier to correct compared to the ND110 I find. That is why I sold my ND110 after trying the big stopper.
 

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if you shoot raw, none of them will be a problem. :)

I do shoot raw. In some situations the cast is especially bad with the ND110. Longer exposures in cloudy (humid type) situation. Happened a few times. So bad that I lost color detail.
 

I do shoot raw. In some situations the cast is especially bad with the ND110. Happened a few time. So bad that I lost color detail.

hrm, never had that problem, except when the light is not the best, i.e. sun present in full glory. most other times, cast is easily correctable with select white point or kelvin with appropriate adjustments. :)

anyways, well, whatever you're happy to use, both have their perks i guess. for example, i don't have to buy a lee filter system when using the nd110..
 

hrm, never had that problem, except when the light is not the best, i.e. sun present in full glory. most other times, cast is easily correctable with select white point or kelvin with appropriate adjustments. :)

I guess the gods were not on my side. :cry:
 

anyways, well, whatever you're happy to use, both have their perks i guess. for example, i don't have to buy a lee filter system when using the nd110..

Yea. It makes sense for me because I already got the Lee holder. Bought in BnS at a very good price.
 

Thanks for the review Francis. I am sure the Lee Big Stoppers have seen better days from the past reviews I read. I have written a 'strong worded' letter to Lee Filters about their current batch plagued by blue disease and have yet to hear from them.
 

anyways, well, whatever you're happy to use, both have their perks i guess. for example, i don't have to buy a lee filter system when using the nd110..

Yea. It makes sense for me because I already got the Lee holder. Bought in BnS at a very good price.
Nightmare & Daredevil - thanks for sharing... I have never look into details of the color cast of LEE Big-Stopper & B+W ND110 and reading this helps.. Thanks to TS - Francis247 !!..

I have only thought that the significant reason for using the filter-holder type is the ability to use graduated ND over a wider range of positions.. Time to learn more..
 

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yep interesting to know how the filters work better. perhaps francis u might wanna even attempt a step further, seeing how the filters work for IR.
 

I believe Nikon camera are less sensitive to UV/IR so, the red cast on your Nikon isn't that obvious as compared to my Canon. Fortunately, it can be corrected easily.

Just one thing, you should not have used either of the filter sample as reference but a control instead.
 

I believe Nikon camera are less sensitive to UV/IR so, the red cast on your Nikon isn't that obvious as compared to my Canon. Fortunately, it can be corrected easily.

Just one thing, you should not have used either of the filter sample as reference but a control instead.

There aren't any for UV for digital. For IR, most newer camera are less sensitive to IR due to stronger filter in front of the sensor. Regarding older camera, I always feel that my friend Nikon capture more IR as compared to my 300D or 30D when I am still into IR in the past. BTW, we are both using R72 and non modified camera with same shutter timing, F-stop, ISO 100 and distance, on tripod for test.
 

Hmmm, I have yet to experience this bluecast with my Lee.