Gobe NDX 58mm Variable ND Lens Filter (1Peak)

I ordered this 77mm Variable ND (along with the 77mm CPL) from Amazon US, shipped to Japan where I live, & got it in 10 days, which is faster than average. The company is great with communication regarding tracking your package, & it arrived neatly packaged & in perfect condition. I've only had a chance to take it out once, so I'll update this review if anything changes, but here are my thoughts so far:PROS: Easy to attach / remove (the CPL is a bit harder to take off), nice, even tones, does what it's supposed to. The quality of the glass & the performance are great considering the cost. The construction feels solid.CONS: When used at darker settings you can start to get the X pattern (when the two pieces of overlapping glass in the filter don't line up perfectly they can create a kind of shadowy X in the middle of your shot.) This is pretty common among Variable ND filters, especially at wider angles with darker settings. I'm using it on a Canon 6D with a 24-70 L lens, & it was more noticeable in the 24-35mm range when set in or just before the "Max" setting. It's not totally unexpected from a variable filter, though, so I can't fault it too much. It kind of comes with the territory, so it's not really a problem.OVERALL: I recommend this lens if you're looking for a low cost, high quality Variable ND filter. The key word here is VARIABLE, meaning you're looking for convenience. If you want a filter that avoids the X pattern & maybe performs a bit more consistently, I'd recommend some regular ND filters, which can be stacked if needed. I'm considering buying the ND 1000 (from Gobe, I really like this company) but I still plan on getting a lot of use from this variable one. As an added bonus, Gobe plants 5 trees for each purchase, which makes me happy.

I'll start by saying that I have never experimented with an ND filter before. I am an amateur photographer at best and use a Nikon D5600. I fitted this filter on my 70-300mm and went to a local waterfall to try my hand at long exposure. The attached pictures are just 2 of my attempts. They're not the greatest (like I said, I am just learning), and it took a little bit of experimenting in order to find just the right aperture and adjustment on the filter to get a good exposure. I probably have 5 bad shots for every 1 good one. My editing isn't quite professional either so take my images with a grain of salt.With all of that being said, this filter is great. Once I figured out settings that worked well (f/9, 2.5s, ISO 100) I was able to get the effect I was looking for. The only issue that I experienced was that the graduated scale on the outer ring to line up the stops for the filter weren't enough. I am sure I could have closed my aperture down more and gotten less light into the exposure without exceeding the filter's "settings" but I realized I could just darken the filter beyond what the ring showed. Also, with it fully darkened I didn't notice (or just missed it) any of the "X" that many other ND filters produce on the images when they are stopped down.This filter came well packaged (I think there were at least 3 wrappers on it) in a nice tin case with a foam pad. The all-metal construction is solid and the glass is clear and great quality. There was also a lens wipe with it and a card that directs you to their website to input a code for them to plant your trees (this also, handily, registers your product with them).I plan to purchase a few fixed ND filters from Gobe as well as some adapters so that I can use them on all my lenses. Definitely would reccomend this to anyone looking to try their hand with an ND filter without spending the money on a premium filter just yet.

I first tested this on a Sigma 35mm Art on a 5D Mark 4 using a step-down ring. I just took a couple of test shots and though the camera doesn't know how to handle white balance at a very high ND setting, it's easy enough to correct white balance when shooting raw, so no big deal. There sharpness looked okay, but this was shooting a static subject.I next tested with a Sigma 85mm Art and a 5D4. This combo has been extremely reliable for me and I get consistently sharp shots wide open, or close to wide open. AI Servo also works fairly reliably with moving subjects.I used the filter 100% of the time during a portrait session. It was a sunny day and I was using a strobe to overpower the sun. My shutter speed remained at 1/200 and I controlled exposure with the ND filter and the strobe. For portraits, 1/200 is more than enough to get critically sharp shots since there was little movement.Like I mentioned before, at high ND setting, the WB is out of whack, so I expected that with the 85mm. The main problem was that I had severe front and back-focusing using this filter. I shot at f/2, expecting that I'd lose sharpness, but I didn't expect the consistent AF issues. My focus ended up being around 6 inches in front, to a feet or two in the back. I also had different degrees of sharpness and I think this had to do with how the sun was hitting the filter. In the shade, the sharpness was okay. When the sun was hitting the filter at a slight angle, sharpness just wasn't there. I could see where the camera focused by looking at the places where the ground was the sharpest but it was still not sharp.I think is would be an excellent filter for anyone that does landscapes where you can rely on live view to focus. I didn't necessarily lose quality at a high ND setting but AF did suffer, so I won't be using this filter unless I'm in a situation where I need it.I gave the filter 4 stars because for the price, you get a lot. If I was rating it for its performance, I'd give it a 3. If you're a landscape shooter, there's a good chance you'll rate this much higher than I did.