Last Updated on 02/01/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
You have likely at least seen, if not used, a Variable ND filter before. But this is the world’s first Variable Graduated ND filter.
Neutral density filters are one of the few filters many photographers still take advantage of in this modern age of photography. A popular tool for landscape photographers has long been the graduated neutral density filter, but a downside to using those has always been that, in order to change the intensity of the gradient and the ND power, you had to actually switch out the filter or stack them. It looks like those days could be numbered!
The PowerGXND is the World’s First Variable Graduated Neutral Density Filter, so just as you would expect from a standard Variable Neutral Density filter, this works on the same idea. The difference is that unlike a traditional Variable ND, which affects the entire area of the filter, this Graduated Variable ND filter only affects half of the filter area.
An excellent example of this is demonstrated in the demo video for the project, which shows the videographer dial in a proper exposure for the river in the foreground. This causes the river to look great, but the sky and the tree line end up way overexposed, resulting in an unusable shot. However, with the filter on, the videographer is able to line up the gradient line with the river bank and dial in a proper exposure for the trees and sky using a 2-3 stop ND setting. This shot simply wouldn’t be possible with that gear without this filter (or some insane post production workload).
This filter comes with a special accessory that allows you to rotate the filter to position the ND affect right where you want it, as well as a sliding mechanism in order to easily slide the filter up and down to further position the ND effect where you need it. The unit also comes with an adapter that allows the filter to be used with a square filter system – another great convenience.
The Kickstarter began with a goal of simply $8,000 but that was quickly surpassed, and the campaign is now well on its way past $30,000. If you are interested in supporting this project, and possibly getting one of these for yourself, head on over and check out the Kickstarter Campaign. Should everything go as planned, the campaign hopes to begin shipping at some point in May of 2018.