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Photographer Dustin Abbott shares a close look at the build, design, and assembly of the Fotodiox Pro WonderPana filter system for the new Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD wide angle lens. He shares a number of image samples. Check out the system for yourself here: http://bit.ly/1NLRLCy or read my review (and see more samples) here: http://bit.ly/1OMKClN.
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0:00
Hi, I'm Dustin Abbott. Some of you might remember a few months ago back towards the early part of
0:18
2015 I reviewed the Tamron 15 to 30 millimeter f2.8 VC lens and I did a lot of head-to-head
0:26
comparisons and if you haven't watched those videos you might enjoy them but just to sum that
0:32
up at the conclusion of testing a variety of wide-angle lenses I made up my mind that this
0:37
was going to be my new wide-angle lens of choice and so I've since added it to my own personal kit
0:43
other than the size and the weight of the lens the one thing that I really lamented is the fact
0:48
that it's design it has a bulbous front element means that there is no traditional filter threads
0:54
And so dynamic wide-angle lenses become even more dynamic when you're able to add the component of using filters on them
1:03
So I hoped at that point and expressed in my reviews that someone would come and fill that void with providing a filter system for these lenses
1:12
I'm happy to say that a number of companies have done that, and I've been spending an extended period of testing and reviewing just such a system for the lens
1:20
and I'm really delighted with the results I'm getting. So that system is from Fotodiox and it is the Wonder Pana, kind of the full name is the Wonder
1:29
Pana Free Arc system. Let me just say that this is a system that they have developed with compatible
1:36
mounts for a number of wide angle options. And so let's just put it this way. If you have a
1:41
wide angle lens that cannot use traditional filter threads, you need to take a look at the Fotodiox
1:47
website because there's a good chance that the WonderPana system is available for your lens. I
1:53
should also say that other than the actual basic mount for any particular lens, a lot of the system
1:59
can be transferred over to other lenses. And so should you decide to switch lenses in the future
2:06
or if you have multiple lenses, it's nice that you can do some sharing back and forth with that
2:10
And so I like to think of this as a little bit more of a long-term investment for other lenses
2:16
in the future. I've used a number of square filter sets in the past for various lenses and
2:24
they have both strengths and weaknesses. One of the, of course, biggest weaknesses is the fact that
2:30
they tend to be fairly bulky and they're also fairly expensive when compared to just buying
2:35
some traditional filters in like a 77 millimeter or an 82 millimeter filter size. The downside of
2:43
Just circular filters, of course, is that one of the key components to doing some great landscape shooting is the ability to use graduated ND filters
2:52
And so that you can get a balanced exposure out of the camera where you're kind of holding back, say, the sky portion of the image to help to balance the sky with the foreground
3:02
And through using ND grad filters, you can really produce some stunning, stunning images where you don't lose some of that highlight information
3:10
and so you can produce some really fantastic results. I'm happy to say that this system, this Fotodiox WonderPana system
3:18
it gives you kind of the best of both worlds in allowing you to use both circular filters as we're going to see
3:24
along with square filters like IndyGrad's or things similar to that. But first, let's jump in and let's take a look at how the system actually works on this particular lens
3:35
One thing that I have found in the past is that filter systems like this
3:39
they tend to be pretty bulky. And of course when you really are you working with a large lens already and a wide angle lens like this it means that the filter systems often become even bulkier And while this lens filter system I should say is not compact it is what I might call modular
3:55
which means that it can be broken down and carried in a fairly simplistic fashion
4:00
In fact, if you are just wanting to use circular filters, it can break down into just these two pouches right here
4:08
When I began to look into this Photodiox Pro system, I noticed that there were a number of extra nice touches as a part of it
4:16
For one thing, everything comes in a nice padded case. It's all well protected, and thus it's easy to pack it along
4:22
Even if you're going to use all of the components, the actual filter system itself will pack into all of these little cases
4:29
You also have choices as to how much you're going to use. So let's jump in and let's take a look at that
4:34
It starts by, this is the actual mount for the Tamron lens
4:39
And so to mount it on, you're going to start by taking this and from the rear of the lens
4:46
just bring that into the proper position where it comes up close to the edge of the built-in lens hood
4:53
And so at that stage, the lens itself can be mounted on the camera
4:57
and then so the second component here is a ring that is going to mount over from the front over
5:05
the top of that and it will allow you by the way there is a proper way you just need to line up the
5:11
actual little indents here with the the pedal shaped built-in lens hood once you've got that
5:17
in place it's a very simple process to just use the the threads here to secure that on to the back
5:24
And so then, that quickly, we already have our mount for using something like traditional filters
5:31
You can use a circular polarizer. Just be aware that with wide-angle lenses that in some situations
5:37
circular polarizers can produce uneven results in skies. For example, one area will be darker than another
5:43
But it can also, a circular polarizer is always an extremely useful filter in a number of settings
5:49
probably my favorite filter for a lens or excuse me a lens like this is a a heavy as i might call
5:58
it nd filter and here i've got a photodiox pro nd 1000 filter that means it's a 10 stop filter
6:07
that allows you to shoot really long exposures let me just say that all of the filters that i've used
6:13
from photodiox are very high quality the materials are very nice in them they've got hardened
6:19
multi-coating on them. Very good optical glass that will come into a component here in just a
6:24
moment. And this filter works very, very well. With heavy ND filters, ND64 to ND1000, so the six
6:34
stops to 10 stops or more, there's typically a few shortcomings that come with them. They tend to
6:40
introduce vignetting. They can offer up color cast. Sometimes they can also, depending on the
6:45
quality of the optical glass in them. They can also diminish your resolution. I'm happy to say
6:51
that when it comes to the latter, there's no issue at all. Resolution remains exceptionally high
6:57
and so I've got some amazing looking images that hold up even when you zoom into the detail
7:03
and so that's fantastic. Since we've invested in a high resolution lens like this, it's great to be
7:07
able to get the benefit even when you've got the filter on. There is some vignetting that is
7:12
introduced as is pretty typical. However, it's not extreme. In fact, it's light enough that I can
7:18
deal with it in post-processing fairly easily. And so that's a plus in that regard
7:25
Finally I haven ever used a 10 Indy filter that doesn introduce any kind of cast at all I don know that such a filter hardly exists and everyone that I used and I used a variety of them introduces some color cast or another
7:40
some less extreme, some more extreme. This is fortunately one of the less extremes. It does
7:45
provide a cooling effect to the image and so fortunately for me in a lot of situations where
7:52
I'm shooting long exposures, particularly when you've got water involved, that slight cooling
7:57
actually is a, it's kind of a good effect often for images. But if you want to go to a neutral
8:03
color cast, it's actually very easy to correct for this. I've used some that introduced more of a
8:08
magenta cast that is much harder to correct for in post. And so that's a positive to me. I've been
8:14
very impressed with the quality of this filter. And so that's all that's required right there if
8:19
all you want to do is use circular filters. But, and also a very cool additional step in the way
8:26
this design. If you want to add on the square component for using those filters, you can use the
8:32
they call it the Wonder Panner 66 holder, but I'm just going to refer to it kind of in a simple way
8:39
as the wings here. Now these wings, they go on with just using these thumb screws. By the way
8:46
if you are putting this assembly together, I find that it's probably wise if you have the opportunity
8:53
to add these on in a place where you're not likely to drop and lose the thumb screws
8:59
And I know from experience that I've been guilty of that in times past with other filter systems
9:05
The nice thing is that because they are thumb screws, you don't need any tools to accomplish this
9:12
And as you can see, it can be done very quickly. One thing that has helped to give me a very positive impression of the photodiox components here
9:21
is number one, they're very well manufactured. Everything here, I've not really encountered any plastics
9:27
Everything is nice, lightweight, high-grade aluminums and metals, and so that everything feels very well made
9:36
In my written review, I use the comparison that everything here feels more like Zeiss
9:41
than it does like consumer grade. So that's always a positive to me
9:45
There's also nice touches that abound. For example, in these thumb screws
9:50
As I said, I know from experience that they can get lost, but photodiox is nice enough to include
9:57
additional thumb screws. And there's even a place in the pouch here that has a place for some of
10:03
those additional. Also here and there, I have found a nice microfiber cleaning cloth, which is always
10:09
very beneficial and helpful because of the nature of these systems, you are likely to get fingerprints
10:15
on them at some point. And so now as you can see, we have the deck in place where a square filter
10:23
can be added. Now, if you don't have a circular filter on, as obviously I do have a circular
10:29
filter in place, but if you don't, there are actually two slots here. And so that you can
10:34
stack filters for differing effects. Or in this case, I'm going to stack a square filter
10:40
in over the top of the circular filter. And so I'll use the outside edge for that. And there are
10:47
thumb screws on the sides of this that will allow me to loosen it up and so that you can slide it
10:53
into place. And then you're going to want to be sure once you get it in place, you know, using the
10:58
viewfinder, you're going to line that up with your horizon line. And once you've got that into the
11:05
appropriate place, then you just simply tighten down these thumb screws and so you've got a
11:10
filter that is going to stay in place where you need it to be And so another nice thing is that this whole deck is it can be rotated and so say if you want to shoot in a vertical shooting position all you got to do is rotate that and you can always position
11:27
the filter where you need it to be and so in the actual operation I've been very impressed
11:32
by the way that this all works and it has produced stunning results everything here is a nice grade
11:39
materials I've not had any problem this is a three-stop graduated ND filter one of my favorite
11:45
kind of filters either a two-stop or a three-stop for balancing sky conditions. It's very nice
11:51
material. There's no color cast that I've seen introduced by this filter. It feels sturdy. Of
11:58
course, you don't want to drop these things, but sometimes that happens and it feels like
12:03
it could actually survive that. And that's certainly a positive thing. So overall, I've
12:08
been really impressed with this system. You have the option to just buy what's known as the core
12:13
system, which is the deck I showed you that allows you to use circular filters. And then also you can
12:19
buy it as the more expanded system. Take a look at the, once again, here's a link to the Photodiox
12:25
Pro website and you can look at the various options there. They also have a wide range of filters that
12:31
are developed for this particular system, both in circular and in square filters, giving you the
12:37
options. And I really feel like the creativity that I had in mind when I purchased this lens has now
12:43
been fully unleashed with the addition of this filter system. I'm loving the images I'm getting
12:48
out of this combination, and so are the people that have seen the images that I've shared on
12:53
social media or photo sharing sites. I have a suspicion that this filter system is probably
12:59
going to pay for itself in sales of images in the future, and so I consider it a very worthy
13:06
investment. When it comes to price, the system itself is not cheap, nor is it the most expensive
13:11
system that I've seen. I would say when it comes to quality for your money, however, this is a very
13:18
well-made system, very high-grade materials, and it looks like it's designed to last for a long time
13:24
And so overall, I consider it to be a sound investment. Now we'll look at a few image samples
13:30
here where I have gradually introduced different components of the system so you can see the way
13:35
that you can transform a scene by using these filters. We'll start with the image from the
13:40
bare lens. Here you see that I've had to underexpose the foreground in order to accommodate for the
13:46
sky. Even then, the sky is a little bit flat here. Now as we add the ND grad, you can see already
13:52
we're achieving a better balance between the foreground and then also the sky, and the sky
13:57
has more drama. But then when we add in the ND 10 stop filter, ND 1000, things really begin to pop
14:04
We've got a much better balance overall, movement in the sky, a more dramatic image. So here as we
14:10
look, there's our first image to start with. And then here's what the addition of the graduated ND filter
14:16
And then finally, as we transition to the ND1000 filter, we get a finished result, which is much more inspiring
14:23
These images show what a amazing thing you can do with the sky and adding drama to scenes
14:29
by using the combination of these filters. You can really achieve some stunning results
14:35
by long exposure use in the sky and clouds. In summation, I've been very happy with this WonderPana system from Photodiox Pro
14:46
I feel like it is a very well made, well executed system that's going to serve me well for
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a long time into the future. If you haven't already, please subscribe
14:56
I'm Dustin Abbott. Have a great day