Review: Haida M10 Insert Variable ND filter

Friday 6 November 2020, 20:02 by Nando Harmsen | 7,379 views | 7 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Do you ever use neutral density filters? The dark pieces of glass you place in front of your lens block light, forcing you to use longer shutter speeds.

This allows you to take special photos in which the movement of clouds or water is beautifully visible.

A set of Haida Red Diamond neutral density filters. These let you make your shutter speeds longer very selectively. The longer the shutter speed needs to be, the darker your filter needs to be.
There are neutral density filters available in many different strengths, ranging from two stops to as many as 20 stops, the filter I recently wrote a review of.

Usually, a three, six and ten-stop filter makes a good combination with which you can practise almost all types of long-exposure photography.

Would you like to know more about long-exposure photography? I have an extensive Long Exposures video course on Photofacts Academy, covering everything about this type of photography.

There may be situations where a neutral density filter produces a shutter speed that is too long, while a less powerful neutral density filter produces a shutter speed that is too short.

You really want a shutter speed somewhere in between, but you do not have a neutral density filter for it. You then have to change the ISO, which may not be the ideal solution. Wouldn't it be nice to have a variable neutral density filter?

Haida sent me a pre-production variable neutral density filter to review. It is a new filter intended for use with a filter holder. Its name is the Haida M10 Insert Variable ND filter.

The Haida M10 Insert Variable ND filter

Normal variable neutral density filters are screwed onto your lens, and you turn a ring that rotates two polarising filters in relation to each other. A polarising filter lets light through in one direction and blocks all other directions.

With two polarising filters, it is possible to block two directions, drastically reducing the amount of light that gets through.

Haida's variable neutral density filter is actually a polarising filter that you combine with an M10 drop-in polarising filter.
The Haida M10 Insert Variable ND filter is essentially a 100 x 100 mm square polarising filter that can be placed in a filter holder.

It is intended to be used with the polarising filter from the M10 system, meaning you effectively have two separate polarising filters in your filter holder.

By rotating your standard polarising filter with the wheel on top of the filter, you can control how much light gets through.

The filter is made from the same material as all Haida Red Diamond filters. It is K9 Optical Glass, which does not cause a colour cast, is scratch-resistant and repels water. The glass has nicely rounded corners. To the eye, it is transparent with a slightly darker tint.

These photos were taken through a polarising filter. When I hold the variable ND filter in front of the lens and rotate it, you can see it becoming darker.

How much light can the filter block?

You have to use the M10 Insert Variable ND filter with one of the available polarising filters from the Haida M10 filter system.

Alongside the standard polarising filter, there is also a polarising filter combined with a 3-stop neutral density filter (ND0.9), or a 6-stop neutral density filter (ND1.8). If you use this with the variable filter, you can block up to 9 stops of light.

Haida has various drop-in polarising filters. You can have just a polarising filter, or one combined with an ND filter.

• Combine the M10 drop-in polarising filter with the variable ND filter to block 2-4 stops (ND2-ND16)


• Combine the M10 drop-in polarising filter + ND0.9 with the variable ND filter to block 3-5 stops (ND8-ND32)


• Combine the M10 drop-in polarising filter + ND1.8 with the variable ND filter to block 6-9 stops (ND64-ND500)

When you only want to block 1 stop of light, using a polarising filter is sufficient.

The disadvantage of a variable ND filter

A variable ND filter sounds very appealing. You have several neutral density filters available in one filter.

Still, there is a disadvantage to a variable neutral density filter that is important to know about. I have already explained how a variable neutral density filter works.

By rotating the polarising filters in relation to each other, there comes a point where the light being blocked is at right angles to itself. In the most extreme position, a dark cross will then appear in the photo.

The infamous black cross that appears when you rotate two polarising filters in relation to each other.
This happens gradually, of course, rather than suddenly. You obviously want to avoid this, but it can be difficult to see in certain situations.

It is frustrating to discover at home that two of the corners in your photo have become noticeably darker.

This effect becomes stronger the more wide-angle you use. Even with a 24mm focal length on full-frame, this effect is already noticeable.

With an even wider angle of view, the effect will occur much sooner. But using a polarising filter with an extreme wide-angle lens is never sensible anyway.

In a busy environment, it can be difficult to see when the black cross is starting to appear. Keep an eye on this when using any variable ND filter

In practice

The best place to use a variable neutral density filter is in situations where the shutter speed is very important. Think of waves at the seaside, or fast-flowing streams, where you want to capture the movement of the water perfectly.

I took the filter to the Hoëgne stream in the Belgian Ardennes to give it a proper test.

The variable ND filter makes it possible to adjust the strength continuously, so you get exactly the shutter speed you want.

Using the Haida Insert Variable ND filter gave me the opportunity to set the shutter speed very precisely by rotating the polarising filter as required. But I did notice that this also changed the reflections in the water and on the wet stones.

Of course, it is then possible to rotate the entire holder. This only works when you are not also using graduated neutral density filters.

You can of course combine the variable ND filter with other filters. Keep in mind that the degree of polarisation is affected when rotating the filter to adjust the strength of the variable ND filter.
I had to make sure that I did not get a dark cross in the frame, which is difficult to see in the busy surroundings of the forest. You need to pay close attention, especially when using an ultra-wide-angle lens.

That is precisely why I used 24mm as my wide-angle focal length, and no wider than that.

What I like about the filter

• No visible colour cast


• Variable ND functionality with the advantage of a filter holder


• Scratch-resistant and water-repellent coating, not tested


• The various polarising filters with built-in ND filters provide a wide range of stops


• The variable ND filter can also be used as a separate polarising filter


• Usable in other filter systems with a built-in polarising filter


• Unlike the screw-in version, the entire holder can be rotated to control the polarisation of the landscape


• One variable ND filter can be used on multiple lenses with different diameters

Haida's variable ND filter is useful when you do not want to take lots of filters with you.

What I like less about the filter

• Not a compact system because a complete filter holder has to be used


• Not practical as a variable ND filter for filming because of its size


• You need three polarising filters for the full range of 2 to 9 stops

More advantages and disadvantages

There are a few more advantages and disadvantages to mention that are not specific to this Haida filter. These apply to all variable filters, regardless of the design or brand.

Choose the strength of your variable ND to get the desired shutter speed.
The advantages of a variable ND filter include the ability to set the filter strength continuously, so you no longer need to have several neutral density filters. This is of course the major advantage when the exact shutter speed is critical.

But the biggest problem is still the dark cross that appears when you rotate the filters too far in relation to each other.

In the field, this is often difficult to see, especially because it slowly appears in the corners and can go unnoticed until you view the images at home on your computer.

I would like to thank Haida for providing this M10 Variable ND filter. It is available from omnifoto.nl.

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