Vizelex ND Throttle Review
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Review of Lens Accessories

Vizelex ND Throttle Review

Can the Vizelex ND Throttle Review be used for professional work? Let’s find out in this comprehensive review.

Review rating: ***
List of sponsored/free gear: None
Did I get paid for this review? No

This is the complete and comprehensive review of the Vizelex ND Throttle (sold by Fotodiox Pro – B&H, Amazon) for the Sony a7R II, a7S II and a7II. I am specifically reviewing the Nikon G to NEX version, and results may be pertinent only to my copy. Your mileage may vary.NDThrottleReviewWhat is the ND Throttle?The ND Throttle sold by Fotodiox Pro is a lens adapter and variable ND filter all rolled into one. There is also an EF to E mount version, as well as others. I purchased the Nikon G to NEX version because I use Nikon lenses.These are the features of the Vizelex ND Throttle (B&HAmazon):

  • Variable ND range from 1 to 10 stops.
  • Aperture ring to change aperture on Nikon G lenses.
  • No electronic aperture or focus controls.

ReviewThis is my complete review:https://youtu.be/zKxPNupYS-wHere’s the color chart comparison from Min to Max (I’ve removed the first stop because the first four don’t change the camera meter, see next test):ColorTestNDThrottleAs you can see, there isn’t any major color shift. All ND filters, even the most expensive ones, shift colors a bit. The ND throttle is much better than the cheap ND filters in the market.However, the ND throttle advertises a 1 to 10 stop range, while all I got was 1.7 to 8 stops, spread in this manner from Min setting to Max setting:NDThrottlePerformance1Here’s how the lens vignettes at 14mm, 28mm and 50mm:VignetteTestResultsAs you can see, anything wider than about 35mm and you are asking for serious vignetting. This is not easy to correct in post with heavily compressed codecs like those found on the Sony a7-series cameras.However, as mentioned in the video review, the deal breaker for me was the ghosting and flare performance, which is unacceptable:GhostingNDthrottle

The results and the subsequent loss of resolution is plain unacceptable to me.TakeawayI think the Vizelex ND throttle (B&H, Amazon) is useful for straight-to-internet video projects that don’t have demanding shooting conditions. As long as there isn’t strong backlight the product works acceptably well, and I am happy with the color response. For the price it offers good value.

I can forgive the slight resolution loss, the lack of infinity focus and the limited ND performance if not for the ghosting. This single fail ensures I will never use it for any serious projects.

What do you think? Do you get different results with your ND throttle? Let me know in the comments section below.