I consider myself a serious amateur photographer at best. I don't like to carry a bunch of camera gear with me, especially if it's for a specialized purpose. As I shoot with a DSLR, it's pretty easy to acquire too much stuff.

I hadn't ever used an ND filter before, so when I needed one to partake in our camera club challenge, I started shopping on Amazon. After checking out several sets of varying single density filters, I ran across this variable density filter. It looked interesting and the price was pretty decent, so I ordered it.

It arrived very quickly and was nicely packaged. The filter comes in its own case with padding, so it's well protected.

With my initial inspection I was impressed. The threading is very slick and smooth, and fit nicely onto both of my lenses with the 67mm diameter threads.

Since it's variable, the filter turns to lighten and darken the ND effect. The filter turns very smoothly in either direction, yet is tight enough so that it stays where you leave it.

As for its performance, I feel like it does a really good job. During my experimenting with it, I was able to get quite a few different results with each subject I was photographing. I played with various manual settings while changing the density of the filter, and was pleased with the outcome.

The only thing I would say to be careful with using this filter is the width of your lens if you're using a wide angle, either zoom or fixed focal length. When I was wide out I did notice that the ND effect showed a slight difference in its effect from one side of the photo to the other. It wasn't a huge difference, but enough to notice. I would simply recommend not going too wide when using it.

Based on the quality of the materials and build, the overall results, and the price, I would definitely recommend this for your photographic use.