Review – URTH Variable ND64-1000 Plus Filter 

Previously, we have reviewed the  GOBE ND2-400 Variable Filter (now sold as the Urth Variable ND2-400 filter) and the GOBE ND8-128 Variable Filter (now sold as the Urth Variable ND8-128 Plus filter). We love both of these filters and use them regularly; however, between the two filters, we generally favour the higher quality ND8-128 (3-7 stop) filter to obtain longer exposures during the day. As we are consistently trying to shoot between f/8-11 (depending on the subject matter), the 3-7 stops, in most cases, are sufficient.

As mentioned in other posts, we’ve never really been big fans of using a Variable ND Filter in our photography, mainly due to the dreaded ‘X Effect’ (cross-polarisation) that plagues this type of filter (see image below). The GOBE ND2-400 Variable Filter does suffer from the ‘X Effect’ when used at the higher settings, but has great results between 1 and 5 stops. Beyond the 5 stops, the corners start getting too dark for our liking, although some people may find it acceptable. Having said that, the new Urth Variable ND2-400 may provide better results, but unfortunately, we have not tested the latest iteration of this filter.

Generally, we have found filters with a smaller variation in stops yield the best results, such as 1-5 stops (ND2-32) and 3-7 stops (ND8-128). They seem to have far better results and no ‘X effect’. Of course, the caveat here is that you need to carry multiple variable filters rather than a single filter that covers a broader range of variations, such as the ND2-400, which covers 1-8.65 stops.

URTH was kind enough to send us the Variable ND64-1000 Plus filter (6-10 stops) for this review.  Although we received the filter free of charge, this review is unbiased. Please read our disclaimer at the bottom of this post. Every sale contributes to the planting of trees in a deforested region of the world. 

A variable ND filter is a neutral density filter that allows you to manually adjust the density (strength) of the filter. This is achieved by sandwiching 2 polarizing filters together. One is fixed, and the other one rotates. All Variable ND filters have a rotating ring on the outside of the filter, similar to a polarising filter, that allows the filter to shift between a variety of densities. The exception to this is the newer Urth Variable ND2-32 Pro filter that has the rotating ring built into the filter’s frame. The reviewed product varies between 6 stops and 10 stops of light reduction.

As Travel Photographers, we tend to take a wide range of images, including a lot of street/urban-type images. We love to occasionally blur movement in our images, and this was not ideal at times using our bulky Square Filter Holder combined with 6 or 10-stop ND filters. On bright sunny days, many of our images needed a small aperture (f16-22) with low ISO settings to obtain the slow shutter speeds that we required for the effect we wanted. However, shooting at a small aperture can result in ‘Diffraction‘, which most photographers try to avoid* (don’t worry about shooting at small apertures if your intended output is just social media). Ideally, we wanted to shoot at larger apertures (f2.8-f8) but with slower shutter speeds (see image below).

*Although diffraction is avoided, it is really only an annoyance for landscape photographers or anyone who produces large prints.

Above: The famous Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan. This was shot during the middle of the day, and although we were using an aperture of f/11, we still couldn’t get a long enough exposure to get the movement we wanted. This is a perfect example where a Variable ND filter can come to the rescue. In a case like this, it would be impractical and time-consuming to mount a square filter system.

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So, why not just use a circular fixed-stop ND filter, e.g., ND64 (6 stops) or ND1000 (10 stops)? For us, it’s the flexibility and convenience of rotating the ring on the filter to achieve the ideal shutter speed we want, without having to dig around in the bag for the correct fixed-strength ND filter. As far as quality and sharpness are concerned, the fixed-stop ND would possibly be the better choice, as there is only one piece of glass in these filters, as opposed to two in variable filters. So, between the two varieties of ND filters, you may have a slight loss in quality and sharpness using the variable filter. It is up to you whether you want the convenience and flexibility of a variable ND as a trade-off for marginal quality loss.

Please Note: We are NOT primarily Landscape Photographers. For tripod-mounted landscape images, we would generally NOT use a Circular Variable ND Filter. Instead, we would use our URTH Square 100mm x 100mm ND Filters or NiSi square 100mm x 100mm ND Filters.

An ND64 (6 Stop) filter is popular with Landscape Photographers and is commonly used at sunrise and sunset to extend their exposures long enough to blur water or clouds. Depending on the ambient light in the scene, it may also be used during daylight hours for blurring water in waterfall shots. Once the sun has gone down, these filters are usually removed, as the ambient light is low enough to obtain longer exposures, although they can still be used for extremely long exposure effects, if so desired. It is commonly used in conjunction with a Graduated ND Filter to balance the sky and foreground.

The ND1000 (10 Stop) filter is more commonly used for the same effect, but during daylight hours, when there is a lot of ambient light, it makes it difficult to get a long exposure, even when shooting at small apertures such as f/8-f/11. It’s also handy for those who want to shoot at wide apertures such as f/1.8 or f/2.8 to create background separation or want a slower shutter speed to blur movement. This filter, depending on the ambient light, should give you the desired shutter speed. Naturally, if you require a specific shutter speed, this filter provides the flexibility of rotating between 6 and 10 stops to achieve this.

The filter is also useful for reducing the depth of field in your image in very bright light. This is especially useful for video shooters in daylight who want a narrow depth-of-field (eg, f/2.8) but need to control their shutter speed.

Naturally, the filter can be used for many other purposes, such as long exposures to reduce the number of people in your shot in an urban landscape, or, as mentioned above, blurring movement in your shot without the need for small apertures like f/16 or f/22. Personally, this would be our primary use of this type of filter. If you are NOT combining the filter with a Graduated ND or C-PL (Circular Polariser) filter and want flexibility, then a Variable ND filter is the obvious solution. Alternatively, if you want to combine a C-PL with an ND filter, consider using the Urth Circular ND64 + CPL Filter Plus. This filter provides 6 stops of light reduction combined with a C-PL filter. This will eliminate stacking filters and avoid excessive vignetting.

As with all Urth circular filters, the URTH Variable ND64-1000 Plus arrives in a mid-grey square recyclable box. The filter itself resides inside a round metal tin that is slightly larger than the filter (this may have changed as Urth changed their packaging in 2025). On the inside of the lid, you should also find a URTH Cleaning Cloth (newer products no longer include the cloth 🙁). The filter is designated with the Plus+ or just Plus quality level (in 2025, Urth removed the + symbol from the product name) – this is the premium level of the URTH Filters. In 2026, they introduced the Pro range of filters, but at the time of writing, this filter has not been included in the range. The Plus+/Plus quality is manufactured using premium German B270 Schott optical glass with 20 layers of nano-coating that repels dry particles, water, oil and dirt.

Note: If purchasing using the links in this post it will take you to the Urth shop on Amazon. It is likely you will receive the Plus+ stock until depletion. Once depleted, we would assume that only the Plus product will be available. Nevertheless, they are both the same product. To keep up with the times, we will refer to the product as Plus.

The URTH Variable ND64-1000 Plus filter can be rotated from ND64 (1.563% light transmittance), equivalent to 6 stops, up to ND1000 (0.10% light transmittance), equivalent to 10 stops. This is a very useful range to work with and will cover many of your long-exposure needs. The filter has ND64 marked on the rim, denoting ND64 (6 f-stops) and ND1000, which denotes ND1000 (10 f-stops). It also has dots on the rim to denote each stop of light reduction. Other markings on the inside of the rim are the URTH branding, filter thread diameter, and the number of layers of nano-coating (in this case, it is 20 layers).

The filter is extremely robust, and the rotating ring is smooth. The difference between ND64 (6-stop) and ND1000 (10-stop) is only a 1/4 turn of the rotating ring. The rotating ring is also quite narrow, even slightly narrower than the Urth Variable ND8-128 filter, so for those of you with ‘big fingers’, it may be a bit awkward; however, it is a necessary evil to avoid excessive vignetting in the corners of the frame.

Vignetting

In our testing with the filter we were sent (77mm),  we have found that it works well with lenses with focal lengths of 50mm* and longer if you want to utilise the full range (6-10 stops) of the filter. So when used on our Sony 24-105 lens with the 77mm filter, it is quite limiting. There is extreme darkening on the edges of the frame when used at the 9 & 10 stop markings on the rim of the filter. Even when the lens correction has been applied in-camera or Lightroom, the results are not enough to save images shot below the 50mm* focal length, effectively making the filter a 6-8 stop filter on wide-angle lenses. Having said that, if you shoot at focal lengths 50mm* and above, you will obtain great results. If you are a landscape photographer and want to use lenses wider than 50mm* (which is common), then this filter is not for you.

However, and this is a big however, when using the 77mm filter on our 16-35 f/4 lens with a 72-77 step-up adapter ring, the filter works admirably from 6 – 9 stops at the 16mm focal length. At 35mm, you can achieve good results from 6 – 10 stops, although the corners are starting to darken slightly. This improvement is obviously the result of a larger filter size on a smaller lens diameter. If you are a photographer who is planning to get the filter for a specific wide-angle lens, then you may be better off buying the next thread size and using the step-up adapter ring to achieve a wider variation of settings. For example, in our case, the 77mm filter works better on our Sony 16-35mm, Laowa 15mm, and Sony 70-200mm lenses as these all have a 72mm filter thread. For our 24-105mm lens, we could use the 82mm filter to achieve better results at wider focal lengths. So the 77mm filter we have been sent will be utilised primarily on our three lenses with the 72mm adapter ring.

*Focal length is based on a Full Frame Sensor

Colour Cast

This filter will give you a colour cast. As you can see from the test images below the filter displays a green colour cast compared to the shot without a filter.

Naturally, if you are shooting in RAW, this really doesn’t matter as you have plenty of latitude when post-processing; however, if you are shooting in JPG, you may want to consider setting the desired White Balance in-camera when using the filter.

Filter Markings

There are no ‘stop’ markings on the filter so when using the filter, you will need to have some sort of an idea of the shutter speed you want to attain for your image. In general, each dot on the rim between ND64 and ND1000 is approximately 1 stop, although this is not written in stone, and we would strongly suggest that you test at each setting. Our copy of the filter did not result in exactly 1 stop changes between each of the markings on the rim. You will have to watch your shutter speed if you want to calculate full-stop increments. Quite frankly, we would suggest you ignore the marks on the filter ring and instead rotate the ring until you obtain your desired shutter speed to capture the effect you want.

Sharpness

As is the case with most, if not all, Variable ND filters there is a slight loss in sharpness when using this filter. As Variable ND filters are constructed from two circular polarising layers of glass that are placed in opposition to each other, a slight loss of sharpness is to be expected.

Note: This is just a guide. You should always test your filter settings as they may change from copy to copy.

The comparison between no filter and ND256 (8 stops) is slightly darker compared to the above slider, but we are not including it to save some space in this post.

So, in our opinion, when using the correct filter thread size for the lens, this filter at 24mm on a full-frame sensor camera is usable between the ND64 (6 stops) and ND256 (8 stops). We have skipped the 35mm focal length examples here to instead show you the 50mm focal length, where you can utilise the filter from ND64 to ND1000.

The build quality of this filter is exceptional. It will give you so much more control over your shutter speed when shooting at your ideal aperture. If shooting at sunrise or sunset and you don’t need a Graduated ND filter, this would be your go-to filter. The filter is brilliant for any street photography requiring a longer exposure at longer focal lengths (≥50mm). We would certainly recommend it over a Square Filter System for non-landscape photography.

Unfortunately, to get the benefits of all the ND settings of this filter, you must shoot 50mm or greater on a full-frame sensor camera, or purchase a filter 1 size larger than your lens thread and use a step-up ring. In our opinion, this is a great alternative to obtain the full range of the filter.

Otherwise, if you are happy to have a filter that is good for only ND64 – ND256 (6 – 8 stops), then this is a great filter. However, we’re not going to lie, this is a disappointing result for our photography, and the filter has not gained a spot in our camera bag. We would probably rather carry a fixed circular ND64 and ND1000 rather than this variable filter, as it just doesn’t provide enough flexibility for our liking. Even though it is probably a better filter than the Variable ND2-400, which suffers from the X Effect, the Variable ND64-1000 doesn’t give you the amount of usable stops that the ND2-400 provides.

Nevertheless, if you are the type of photographer who shoots mostly at longer focal lengths, then this filter should be seriously considered.

RATED: RECOMMENDED FOR LENSES OVER 50mm

To purchase this filter, click on the banner below and use the discount code at checkout.

You may also want to consider the URTH Variable ND2-32 Plus, Urth Variable ND2-32 PRO, URTH Variable ND8-128 Plus or URTH Variable ND2-400 

Other Gobe/Urth Filter Reviews

If you are interested in reading any of our other Gobe/Urth Filter reviews click the links below –

Disclaimer:  This review is totally unbiased. As Professional Photographers we would never recommend the use of any product unless we have used the product ourselves. We always strive to give you our honest opinion in order to help you make the best choice. We did receive the product with compliments of URTH but were not paid for this review. We may also receive commissions on other links in this post.