HOYA PROND 1000 10 Stop Filter Review

Handling and Features
Performance
Verdict

The HOYA PROND 1000 is a circular neutral density filter, and the darkest of all the PROND filters available, giving 10 stops of light reduction and is available in filter sizes ranging from 49mm to 82mm.  

HOYA PROND 1000 Handling and Features

The Hoya PROND filter series is a range of 9 filters from 2 stops to 10 stops, with many stops in between. Designed with a Metallic ACCU-ND coating, each filter used should give a truly neutral colour balance, even when you change from one filter to another in the range. 

The HOYA PROND1000 is the strongest ND filter available in the range, with 10 stops, equal to an ND optical density of 3.0. This means a photograph that would normally be taken at a shutter speed of 1/800th of a second becomes a 0.8 second exposure. The filter uses a Metallic ACCU-ND coating on both sides, plus Hoya’s exclusive clear optical glass, designed to give a truly neutral colour balance.

A benefit of using an ND filter is for use of brighter apertures in bright light, improving bokeh, although another filter in the PROND range would be more suited to this. 

HOYA PROND 1000 Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the kit. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

HOYA PROND 1000 Filter Sample Photos

Normally to try and get a slower shutter speed you would set the ISO speed to the lowest setting available, as well as set the aperture to the smallest available, for example f/22. However, taking a photo at such a small aperture, f/22, results in an image that is very soft due to diffraction. Therefore, using an ND filter lets you use a slow shutter speed with a quicker aperture, such as f/10, and using these settings with the PROND1000 has resulted in a sharp image.

Using such a strong filter can cause problems with auto focus, so manual focus may be needed before shooting, although we found that the Olympus OM-D E-M5's focusing system was fine the majority of the time, letting us continue to use auto-focus. 

The filter is resistant to flare and ghosting, even when shooting with the sun in the frame. There was slight vignetting visible when shooting with a wide-angle (24mm equivalent) lens. Detail remains good across the frame, even into the corners and the colour remains good, with excellent colour reproduction. When used to photograph the test chart in the images above, there is a slight double image visible on the white text, however this was not visible on any outdoor images, and with these examples it's clear to see the colour casts on the images taken with other filters.

Waterfall Hoya PROND 1000 | 60 sec | f/10.0 | 19.0 mm | ISO 200	Tiffen ND3.0 | 60 sec | f/10.0 | 19.0 mm | ISO 200 - Strong red colour cast

The Tiffen ND3.0 is shown here as an example of the kind of colour cast that is possible with some filters, and Tiffen has since released an updated version of the Tiffen ND3.0 with IR cut, which should remove the red colour cast (and hopefully the hotspot in the middle of the frame). If you do have a filter that causes a colour cast, then in some cases, the only option would be to convert the image to black and white. 

Value For Money

The HOYA PROND1000 is available for £45 in 58mm filter size, the LEE Filter Big Stopper 10x is £99, without the holder, which is an additional expense, A B+W 58 mm F-PRO Mount 110 Single Coated +10 Stop Neutral Density Filter costs £56 (Single-coated), and a Tiffen 58mm advantiX IR Cut Neutral Density 3.0 costs £59, making the HOYA extremely good value for money, as one of the most affordable 10 stop filters available. 

HOYA PROND 1000 Verdict

The HOYA PROND1000 is excellent for colour reproduction, being a truly neutral density filter, and detail is good. The HOYA PROND 1000 also offers excellent value for money, being priced very competitively compared to the competition available. As a circular ND filter you don't need to worry about any potential light leaks, which makes this filter ideal for its purpose. 

	The HOYA PROND 1000 works extremely well with no colour cast and offers excellent value for money.

HOYA PROND 1000 Pros

Excellent colour reproduction
Extremely good value for money
Good build quality
Good image quality

HOYA PROND 1000 Cons

Ghosting visible in close-up images

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT