Reddit mentions of Tiffen 77mm Neutral Density 0.9 Filter

I'm using an 18-140mm lens with Nikon D5500. I want to buy an ND filter for the lens. This seems like a good one, since I'm not looking for a variable ND filter. My question is:

1. How do I select the diameter for the ND filter? As in, which one should I get for 18-140?
   
2. In case anyone has used this product, is it worth the money?
   
3. If not, what are some recommended ones around this budget?

If you are doing stills, I would personally stay away from variable. You can end up with a nasty X pattern on your pictures from them. For me I use fairly cheap ND filters without issue.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004ZCIC/

is the basic ND filter I use. They are good basic 3 stop filters. If I need more than 3 stops I also use a CPL that gives around 2 stops more light reduction. That allows me to take in full sunshine pictures at 1/2 SS at F/16 Or at sunset, F16 with 4 second exposure.

If I wanted more, I would go with a 10 stop from ICE - https://www.amazon.com/ND1000-Filter-Neutral-Density-Optical/dp/B00GNAZJD4

These are value priced filters that still give great use

There is nothing wrong with your tripod head.

This is high shutter speed stutter. There is no motion blur at all in your footage, which causes the image to stutter, especially since you shot at 24 fps.

What shutter speed was this shot at? You should be around 1/50th of a second at 24fp. My guess is that you didn't put an neutral density filter on your lens and you were forced to shoot around 1/240th of a second. I never go over 1/100th unless I intentionally want stuttering footage.

Invest in some ND filters. A 0.9 will usually do the trick.

Also, you can try using the highest f-stop on your lens to try to get the shutter speed below 1/100 s.

Edit: I downloaded your files. There is something wrong with your export or sequence settings. The original MOV file plays much smoother. Your "Source Video" has duplicate frames, effectively making it 18fps, which means there is an incorrect frame rate setting, likely in your timeline, since both videos show 23.98fps. What are your timeline settings?

Edit 2: Since your frame rate has reduced by 6fps, (from 24 to 18), it looks like you edited 24p footage in a 30p timeline and then exported at 24p. Definitely check your timeline frame rate.

I have had no issues with my Tiffen ND filter and I have been using it for around 6 months.

http://www.amazon.com/Tiffen-77mm-Neutral-Density-Filter/dp/B00004ZCIC

43$ shipped

What about a simple Tiffen ND9 for $27?

Also, I get that you want to advise for the absolute best but honestly, dude is 17 and I don't imagine has the most stringent of image quality concerns ala theatrical distribution / 4K, so what harm is there in learning on a cheap filter?

I'm a bit in your same situation. I'm going to Iceland for 12 days and going to try and shoot a ton of landscapes with my Canon 60D and Tokina 11-16mm Ultra Wide angle (uses 77mm filters). Here's what I got on a budget from a little digging on Amazon.com:

Tiffen 77mm Circular Polarizer: $144; on sale for $20!

B+W 10 Stop Neutral Density filter: $252; on sale for $100

Tiffen 77mm Neutral Density 0.9 Filter: $99; on sale for $25

Step-up and Step-down rings let you use your pricey filters on your other lenses; saving you lots of $$$!
Fotodiox 7 Metal Step Up Ring Set, Anodized Black Metal 49-52mm, 52-55mm, 55-58mm, 58-62mm, 62-67mm, 67-72mm, 72-77mm: $13.49

Fotodiox 7 Metal Step-Down Ring Set, Anodized Black Metal. 77-72mm, 72-67mm, 67-62mm, 62-58mm, 58-55mm, 55-52mm, 52-49mm: $14.60

Pedco UltraPod II Lightweight Camera Tripod: $16.67 instead of a $100+ Gorillapod

You can go super cheap/artsy and use welding glass as a ND filter: $6 There's lots of easy tutorials on how to fix the color tint of the glass online.

Travel and photography are both amazing yet expensive hobbies. I hope my little list helps you out by saving you a little $ on the photo side; letting you have more $ on the travel side to do and see more... thus getting more amazing shots!