ND Filter Question

I'm heading out to Oregon in mid-April and I'm looking into purchasing a Neutral Density filter for my trip. I want to be able to get more blurred motion of water. I was wondering if anyone had forked over the dough and purchased a Singh Ray Vari-N-Duo or a Vari-ND? If so, how do you like it?

In the past I've always just used my polarizer and/or a smaller f-stop.
Anyone have another recommendation for a Neutral Density Filter that doesn't have such a high price tag?

Thanks

Anyone have another recommendation for a Neutral Density Filter that doesn't have such a high price tag?

You bet!
The Hoya 8x ND filter will reduce light by 3 stops. Used in combination with your polarizer, you can achieve even more, although vignetting and slight quality loss may occur. It's a high quality filter that has never introduced a color cast whenever I've used it.
You can find the Hoya ND filter on eBay for $45 and free shipping.
I bought mine from this same dealer.

Hi Laurie,
I have one of the first Vari-NDs made from Singh-Ray and it always goes with me. That should tell you how much I like it

For waterfalls, I think you'll usually just want to use the 3 Stop (8x) ND filter. So I don't think you need to spend the extra money for the Vari filter. B+W makes ND filters that go all the way up to 10 stops (1000x), which I have fun experimenting with. But generally anything over 8x is overkill for waterfalls, as you don't want to shoot them in direct sunlight and you only need about 1/2 second to get the blurred effect.

I agree. I've used the 8x ND filter with good success.