10 stop ND filter - How will it perform in the bright daylight?

Wow, the 10 stop on Warehouse Express has really shot up in price. I'm looking now at the Wokingham Photographic online shop, they say they should arrive at the end of May. I'm going on holiday this time in two weeks, I wonder if i'll get it in time :|

By the way, are Hi-Teck and Formatt the same thing?
 
I'm sure I have never seen a cast on my 10 stop screw in B&W (although I haven't used it too much). As for sharpness, I haven't seen a noticeable drop in that either with and without (I tested this).

And to the OP. Yep it's fine to to use a 10 stop in broad daylight, in fact I think it is a lot easier than dusk, as with dusk you are forever chasing the light, and having to up the ISO to get a reasonable length exposure. :lol:
 
I've got two ND8's so I'll take a normal shot (no filters), then one ND8, then stacked ND8's and post the results tomorrow.
 
I have found a slight colour cast on the long exposures, but did not know at that time that the eye piece can be used to stop this. Still looking forward to using it in anger :thumbs:
 
puddleduck said:
No, exposures aren't long enough.

Actually the B&W 10-stop ND does have a bit of a colour cast I've found (which surprised me as the N stands for neutral...)
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swag72 said:
I have found a slight colour cast on the long exposures, but did not know at that time that the eye piece can be used to stop this. Still looking forward to using it in anger :thumbs:
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:thinking: Which colour are you seeing cast on your images, chaps?

If anything, the few images that I've got using my B+W10 stop, have had a grey/blue cast, but it's not very strong and might even be imagined.

I'm curious to know what you've seen.
 
I am not sure whether it would be dark enough in bright sunshine, or whether I am just getting something wrong.
Two shots, 1 without filter, AV=11, Tv=1/200, shot is underexposed, no ND
Second shot, AV=29, Tv=15, shot is about right for exposure I feel, but had an ND8, ND4 and ND2 filter on the end
Another shot, Av=16, Tv=2.5, all NDs as before, plus polarizer, shot looks OK, looks better with +0.33eV
Numbers don't really add up here.
IMG_2190.JPG


Ordered my ND10 from warehouse express 7th April, still not been delivered. Don't hold your breath if you are going to order one from there.
 
swag72 said:
I've had a slight pink cast, but not too bothered as it can go in PP and I now know to use the eye piece!
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Thanks for the reply :).It's weird though, as I said, if anything I have the opposite colour cast :shrug:.

Then again, I've always flipped down the eyepiece shutter on my D700 when I've used this filter, as it's always been on a tripod for a matter of minutes with a fair amount of light around.

I'll have to try it in broad daylight sometime and see if there is a colour cast, but I'd be disappointed if there was, as all of my other B+W filters are great at what they do :).
 
The B+W 10-stop ND has a slight warm cast. It seems to be difficult to avoid this in the manufacture of a very strong ND filter. Could you not dial this out with custom white balance? Anyway, it's easy enough to get rid of in PP as Sara says.

Tiffen ND filters are supposed to be most neutral (according to Ken Rockwell) and their best ones are also coated (B+W NDs are uncoated). But they don't do a 10-stop version and are hard to get in the UK.
 
What's all this about using the eye piece?
 
Use the coverslip, or something else, to cover the viewfinder as light can leak through the pentaprism into the body and onto the sensor causing uneven exposure
 
How many stops could that effect do you think? I had an ND8+4+2 stacked on the end of the lens, and it didn't really seem to slow things down that much. The resultant picture looks relatively even though (the lighter center I assumed was vignetting).
 
coldpenguin said:
How many stops could that effect do you think? I had an ND8+4+2 stacked on the end of the lens, and it didn't really seem to slow things down that much. The resultant picture looks relatively even though (the lighter center I assumed was vignetting).
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Hard to say in stops of ND, it's the relative brightness of the ambient light. You're only likely to get a problem if you're using an exposure of a few seconds in bright daylight. Just shading the viewfinder closely with your hand is probably enough to prevent it, and I think all manufacturers provide a little clip-on eyepiece cover.

To see the effect, put the lens cap on and shine a torch into the viewfinder during an exposure of a few seconds. That will show the problem, although some cameras appear to be worse/better than others.
 
Which strength ND filter would you suggest for me to 'give it a go'? (Never used one and this topic is getting the better of my curiosity... :D)
 
Naith said:
Which strength ND filter would you suggest for me to 'give it a go'? (Never used one and this topic is getting the better of my curiosity... :D)
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Hard to say what is best.

What is your 'normal' shutter speed likely to be? What would you like it to be for the effect you're after? The answer is the difference between them.

Having said that, I think the B+W 10 stopper is probably the one I'll be getting - the link above to Fotosense is a good price, especially as they seem to have it in stock.

If you just want a play, using the glass from a welding mask will give you a taste for it for a couple of quid. See the other thread about it here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=151141
 
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