ND Filter Help

chrism_scotland

chrism_scotland

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Chris
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I currently have a Hitech 10 Stop ND Filter and I've enjoyed playing around with it - I've also got a 3 Stop Hard Grad Filter but I'm looking to expand the range of filters that I have.

I really want to get some more "normal" ND Filters but I wondered what strength folks would normally reccomend? I've been looking at the Hitech Kits which offer multiple filters (0.3, 0.6, 0.9) but don't see the point if I'm unlikely to get much use out of them.

Also looking at some soft edge grads (again Hi-tech) as I find the Hard Edge one I have of limited use unless theres just a single straight defined horizon.
 
I'd got for a 0.9 (3 stop) and a 1.8 (6 stop) if I were you. The 3 stop is ideal for when light levels are lower, dusk for example, when you want to just lengthen an exposure out, 6 stops is ideal for long exposures in low light when a 10 stop would just be overkill. I personally wouldn't get much use out of 1 and 2 stops, YMMV of course.

In grads I tend to use a 3 stop most, followed by a 2 stop, I can't remember when I last used a 1 stop.
 
I use a 0.6 & 0.9 hard grad and a 0.9 soft grad, seems to get me through most situations. I did use to have a 0.6 soft grad but rarely used it as the bit between clear and 0.6 at the top wasn't strong enough for my liking.

Plain ND wise, have a 3 stop which is handy at sunset/sunrise for lengthing exposure to a second or two, plan to get a Little Stopper as I never use my Big Stopper anymore!
 
Same here, as Mark, as far as the ND's go. I bought a ten stopper and to be honest am loathe to use it as it blurs running water to a mist and to me just looks way too unatural, a three stop in the watery winter light, and a six for the hard summer light would be just about spot on, ymmv. When it comes to Grads, often you can get away without the one stop by just underexposing a bit and bringing the shadows out in PP, the two stop gets the most use from me and to my fifty year old eyes looks the most natural, the three stop and above filters need a little more care as you can end up making the sky look unaturally dark compared to the rest of the frame, clouds arn't black. To be honest I reckon you can get away without the one stop but the other two are a must really...
 
For me personally. The 2 and 3 stop Reverse grads are a must as I tend to shoot at sunrise and sunset for an awful lot of my photography.

Another nice little bonus I have found is that by pushing my Lee 2 and 3 stop ND grads (soft or hard) right down so the lens is fully covered by the ND section, you create a solid ND filter thus saving a fortune on a separate set of standard ND's. I am also able to create any number of variations with my soft and hard, 2 and 3 stop grads ranging from 2 stops upto 7,8 or 9 stops (I have a big stopper for 10 stops). I use this technique on my 21mm lens so I cant say that it would still work if you went wider though!!!!
 
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Don't forget multiple exposure stacking. It is nowhere near as daunting as it sounds. You can take 2-3 identically framed shots from a tripod, process them all as the "most" correct exposure (copy settings acros) and match total exposure with Lightroom function. Ignore blown highlights and noisy shadows as you have it covered in the complementary frame. Then off they go to photoshop and it is just a few seconds job of masking the right areas out on the top layer. They should blend seamlessly without any additional effort. This works with even the most complex terrain.

When I want it simple and easy I settled with 0.75ND Lee hard. I also have 0.9 reverse grad which is not used as much since I preferably blend things. As it stands I am happy to let it go and have it listed.
 
[QUOTE="ST4, post: 6427202, member: 48reticentrecommend 2 and 3 stop graduated filters in soft and hard edged form.[/QUOTE]
Exactly the combo I use, I was quite reticent about the hard grads being a landscape photographer, thinking I'd end up with stark transitions from light to dark but I've found it not to be the case if used carefully! They are all useful at times but I usually wimp out and use the soft ones...
 
lonewolf1 said:
[QUOTE="ST4, post: 6427202, member: 48reticentrecommend 2 and 3 stop graduated filters in soft and hard edged form.
Click to expand...
Exactly the combo I use, I was quite reticent about the hard grads being a landscape photographer, thinking I'd end up with stark transitions from light to dark but I've found it not to be the case if used carefully! They are all useful at times but I usually wimp out and use the soft ones...[/QUOTE]

I use the softs a lot more. The hard edges come into their own with flat horizons ie sea scapes
 
Spot on!, ST4, It's nice to know that I'm using them right, that's basically how I do it, this coming from a bloke who... I'm not sure I should recount this but... Oh what the hell...
Stood in a lovely Bluebell wood this spring with a tripod mounted Fuji X-T1 and the 18-55mm Lens on it. Staring at the back screen almost in tears at how lovely the light looked thru the polarizer that I had on the front, having taken about two hundred shots and the battery was blinking furiously, out stayed my welcome and had a 45 minute walk back to Ambleside that I had to do in thirty... When I realized that there was no polarizer, I was wearing Sunglasses! :cool::arghh:
 
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When I used crop sensor DSLR's never used anything but H/E, the graduation line rarely shows on crop sensors, only chance is at very wide focal lengths. On full frame though (D800) it's a different matter and I find myself using the S/E all the time when out in the mountains, 0.6 and 0.9.. depends on the light which one, I find both useful

Simon
 
I'd recommend adding the 1and 2 hard edge GND and the 1, 2 and 3 stop soft edge GND.
 
I've always used the 1, 2 and 3 stop hard edge ND grads
 
simonkit said:
When I used crop sensor DSLR's never used anything but H/E, the graduation line rarely shows on crop sensors, only chance is at very wide focal lengths. On full frame though (D800) it's a different matter and I find myself using the S/E all the time when out in the mountains, 0.6 and 0.9.. depends on the light which one, I find both useful

Simon
Click to expand...

I think what I've got are hard edged Cokin filters. I've never noticed the edge before (using 50mm lenses, I think), but recently shot two films using them (one Portra 160 and the other Velvia 50), using 28mm and 35mm lenses with the grad filter for the first time, and in some shots the edges are very obvious. Perhaps they were the 28mm ones? Sadly I can't look at the metadata to find out!

Even more sadly the Velvia shots show quite a strong colour cast in the ND area. Perhaps I should spend more than £2 for a filter at a charity shop? :oops: :$:rolleyes::(
 
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