ND filter

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erasmus666

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I'm taking my Nikon D800 and 24-120 lens on holiday to Egypt in May. Nikon Support has advised that I invest in an ND filter owing to the brightness in the desert. I agree. However, I'd appreciate suggestions as to two matters: strength and fixed OR variable. The advantage of a fixed is that I can simply attach it and concentrate on compositiona and enjoying the place I'm visiting. The advantage of the variable is that I can tweak the strength to get the shot I want. However, the downside is that I'll be in a tour group where I may not have time to spend playing around with settings. It may be a case of 'look, shoot and move on' which is a situation I've faced whilst on holiday where the majority simply point their smartphones at the scene, click and see what's next. I should say that the filter has to be suitable for use back in the U.K where the weather isn't quite so sunny. The first filter I looked at was the Hoya 77mm Pro ND 64 as I've already got their top-end UV and PL filters. However, I'm open to suggestions as to what to get. Many thanks for taking the time to read all of this and I look forward to reading your thoughts in due course.

​

 
I'm not sure an ND filter is necessary. Even in extremely bright conditions 1/8000th shutter speed should be fine for many situations.

An ND filter *may* be needed if you want to shoot at f4 in very bright condition or if you plan to shoot video. I've not been to the desert, but often in snowy mountains and for photos my goto is ND8 filter. For wide open video you may need more....but why do that when most likely you want to capture the whole desert scene sharp from front to back?
 
I think the downside to variable is the chance of it ruining the skies on wider focal lengths. It apparently darkens it in an odd way sometimes much like using a polariser on a really wide lens with plain skies. Settings would probably be okay though and fast enough if you were shooting in Av

I sometimes use a 3 stop in bright conditions but then I'm often at f/1.2-1.4 so.....
 
Variable NDs are basically polarisers - 2 mounted one in front of the other.

FWIW, I do a fair amount of shooting on Crete in June so not a million miles away from Egyptian latitudes and I've never needed an ND BUT I'm not a huge fan of wide apertures. If I did feel the need to get one, I reckon it would be a 2 or 3 stopper.
 
I'm probably going to go against the tide here but I use a variable ND filter and find the results to be perfectly acceptable. I also have a set of 100mm square ND filters but the adjustable is simply easier and quicker to use so you will likely take less time over each shot compared to fitting the filter holder, putting the filter in place (maybe adding a second one) before finally clicking the shutter. In my case (whenever I feel the need to use a filter) I leave the adjustable filter attached to the lens and all I have to do is rotate the control to get the amount of filtration that I need for each shot.

I would say be careful not to buy a really cheap adjustable filter as they can be prone to odd effects with a dark "X" across the image. The one I bought was this one - https://www.kentfaith.co.uk/KF01.10...density-and-circular-polarizing-filter-coated - which has a built-in polarising filter.
 
I've shot (on film) back in the 90's/00's in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Namibia in the Sahara, Sahel, Namib and Kalahari, never with ND but sometimes with a polariser, and even at wider apertures have been able to compensate with shutter speed sufficiently. Remember that you'll most likely be out in the sun in the morning from very early until about 11 and afternoon from maybe 3, as the tours usually give you a siesta break to compensate for starting very early in the morning (at least that was my experience in Egypt) and a break from the hottest part of the day.
 
I don't see the value in a 3 stop ND (I can always jack up the ISO to get the aperture I want, but I can't drop it below the base of the range) - so I tend to carry a 6 stop and compensate the other 3 stops using the ISO (but it gives the flexibility that by modifying the ISO I can essentially turn it into a 0-6 stop variable albeit in ½ or ⅓ stop intervals)

I also usually have a 12 stop about me for more extreme compensation.
 
Bristolian said:
I'm probably going to go against the tide here but I use a variable ND filter and find the results to be perfectly acceptable.
Click to expand...
I also use a variable 8 stop ND. It has the advantage of being able to choose your camera settings and then dial in the exposure with the filter (i.e. center the meter). Or to be able to set it low for focus and then set it high for the long exposure w/o (much) risk of changing the composition/focus. At 24mm+ IDT there will be much issue with the banding/cross pattern a variable can cause... it's most prominent below ~ 20mm.
 
hunnymonster said:
I don't see the value in a 3 stop ND (I can always jack up the ISO to get the aperture I want, but I can't drop it below the base of the range) - so I tend to carry a 6 stop and compensate the other 3 stops using the ISO (but it gives the flexibility that by modifying the ISO I can essentially turn it into a 0-6 stop variable albeit in ½ or ⅓ stop intervals)

I also usually have a 12 stop about me for more extreme compensation.
Click to expand...

I think you've got that the wrong way around RE a 3 stop.

If I'm at ISO100, f/1.4 & hitting 1/8000th jacking the ISO up 3 stops is going to take me to 1/64000 isn't it?
 
I don't think a neutral density filter is needed for general still photography.

Even at mid-day in the Negev, I shot FP4 film without any recourse to such a thing. On the other hand, a really effective lens hood is essential.

This young woman (recorded in July 1968 around lunchtime) will be a grandmother now...

Masada Israel Pentacon FM 1968 01-28.jpg
 
hunnymonster said:
I don't see the value in a 3 stop ND (I can always jack up the ISO to get the aperture I want, but I can't drop it below the base of the range) - so I tend to carry a 6 stop and compensate the other 3 stops using the ISO (but it gives the flexibility that by modifying the ISO I can essentially turn it into a 0-6 stop variable albeit in ½ or ⅓ stop intervals)

I also usually have a 12 stop about me for more extreme compensation.
Click to expand...
12 stop for general shooting? I imagine you’re going for a long exposure using a 12 stop?
 
erasmus666 said:
I'm taking my Nikon D800 and 24-120 lens on holiday to Egypt in May. Nikon Support has advised that I invest in an ND filter owing to the brightness in the desert. I agree. However, I'd appreciate suggestions as to two matters: strength and fixed OR variable. The advantage of a fixed is that I can simply attach it and concentrate on compositiona and enjoying the place I'm visiting. The advantage of the variable is that I can tweak the strength to get the shot I want. However, the downside is that I'll be in a tour group where I may not have time to spend playing around with settings. It may be a case of 'look, shoot and move on' which is a situation I've faced whilst on holiday where the majority simply point their smartphones at the scene, click and see what's next. I should say that the filter has to be suitable for use back in the U.K where the weather isn't quite so sunny. The first filter I looked at was the Hoya 77mm Pro ND 64 as I've already got their top-end UV and PL filters. However, I'm open to suggestions as to what to get. Many thanks for taking the time to read all of this and I look forward to reading your thoughts in due course.

​

Click to expand...
I’d be very surprised if you need an ND filter with an f4 lens, unless of course you plan on shooting long exposures? I shot at ISO 100 f1.8 in bright sunny Dubai late May and shutter speed was 1/16000. At f4 that’s going to give you shutter speed of 1/3200. Doing general landscapes and cityscapes you’re likely to be shooting at f8-11 which will give you shutter speeds of 1/800 and 1/400 respectively.

Based on this Egypt’s going to have to be much brighter for you to reach the 1/8000 shutter limit of the D800, even then you can use your low iso settings.

If you’re wanting to do slow shutter work then I’d go with a big stopper. I have no experience of variable ND’s, I’m not sure how much these affect image quality vs non variable ND’s
 
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