Decent filter system needed - Help please!

:D
7dayshop do a varible nd filter at several sizes, i think it might have a colour cast, but only used it photographing the fireplace so not sure
 
pingu666 said:
:D
7dayshop do a varible nd filter at several sizes, i think it might have a colour cast, but only used it photographing the fireplace so not sure
Click to expand...

A 10 stop filter is something rather special, Pingu. They are very dark, only letting through 0.1% of the light. They turn a daylight scene as dark as night. Which allows you to take very long exposures. Do a Google image search for "10 stop ND filter" to see what i mean.

The 6 stop maximum of the variable filter doesn't cut the mustard.

Andrew
 
my variable one can go pretty much solid black, but i dont know what thats equivlent to in stops, doesnt say on 7dayshop website :(

but my camera only does upto 30sec, or "bulb" upto 30mins or something, so id have to get something to hold the shutter button on remote closed :)
 
Phate said:
Hey Gaffer,

Not going to go the welding glass route...this is going to be an almost once in a lifetime trip for me. So a proper filter system it is.

Thanks,
Jake
Click to expand...

Make sure you get a good circular polariser. That doubles up as a 2 stop ND filter anyway. If you are a re shooting a modern body then ISO 50 is very good, combined with stopping down to f/16 you are going to get a plenty long enough exposure for most shots like waterfalls, streams etc. and it should be long enough for oceans shots as the sun sets.

Like lens, filters are expensive but depreciate slowly. Look second hand and you may find that over a 5 years period you have barely lost any money if you need to resell it.
 
pingu666 said:
my variable one can go pretty much solid black, but i dont know what thats equivlent to in stops, doesnt say on 7dayshop website :(

but my camera only does upto 30sec, or "bulb" upto 30mins or something, so id have to get something to hold the shutter button on remote closed :)
Click to expand...

Buy a remote trigger for a few quid.

All cameras are limited to about 30s unless in bulb mode.
 
I have a remote trigger :)
but for longer than 30sec exposures i would have the remotes button pressed down in some way, not a big deal for me atm anyways :)
 
D.P. said:
Make sure you get a good circular polariser. That doubles up as a 2 stop ND filter anyway. If you are a re shooting a modern body then ISO 50 is very good, combined with stopping down to f/16 you are going to get a plenty long enough exposure for most shots like waterfalls, streams etc. and it should be long enough for oceans shots as the sun sets.

Like lens, filters are expensive but depreciate slowly. Look second hand and you may find that over a 5 years period you have barely lost any money if you need to resell it.
Click to expand...

A circ polariser as well as the 10stop? o.0

Or am I being a noob?
 
It's ok guys, Gaffer is lending me a 10 stop screw on :)

If I find I miss it when I get back, I'll pick myself one up. :)
 
D.P. said:
Make sure you get a good circular polariser. That doubles up as a 2 stop ND filter anyway. If you are a re shooting a modern body then ISO 50 is very good, combined with stopping down to f/16 you are going to get a plenty long enough exposure for most shots like waterfalls, streams etc. and it should be long enough for oceans shots as the sun sets.

Like lens, filters are expensive but depreciate slowly. Look second hand and you may find that over a 5 years period you have barely lost any money if you need to resell it.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^
This.......

CPL and ISO50 gets you a long way, it's the way I would do it.
My Contax actualy goes down to ISO25 so gets me another stop.
Also probably no harm in over exposing by 1 stop..... This could for example mean a 1 second exposure instead of a half, which would be a considerable amount more movement in the subject.
Experiment before splashing out ........
 
Phate said:
A circ polariser as well as the 10stop? o.0

Or am I being a noob?
Click to expand...

A circ polariser is far more important than a 10stop, a CPL lives on mor of my lenses, I don't even own a 10stop ND

A CPL is the single most important filter you can buy. A 10 stop ND is very specialized mostly for taking very long exposures in the middle of the day, which just gives strange photos because the lighting is still poor. A CPL takes about 2 stops so if you are shooting at sunrise or sunset, stop down a little more and go to base ISO you normally get a shutter speed slow enough for what most scenarios would need.


If you don't own a CPL then that is a far higher priority than a 10 stop ND.
 
I don't in general, really use filters as such as mainly my work is people.

We are getting the 10 stop ND's for long exposures in Iceland Daytime, so it's very specific for that job.

I should get a CPL incase we come across any areas where it has large but shallow pockets of water. Hmm, will investigate. Haven't had one for a long time!
 
CPL are more than cutting down reflections of just making blue sky darker.... They improve the clarity of the picture, improve the saturation and colour rendition and give a general improvement in the image quality..... as D.P. says single most important filter.
 
9designs2 said:
^^^^^^^
This.......

CPL and ISO50 gets you a long way, it's the way I would do it.
My Contax actualy goes down to ISO25 so gets me another stop.
Also probably no harm in over exposing by 1 stop..... This could for example mean a 1 second exposure instead of a half, which would be a considerable amount more movement in the subject.
Experiment before splashing out ........
Click to expand...

Iso 50 is a false iso. It's no different than overexpsing and then reducing exposure by a stop in post. Over exposing an additional stop, you end up with 2 stops of everexposure. This is not a good idea, particularly with landscapes as you will end up with unrecoverable highlight detail.

Op if your going to make the effort and expense to undertake such a trip then don't cheap out on filters.
 
Op, im going to be purchasing the below filter. It apparently resolves just as much detail as the bw, but doesn't have as warm colour cast as the bw. Colour cast make no odds anyway, as youl need to correct in post, as no 10 stop filter is accurate. Maybe it's possible to do a custom white balance though, at least so you can see an accurate representation of the results your getting.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251127970315?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619
 
An Exception said:
Iso 50 is a false iso. It's no different than overexpsing and then reducing exposure by a stop in post. Over exposing an additional stop, you end up with 2 stops of everexposure. This is not a good idea, particularly with landscapes as you will end up with unrecoverable highlight detail.

Op if your going to make the effort and expense to undertake such a trip then don't cheap out on filters.
Click to expand...

That would be camera specific.... perhaps your new fancy sensor cameras can't do real low ISO ;) ...... My vintage Contax ND does a genuine 25.
So you should set to the lowest, non extend setting the camera in questions offers.....

Just depends how much movement your looking for..... a minute at mid day doesn't leave much option other than a 10 stopper .....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom