can anyone tell me please what is an ND filter and what is it good for? thank you
can anyone tell me please what is an ND filter and what is it good for? thank you
ND is neutral density, or perhaps "grey" filter. It makes your shot darker.
Folks often become familiar with a GND, or graduated neutral density, filter first. It's usually square, tinted grey on one half and clear on the other. It's slid in front of your lens, and often used to darken skies to balance bright skies against dark foreground.
ND filters were common in film days, when you might have high-speed film in the camera but need the aperture/shutter performance of lower-speed film.
I've wished for some ND filters in my bag at times when using a fast lens (85/1.2) outside and wanted thin DoF but slow shutter speeds. Even on ISO "50", f/1.2 was resulting in speeds of 1/2500 or a little faster. Had I used a 5-stop ND (if such an animal exists), I'd have shutter speeds of 1/60th or so, creating some motion blur in my shot but keeping the thin DoF.
We're a Canon/Profoto family: five cameras, sixteen lenses, fifteen Profoto lights, too many modifiers.
Originally Posted by peety3
I'm aware of 1-, 2-, and 3-stop NDs and I know that Hoya does an extreme 9-stop (!!!) ND. Don't know about a 5-stop one. But you could have stacked a 2- and a 3-stop ND to get the desired effect. :-)
Tony
Yeah, I'm a believer in good filters (Hoya, B+W, etc.), especially when it's in front of good glass like the 85/1.2. However, they're pricey, and hence I have no ND filters in my bag. I just calculated the number of stops needed to get my shutter speeds down to where I'd wanted them.
We're a Canon/Profoto family: five cameras, sixteen lenses, fifteen Profoto lights, too many modifiers.
Does anyone have any experience with Singh-Ray filters? I'm trying to talk myself into buying their Variable Neutral Density Filter (http://www.singh-ray.com/varind.html), but I'm unfamiliar with the brand.
Personally, I've never heard of them. Looking at their site and their prices, they seem pretty high end.
Does this just consist of two counter-rotating circular polarizers? Hoya has such a filter too (called the Pola Fader). But I can only find it for threads up to 58mm.
Tony
Me too! The filters I use most often (UV Protectors and my beloved Circular Polarizer) are MRC B+W. But I didn't want to spend that much money on the ones I use once in a blue moon. So I have Hoya NDs and a Tiffen grad ND.
Tony
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