Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
John, could you provide a link to this? I looked but couldn't find any info on it...
Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
John, could you provide a link to this? I looked but couldn't find any info on it...
Apologies for the confusion, Sean. Technically it's not B+W, but rather their parent company, Schneider Optics. They market this set under a different line. Here's the link to the 77mm True Match Vari-ND kit. There's also a 95mm version.
FWIW, Schneider also produces the only Schott glass ND and graduated ND rectangular filters that I know of (vs. Lee, Singh-Ray, Cokin, which are all resin). They're targeted to the cine crowd, thus sold as the MPTV line (motion picture television), but they'll work fine for stills. B&H carries many of them in 4x5.65".
Originally Posted by HDNitehawk
A similar topic came up in a recent dPS article:Comparing Gradient Neutral Density Filters To Lightroom Gradient Tool. The author's conclusion was that, "...using tools in the computer after the fact is not a replacement for making sure data is captured correctly to begin with."
The problem with HDR for landscape shots is movement - wind in trees, waves, etc., all cause ghosting in HDR images.
This morning it was very bright so I took fitted my Genus ND Fader Filter onto my 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5. At 10mm, the cross-hatch pattern does indeed appear when you rotate the filter close to the maximum setting. However, it looked pretty clean at the 3/4 marker (except for a extra vignetting in two corners...it looks like I was just on the fringe of where the cross-hatching would start). If I had backed it off a bit more, I'm pretty sure the 2 corner vignetting would have disappeared. Anyway, at that opacity, I was able to shoot at f/16 for 1/8 second to get the following shot:
Thanks for the testing, Sean! That's certainly acceptable - and importantly for me, the Genus Vari-ND comes in an 82mm filter (which fits my EF 16-35mm f/2.8<span style="color: #ff0000;"]L II and TS-E 24mm f/3.5<span style="color: #ff0000;"]L II - else, the darkest screw-in ND available is merely 2 stops).
Any idea how many stops (approximately) that 3/4 setting on the vari-ND represents?
--John
When going that wide, does a step-ring help or hurt? Say you buy a really oversized Vari and use a ring, does that allow you to use more of the adjustment because the lens isn
Words get in the way of what I meant to say.
Wow, lots of info here that I wasn't aware of! I wish I would have known some of this before I took my first waterfall photos on Friday using my Genus ND Fader filter! I think I would have done alittle testing with that and my B+W ND filter.
I already posted this in another thread but here seems appropriate also. This shot of a small waterfall was taken midday w/ partial shade and direct bright sun in some spots.
I'm looking forward to seeing some photos when you get back from your trip andgetting some more education!
Denise
Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
To be honest, I'm unsure. It's not a linear progression when it comes to the opacity, so I know it's not 6 stops. I'll try to remember to do another test tomorrow to see how many stops it is at the 3/4s marker.
-Sean
Rick. I am at niagara falls. Got in last night so my first shots where this morning. To get good blur of the water I needed longer exposure than with a smaller falls (water has further to fall?). Anyways, I needed ~1-2 sec instead of the 1/4 to 1/2 sec with smaller falls. I ended up at 2 sec f/22 iso 100 with the 106. I may stack the cpl to get down around f/11, but you may also want to consider the B+w 110.
Andnowiambroke. The step up rings neither help nor hurt. The two factors you mention offset each other. At least with my set up of the 72-77 mm step up. Ultimately I get similar vignetting with a 77 mm cpl and step up ring as the 72 mm cpl. Perhaps I
Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
I did another quick test today. This time, I used shutter priority so that my shutter speed was constant. With the Genus set to the 3/4s mark, the camera set the aperture to f/5. With the ND filter off, the camera set the aperture to f/16. That's means you can achieve approximately a 3 1/3 stop reduction on a 16mm equivalent focal length without obvious cross hatching. With longer focal length, I imagine you could push more. Keep in mind, the rest of the 3.33 - 8 stop reduction comes in the last fourth of the markers. The change goes from very gradual to very sharp at the end. That said, the filter does a pretty good job of holding to a setting once you've got it fine tuned.