Looking at buying a neutral density filter, curious if its worth the cost, if so any recommendations are welcome. thanks in advance!
Looking at buying a neutral density filter, curious if its worth the cost, if so any recommendations are welcome. thanks in advance!
It depends on what you shoot. If you shoot lots of landscapes and want longer exposures, they would probably be an excellent investment. A simple polarizer can also work as a ~2-stop ND filter.
Hope this helps. :-)
--Johan
The ND filter's primary use is for situations where you have bright light, but want to use a slow shutter speed and/or wide aperture. If you've seen pictures of flowing water or waterfalls where the water looks like a sheet, those were taken with a slow shutter speed. You can also show rain/snow/hail by slowing the shutter speed so that the drops/snowflakes/hailstones make streaks. (I had to do that about a week ago.) You might want to use a wide aperture to get a blurred background. If you have strong light, you might not be able to set the ISO low enough to be able to use the slow shutter speed and/or wide aperture, so a neutral density filter can help by cutting down the light.
The most useful ND filter is probably the ND4, 4x or 0.6, which drops the light by 2 stops (a factor of 4). Next would be the ND8/8x/0.9, which drops the light by 3 stops (factor of 8). There are ND2/2x/0.3 (1 stop) ND filters, but they don't do much. There are also heavier ND filters, but they will probably be difficult or impossible to focus through. You can also stack ND filters--an ND4 + ND8 would drop the light by 5 stops (factor of 32).
As Johan said, you can use a polarizer as a ND filter, though many current polarizers are "lighter" than 2 stops.
I'd suggest that you have at least an ND4 and a circular polarizer (CPL) filter for your lenses. You can probably do OK by getting filters in the largest size you would need--or might need (for Canon, that would probably be 77mm)--and using step-up rings to fit lenses with smaller filter threads. The only drawback would be that you may not be able to use a lens hood and the filters at the same time. For that reason, I have CPL and ND filters in 52mm, 58mm, 67mm, and 77mm. (I also use the 52mm with my Canon S3 IS superzoom and Lensmate adapter.)
Get good quality filters. Cheap filters can be worse than nothing. The minimum I'd get would be the Hoya "purple box" (or "Standard") filters. (Avoid the Hoya "green box" filters; they are low-quality, made in the Philippines.) Hoya Multi-coated (HMC) filters are better. (The multi-coating helps prevent reflections from the filter's surfaces.) Hoya also makes "Super HMC" or SHMC filters in some types. They have slimmer rings and better multi-coating. (Some do not have front threads, so you'd have to use a push-on lens cap. That's not necessarily a problem with CPL filters, as they are usually on only when you're shooting.) Hoya also makes "Pro 1" or "Pro 1 Digital" filters and "HD" filters, but they are quite expensive.
A more economical choice, but available only online or on eBay, are the Kenko filters. They're made by the same company that makes Hoya filters (THK--Tokina, Hoya, Kenko) but are a bit cheaper. The Kenko Pro1 filters are quite nice, with "slim" rings (avoids vignetting with very wide-angle lenses) that have front threads (unlike B+W's "slim" filters) and serious multicoating.
The most "robust" filters are probably the B+W filters from Germany.
(Get the brass rings, not the "alloy" rings you'll see sold by many Chinese sellers.) B+W MRC (multi-resistant coated) f-Pro (slimmer rings)
filters are quite good, but EXPENSIVE. (Forget Heliopan unless you have money to burn.)
Tiffen filters are generally NOT multi-coated, as they use a film sandwiched between two pieces of glass. (I've read that Tiffen also makes the Canon filters.) On the other hand, Tiffen is the darling of the movie & TV industry, as they make all sorts of light-modifying filters (e.g., Soft Contrast, Low Contrast, Ultra Contrast, Soft F/X, Black Diffusion, Pro-Mist) that help with video.
My UV and CPL filters are HMC, SHMC, B+W MRC, Hoya Pro1 or Kenko Pro1. I do have some Tiffen ND4 filters, but will gradually replace those with Hoya HMC or Kenko Pro 1.
One thing to note is that not all "neutral density" filters are really neutral: some have a definite color cast. (The Cokin resin ND filters are noted for this.) That isn't necessarily a "bad" thing and can be corrected with white balance, but it's something to consider.
There are several options for carrying filters in your camera bag. A lot of people just use the boxes the filters come in. That is cheap and protects the filter, but the boxes are a bit bulky. Other options include filter wallets, but they usually have more slots (often 4 or 6) than you'll need--they're a hang-over from film cameras, where one needed "color correction" (e.g., 81 or 82 series) and "conversion" (80, 85 and FL series) filters to match the lighting to the film you were using. (There are other filters--red, yellow, green, orange--for black & white, to change contrast.) Op/Tech makes a neat and inexpensive filter pouch that can hold two filters up to 77mm. (Much smaller filters, like 52mm or smaller, can be a bit inconvenient to get out.) I keep my 77mm CPL and ND4 filters in one. (For what it's worth, in most cases, I don't bother taking off the UV filter to use the CPL or ND filters, except with my Sigma 10-20mm ultra-wide-angle lens, as vignetting isn't usually a problem, especially as I use a Kenko Pro 1 77mm CPL filter that has a thin ring.) If you're going to carry a bunch of filters (I have over 60 77mm filters and carry about 8 in addition to the ND4 & CPL), a set of metal stack caps is the most compact method, though it's not as convenient to use as a wallet.
George Slusher
Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
Eugene, OR
George.....I've been reading about ND filters and yours (on this site) seem to be the most comprehensive.
I'm heading to Monument Valley area late September and will have many middle of the day photo ops. I have a B&W CPF, so here are my questions; 1, do you think I'll need a ND/graduated ND? 2, if so will the ND4 suffice?
Lenses I'll be using are the 17-55 2.8 IS and 100-400 IS.
Yes, I plan on being up for the sunrises and taking advantage of the sunsets also.
Thanks
Bill
George,
Absolutely excellent write up. In my personal experience I have drawn the exact same conclusions regarding Hoya, Tiffen, & Canon filters. I only have one B+W UVwhich I can neither praise nor criticize. I own a couple of Quantaray Pro CPLs I've been toldare rebranded Hoyas, possibly the THK--Tokina, Hoya, Kenko you eluded too. I've been very happy with them.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I'm marking this one as a favorite in case I ever need a quickreference on filters.
Matt,
ND filters are useful in certain situations. I went with two 3 stop NDs and a CPL. This combo will vignette on really wide lenses when stacked (I use a Sigma 10-20 and have to zoom it to about 12mm) but offers the option of 2 stops, 3 stops, 5 stops, 6 stops and 8 stops.
Since I rarely use the NDs, I bought used Tiffens from B&H and saved some $$$. The image quality I'm getting with them seems to be ok.
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