2 new filters

[karlwilson1986]

Hey all

i just got myself 2 new filters ND4 and ND8 and i have no idea when to use which and what on ha ha i can hear you all say why did you buy them then ha ha but i know that they are good for moving water shots but thats about it

any advice on what else they can be used for would be greatly apprechiated


Thanks

Karl

 

[HoppyUK]

They just reduce the amount of light, a bit like dark glasses. ND4 is two stops, ND8 is three stops - not very dark.

If your normal shutter speed is 1/250sec, then with the ND8 it would be reduced to 1/30sec - not really enough to get blurred water in bright daylight with anything other than fountains maybe. You need more like six stops or even ten stops for that kind of effect with waterfalls, waves or clouds, to get the shutter speed down to 1/2sec or even several whole seconds.

You can also use lighter ND filters to get a low f/number in bright light, for shallow depth of field maybe.

Light ND filters like ND4 and 8 are perhaps not dark enough to get really blurry stuff.