3 or 4 stop ND filter? For F1.2 & F2.0 lens

hobodan

hobodan

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Dan
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hello there

I’m looking to buy my first ND filter for shooting wide open in daylight, I’m not interested in long exposures, just handheld photography. A 58mm filter will fit both my 50mm 1.2 and 35mm f2 on my D750 (max 1/4000 shutter), I’m just having a hard time deciding which would be most suitable. I know there is no definitive answer as it depends on variables as what shutter speed I’m hoping to achieve, but my subjects are so varied I’m really just looking for what would be most useful. I guess it’s a case of will a 3 stop (nd8) not be dense enough, or will a 4 stop (nd16) be slightly to dense. Ultimately it will be trial and error, but I’m undecided which I should go for as a first experiment. I’m aware of the stop difference between F1.2 and f2, so I’d like priority given to the F1.2.

What would you opt for first time?

Thanks
 
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I know they often receive a bad press but have you considered a good quality variable ND, avoid the 'danger' zone and IMO they work well (I use one when I need more flash power than I can get when using HSS to keep a wide aperture and shutter below max synch)....
 
PhilH04 said:
I know they often receive a bad press but have you considered a good quality variable ND, avoid the 'danger' zone and IMO they work well (I use one when I need more flash power than I can get when using HSS to keep a wide aperture and shutter below max synch)....
Click to expand...


What brand would you recommend? I've been thinking of getting one for video in strong sunlight, but like OP not sure what grade
 
Cagey75 said:
What brand would you recommend? I've been thinking of getting one for video in strong sunlight, but like OP not sure what grade
Click to expand...
After a lot of comparing, reading and asking the same sort of questions I went with a Hoya, the cost if I remember correctly was about the £100 mark. For what I use it for I see only a negligible amount of colour shift and any degradation in image quality is hardly discernible under normal viewing etc...

HTH
 
Thanks for the input. I will definitely be buying Hoya, although the variable is substantially more expensive than a 3-4 stop, so I’ll probably go that route. Still undecided what strength density though...
 
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