B+W ND Filter

N

nikonuser

Messages
2,537
Name
Dave
Edit My Images
Yes
I'm going to buy a B+W ND Filter to try out a new area in my photography namely seascapes and smoothing out water flows.
Could someone please help me to decide which filter I should go for, as I have read that the B+W (3) 10 stop is the best one but in some of the write ups it says that this would be for photos of hot furnace work etc.
If not this filter then would the B+W 1.8 or 0.9 be another option.
Appreciate any help.
Dave
 
The 10 stop is the one I have. It is very dense, so will result in totally smoothed out water. It's a good filter though. If you still want to retain some water movement, then go for a less dense one.
 
Thanks I have read some good reports on the 10 stop one so will follow your lead and go for that one.
thanks again
Dave
 
B+W make the only really dark screw-in (which is what you need) ND filter available in the UK (Hoya 9-stops is available to special order only).

1.8 is six stops and 0.9 only three stops. The density you need is entirely down to how long you want the exposure time to be, but most people opt for the ten-stopper for the kind of thing you're describing.

Be sure to use the eyepiece blind or light will leak in to the viewfinder and through chinks around the mirror and ruin everything ;) If you run a search there's a lot of stuff here about using ND filters.
 
Thanks HoppyUK for the great info.
Dave
 
Warehouse Express or Speedgraphics although the latter are out of stock at the moment on the 77mm ones.
Dave
 
I got mine from Amazon for £67 with free postage, turned up last night (ordered Sat) and is as dark as a very dark thing ...

Not to thread drift too much but could some experiened bod please explain exactly how to use one. I know about metering with the filter off then stopping up the shutter speed 10 stops, but how do focus ??? If I focus auto focus with the filter off do I then swith to manual focus on the lens, camera or both before shooting ???

Please explain every step cos I am denser than the ten stop filter I'm trying to use.

Cheers, and sorry to thread jack a little bit.
 
I too would welcome some feedback on setting up please.
I'm no expert but my first thoughts would be to:
1. Shoot in RAW
2. Set camera to manual find desired aperture and shutter speed
3. Set lens to manual and manual focus on target
4. Close down the cameras eye pieces to prevent extraneous light getting in
5. Fit the ND filter
6. Identify shutter speed to be used eg: if 10 stop filter and shutter speed in 2 above is 1/30 then set ss to be 30 seconds
7. set self timer or use a cable release
8. Take picture and keep fingers crossed

I would welcome to be corrected on the above please.
Thanks
Dave
 
Simonhi said:
I got mine from Amazon for £67 with free postage, turned up last night (ordered Sat) and is as dark as a very dark thing ...
Click to expand...

Can you give me a link to that one bud? I can't find a B+W ten stop ND on Amazon in 77mm. I'll have one at that price!
 
nikonuser said:
I too would welcome some feedback on setting up please.
I'm no expert but my first thoughts would be to:
1. Shoot in RAW
2. Set camera to manual find desired aperture and shutter speed
3. Set lens to manual and manual focus on target
4. Close down the cameras eye pieces to prevent extraneous light getting in
5. Fit the ND filter
6. Identify shutter speed to be used eg: if 10 stop filter and shutter speed in 2 above is 1/30 then set ss to be 30 seconds
7. set self timer or use a cable release
8. Take picture and keep fingers crossed

I would welcome to be corrected on the above please.
Thanks
Dave
Click to expand...

Sounds pretty good Dave :thumbs: Especially #4.

There's no need to shoot in Raw, unless your normally do. However, almost all heavy ND filters are not quite neutral so if you don't shoot Raw (and so can adjust colour in post processing) you will get better results doing a custom white balance. To save time on the actual shoot, I do a custom white balance at home (asuming the light will be the same) and just leave the reference pic on the card so I can just click on it any time, or save it in one of the custom settings if your camera has that option.

Don't forget to switch noise reduction on, and remember that it will lock up the camera for the same time as the shutter speed while it processes the image.

Be prepared to try different exposure settings for best results. This can be frustrating especially when the light from a dramatic sky is fading fast and it seems to take for ever. You can dramatically shorten this process by increasing ISO and lowering the f/number in order to get an accurate exposure setting, then switch back to optimum settings for the actual picture.

I'm not sure how accurate the 'ten stops' of those B+W filters is. Not saying they're miles out but it's worth doing some test shots to see exactly what's what. Even if it's 95% accurate, that's half a stop out over ten stops, which if you're on a 20 seconds exposure, is ten seconds difference :eek:

If you shoot with a very wide angle, you will get quite strong vignetting - darkened corners. This is because the lens is looking through the side of the filter at an angle so it effectively becomes thicker and more dense towards the edges. It's not a fault and you might quite like the effect, easy enough to get rid of in post processing (or some cameras have 'peripheral light control' built in).
 
Thanks hoppyUK ..... great information and much appreciated.
I normally shoot RAW but have read where you can get a colour cast with these filters so that may be another reason why RAW is important.
Was I right in No3 - setting the lens to manual and then manually focussing, it was just an educated guess on my part.
thanks again
Dave
 
HoppyUK said:
Can you give me a link to that one bud? I can't find a B+W ten stop ND on Amazon in 77mm. I'll have one at that price!
Click to expand...

I can't find it on there now HoppyUK ... It did say one when I ordered it so it must have been the last one.

I think it was from Cameraking, I'll check the invoice when I get home and let you know via PM. :thumbs:
 
nikonuser said:
Thanks hoppyUK ..... great information and much appreciated.
I normally shoot RAW but have read where you can get a colour cast with these filters so that may be another reason why RAW is important.
Was I right in No3 - setting the lens to manual and then manually focussing, it was just an educated guess on my part.
thanks again
Dave
Click to expand...

I think you can still use Auto-focus, checking that it is in focus, even take a quick shot and "chimp" it, just be sure. Then you can switch to manual focus before you take the shot.

The only thing i'm not certain of is whether to switch the camera, lens or both to manual focus, I think either option will work, i'll get out this wekeend and try it.
 
www.LandscapePhotographyOnline.com
Neutral Density Filter Chart
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exposure Length --------------------------------------------------------------------------|
No ND
filter 1/8000s 1/4000s 1/2000s 1/1000s 1/500s 1/250s 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s No ND
filter
1 stop 1/4000s 1/2000s 1/1000s 1/500s 1/250s 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 1 stop
2 stops 1/2000s 1/1000s 1/500s 1/250s 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 2 stops
3 stops 1/1000s 1/500s 1/250s 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 3 stops
4 stops 1/500s 1/250s 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 4 stops
5 stops 1/250s 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 5 stops
6 stops 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 32 min 6 stops
7 stops 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 32 min 1 hr
4 min 7 stops
8 stops 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 32 min 1 hr
4 min
2 hr
8 min 8 stops
9 stops 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 32 min 1 hr
4 min
2 hr
8 min
4 hr
16 min 9 stops
10 stops 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 32 min 1 hr
4 min
2 hr
8 min
4 hr
16 min
8 hr
32 min 10 stops
11 stops 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1 min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 32 min 1 hr
4 min
2 hr
8 min
4 hr
16 min
8 hr
32 min
17 hr
4 min 11 stops
12 stops 1/2s 1s 2s 4s 8s 15s 30s 1min 2 min 4 min 8 min 16 min 32 min 1 hr
4 min
2 hr
8 min
4 hr
16 min
8 hr
32 min
17 hr
4 min
1 day
10 hr
8 min
12 stops
Using this chart:
– The blue row represents your unfiltered exposure time. Measure this with your camera in aperture priority mode using your desired f-stop, and then switch to manual mode.
– Set the same aperture you selected in step one, and set the exposure time to whichever figure corresponds to your filter strength. When you need exposures of more than 30s,
you will need to switch to bulb mode and time the exposure with a stopwatch. Please read your camera manual for more information on bulb mode.
– Those of you who are fully confident working in manual mode will be able to measure the unfiltered exposure length in manual mode, and then simply adjust the exposure
length as required.
Document Author: Stephen Dickey
www.StephenDickey.co.uk
 
Look forward to your feedback Simon
 
nikonuser said:
I too would welcome some feedback on setting up please.
I'm no expert but my first thoughts would be to:
1. Shoot in RAW
2. Set camera to manual find desired aperture and shutter speed
3. Set lens to manual and manual focus on target
4. Close down the cameras eye pieces to prevent extraneous light getting in
5. Fit the ND filter
6. Identify shutter speed to be used eg: if 10 stop filter and shutter speed in 2 above is 1/30 then set ss to be 30 seconds
7. set self timer or use a cable release
8. Take picture and keep fingers crossed

I would welcome to be corrected on the above please.
Thanks
Dave
Click to expand...


That won't see you wrong but is possibly a bit long-winded. Your camera will meter pretty well through the filter as long as you have properly covered your viewfinder. Just remember to check your exposure histograms and use appropriate compensation. I find I sometimes need a bit of +ve but suspect that's because the viewfinder cover isn't totally lightproof. If you have live view, use it as it makes composition and focussing easy with the filter on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top