help with nd grads

[garymicheal]

just bought a starter set of nd grads and would like a little help or should i say confirmation ! when i come to use them with my 10-22 lens am i right in thinking i meter / focus etc. before the filters are fitted ? any help would be gratefully received :shrug:

 

[puddleduck]

The great thing about digital is that shots are free, so experimentation will quickly yield the answer.

Generally you don't need to do anything different with regards to focusing or metering - most matrix / evaluative systems already compensate for ND Grads correctly, and they have no impact on focusing at all.

You could spot meter on the foreground then compensate by your Grad strength in Manual Exposure mode, but you probably won't gain anything over matrix / evaluative.

 

[Dogfish_magnet]

One way of using them is use aperture priority and spot metering - then set your desired aperture then meter the foreground and remember the shutter speed , then meter the sky and work out the how many stops difference there is between the foreground and sky readings, stick the closet NDgrad or combination of NDgrads onto the lens switch the camera to manual and dial in the aperture used to get the original meter readings and the shutter you metered for the foreground. Take the image.

 

[HoppyUK]

Agree with Puddleduck. Just meter using evaluative and you'll be pretty close, then check the LCD/blinkies/histogram for fine tuning.

You'll probably need to adjust the aperture anyway as the f/number makes a big difference to how dark the grad appears and how hard the transition line is. It's a depth of field effect and higher f/numbers pull the filter into sharper redition, making it appear darker.

Changing focal length also changes the effect of the grad. On longer lenses they are weaker.

 

[garymicheal]

cheers guys i love this place