ND Filters.... Square or Round?

Square filters and a filter system make more sense as you can use a combination...for example a 10 stop for the exposure and an NDgrad to balance the sky/foreground, you can also add a polariser

Simon
 
Get a wedding glass for about £3 and save ur self £100 as for ND use the one Lightroom provides.
 
Personally I use a threaded one, as I don't use a filter holder. There's no chance of any light getting in. But there may be disadvantages too.

My "big stopper" is about 8 stops so I set the shot up first without the filter, then work out what the exposure should be with the filter, and bung it on. If necessary I can also hold a ND grad over the end of the filter as well.

A bit heath robinson but it works......
 
I prefer square filters as they make using grads in addition to a long exposure filter easy.

Whilst Lightroom has an ND Grad function that assumes you've not blown the sky in the first place. If you're wanting to shoot one frame (as opposed to blending multiple) you need to make sure the dynamic range isn't more than the camera can manage, which some shots do, otherwise you'll have to deal with either blocked shadows or blown highlights.
 
chrism_scotland,

If your style of photography is tripod based, then there's no argument. Square all the way, so much easier and quicker to chop and change filters during fast changing light whilst not affecting your composition.

If you're more of a "run and gun" kind of person, then round ones.
 
jerry12953 said:
Personally I use a threaded one, as I don't use a filter holder. There's no chance of any light getting in. But there may be disadvantages too.

My "big stopper" is about 8 stops so I set the shot up first without the filter, then work out what the exposure should be with the filter, and bung it on. If necessary I can also hold a ND grad over the end of the filter as well.

A bit heath robinson but it works......
Click to expand...

What kind of shutter times are you using with the method just out of interest?
 
chrism_scotland said:
Thanks folks, I ordered and received a Hitech Filter Holder (100mm) and a Hitech 10 Stopper to play with!

Looking to add some Grad ND's as well, what would be a good lineup? I'm a bit confused as to whether I should be looking at a Hard or Soft grad?
Click to expand...

If you're using a crop sensor then I'd recommend starting with Hard edge, the "graduation line" isn't anywhere near as evident as you might think, it's only really at UWA focal lengths where it might be slightly more obvious. The other advantage of HE is that they are easier to align. I have both but honestly have use my soft grads only a couple of times. A 2 stop and 3 stop would be a good starting pair, again my 1 stop rarely comes out of the bag

Simon
 
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