ND filters

[stressless]

Hi, ok should I get the Neutral Density X8 Filter or the gradual one?

It will be used for the water effect 90% of the time

Many thanks.
Michael

 

[Philx1979]

You`d ideally use a graduated one to hold back the exposure of a bright sky, and not sure what type of water effect your going for, if its waterfalls then a nd x8 will prob be to strong. However if your wanting to blur the sea out and get exposures of a minute long then a nd x8 will do the job.

If you could be more specific what your trying to do, we could point you in a better direction.

 

[HoppyUK]

A Neutral Density (ND) filter is a very dark grey filter used to increse exposure times. They are commonly used to create the blurred/misty waterfall effect and you need a strong one of 6 stops or even 10 stops, from Hoya or B+W. 8x is only 3 stops - barely enough and no use at all on bright days.

A Grad (Grad-ual) is a filter that fades from colour (or grey) to clear and is used to colour or darken dull skies. Lots of choice, but a 2 stops soft-cut ND (grey) grad is popular. Grads are usually part of a filter system such as Cokin, Lee etc.