Neutral density filter, 1,2 or 3 stop....

Andy77

Andy77

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looking into buying a nd grad kit and a neutral density filter, decided on the cokin H250A nd grad kit but not sure which neutral density filter, i only want to buy the one at the momment but not sure wether to get the 1,2 or 3 stop?????? I will be using it for waterfalls ect.........

Thanks Peeps......:D
 
as many stops as you can get so out of them all, i'd say the 3...
 
No worries :thumbs:

Presumably you want to blur the water of the waterfall whilst keeping a high ISO for maximum image quality. I really don't think the 1 stop will achieve much even at ISO 100, so a 2 stopper would also come in handy, but I'd definately use the 3 almost all of the time
 
Sounds like you just want standard neutral density filters to increase the exposure time, not graduated filters which are used to balance the sky to the rest of the scene.

EDIT: Just saw the and in your first post. Sorry!


Steve.
 
Andy, consider a bright sunny day and a "Sunny 16" exposure of f/16, 1/100, 100 ISO. Since you will probably not want to stop down below f/16, due to diffraction, and you can't set the ISO below 100 you will be a bit stuck if you want slow shutter speeds. So, in bright sunlight here's what you might get with different ND filters....

1 stop would give you 1/50
2 stop would give you 1/25
3 stop would give you 1/13
4 stop would give you 1/6
5 stop would give you 1/3
6 stop would give you 0.6"
7 stop would give you 1.3"

On less bright days you could of course use slower shutter speeds, but I would say that even a 3 stop ND is quite modest if you really want to drag out motion.
 
Thanks for the info guy's, so tdodd where would you say is the best place i can get some nd filters from and what strenths do they go up to??? i dont have a huge budget, ive decided on buying the cokin H250A nd grad kit, for the landscapes but not sure of where to get the nd's from, and in what strenths to buy, Only wanted to buy the one to start with......
 
Sorry, I don't have any ND filters myself but I think they go up to 10 stops darker, which might be a bit much. The filters I do have (several UV and one CPL) are all Hoya Pro1 quality or similar and most came from Hong Kong suppliers including eBay. My most recent purchase was an 82mm Hoya HD UV filter from Amazon UK, which was the best price I could find and a trustworthy supplier.

In the absence of any other suggestions I would do a search on Google Products and eBay and see what turns up, but obviously you need to be wary of bargains that seem too good to be true. Check feedback/history etc..
 
If you want the kind of effects you see with shutter speeds of several seconds in daylight, you need a heavy ND filter.

That pretty much boils it down to the only two screw-in filters on the market (screw-in is better - no light leaks) made by B&W. They do a six stops and a ten stops version. Ten stops reduces an exposure of 1/1000sec down to 1 second.

They are quite expensive. Try Warehouse Express.

Lots of stuff on using ND filters if you search.
 
Hey tdodd i had ago at the welding glass back in the summer...

This was my effort.....
3624090-2-newquay-watergate-bay.jpg



:thumbs:
 
Hi Andy77
I have just ordered the Lee Filtes Dslr starter kit. A holder 2 stop ND grad (0.6 in Lee speak) and a glass 2 stop ND.
I chose this as looking through their “inspiring professionals” publication the 2 stop ND grad is by far the most commonly used one. The Glass ND filter can be used on its own or in tandem with the grad (or other filter), in either case it will give you two stops lower speed and negate any effect of IR light on your CCD. Some digital cameras have no IR filter which is not a problem ordinarily but will cause poor results with long exposures. So for me the LEE kit is the best staring point.

Two stops is not a great deal 1/15 instead of 1/60 but with the added IR filtration is a good base to use with an additional ND filter (glass or “plastic”).

No waterfalls around here and I’m not a good photographer anyway but I’ll post a pic here when I have one.

All the best.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the lee filters, i decided and now ordered what i wanted from warehouse express, the cokin h250a n grad starter kit and a cokin nd 8 (3 stop) ( 0.9) to start with, they should be here in the morning so looking forward to having a play, going to either breacon beacons, snowdon or lake district on friday so i will be giving them a good days work then :lol:, I'll post results..........:thumbs:
 
Andy, wish I'd seen this before your last post. Cokin ND Grads are well known for giving a magenta cast. They are OK, but there will come a time when you get fed up of correcting it, and trade up.

Beware of the standard (3 filter) holders and wide angle lenses. You will get vignetting below about 15-16mm. And be careful - those filters are ridiculously fragile. Blow at them too hard, they wil snap.
 
Thanks for the heads up horrocks about the magenta colour casts, im just starting out with this type of shooting so im sure they'll be ok for me to start with, i wanted to get the lee filters but the funds didnt allow :'(

I.m sure these will keep me happy for while....
 
Was just about to post a similar thread. Read similar things in the past re: cokin nd grads.

What are peoples thoughts on the best filters for the money? Looking to add a ND and some grads to my kit in the next couple of months.
 
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