ND filters are also used to photograph portraits (with flash without HSS mode) with strong sunlight, using very large apertures, and not overexposing the photography.
Thanks so much for this info. Every time I look at or buy new lenses at the camera store, they always ask if I need an ND filter. Or if I'm taking a class, they will either say the filter is optional, nice to have or not needed. But no one has been able to articulate exactly why I needed it. "It cuts out light," or "stops glare" has never seemed a good enough reason, since I've never needed to cut out the light or reduce glare before. And, to be honest, it's never occurred to me to slow the shutter speed during the day. Most of my photography is at night, and I open the shutter to let more light in, not to cut it down. So I have a very expensive ND filter that I bought, because the camera store said every photographer should have one. Now I'm kind of excited to go out in the middle of the day to see what I can do with it! Thank you!
Great Video, and great series of content Forest. The use of ND filters is an exciting aspect of photography, with a few caveats - the quality of the filter. There is a good deal of debate out there regarding Variable v Non-Variable filters. In particular, cheaper filters have been reported as introducing strong color casts. Indeed, the VND filters are reported as suffering strong vignetting. Definitely, something to consider when purchasing an ND Filter. Nonetheless, they are a great tool and first-timers on a budget should consider trying out the range of filters on the market to dip their toe in the ND water. If that form of photography is to their liking then stepping up to the higher quality filters may be the next step. For example, I stepped up from using the budget filters to the Breakthrough Photography range. I have seen many reviews on these filters heralding their high-fidelity color neutrality and glass quality. Thanks for your quality content. I enjoyed the NAS series and am now looking to purchase my first NAS. And based upon your recommendation I have settled on the Synology range. Yes, they are not the cheapest on the market, but just like quality ND filters, I know the value of purchasing a quality product. Cheers from Down Under Mate.
Nicely done. Appreciate your clear and concise explanations. Food for thought would be to include a photo of the waterfalls at 1/30 and 1" to help drive home the point visually. Always nice to see an example Thanks again
Ok i just watched your video on ND filters. I have a Canon 90d camera with the 24-105 lens and a ND variable filter. All my shots were too bright. I set the ND at 6 stops of light. My question is, what mode. AV TV or Bulb mode and what shutter speed. In Auto it said 1/125. Just to get settings. I get good shots in AV mode or even TV mode but with ND filter on i get crap. So how does one see what shutter speed to set with F/stop and ISO. I know to use this may seem like a stupid or dumb question. But I’m at an area that would make some great landscapes shots of swamp areas. Today it is bright but overcast. I really want to smooth out the small ripple of waves on water but getting that great landscape look
I would start with my camera basics series! It should get you up to speed quickly! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_krYKDYURQ4.htmlfeature=shared
What frame rate and shutter speed, etc., do you use here? The video and your motions are so ridiculously smooth, like it looks like I'm there beside you. Meanwhile, I watch videos of people talking about how to get the right frame rate and their movement is choppy. Reply
That would change the exposure; the goal of using an ND filter is to keep the correct exposure, but with a slower shutter. Your camera doesn't know there's an ND filter in front of the meter, it only sees less light coming through the lens.
I use a 6 stop ND to shoot daylight lightning in a manner that sort of bridges the gap between stills and video. I blaze away in continuous mode, with the electronic shutter option enabled so I don't pulverize the mechanism. Extending the exposure to around 0.4 seconds allows the camera just enough time to write the image to the SD card without filling/overflowing the buffer. This gives me full resolution RAW image quality. The downside is coming home with a bazillion images. But even that isn't too bad - I hook the camera to the computer and open the mapped drive with IrfanView or a similar high-speed viewer. The program extracts the embedded jpg and displays it almost instantly. By mashing the -> button, I zip along at about 10 fps. The lightning shots jump out nicely and I copy just those images to the computer. The ideal camera for this technique would have a global shutter and robust memory system. Shorter exposures produce better contrast between the bolts and the sky, and something around 1/10 sec might be ideal. If a camera could keep up with 1/10 sec, and come with a super fast shutter readout (or global), that would be great!
