Filter photography

[Gougoodthing]

Love those "fluffy water" type photos that appear on here from time to time

Am starting to research the filters that are available, but honestly i don't know much about them

Like everything, presume its just a matter of practice makes perfect

I basically like the idea of a long exposure shot of a beach or river in the middle of the day

In a previous discussion, Dex pointed me towards something like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/B-W-77mm-MRC-Ne ... 564f2894ed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(as per PM, Dexter)

Anything else i need to know, be aware of, etc etc etc?

Cheers again guys!

[DexterPunk]

That looks good to me, can't go wrong with a B+W. the more expensive ones just usually are more optically correct glass with less colour shift. That one there is a 10 stop ND which I use on quite a few of the landscapes at my site... http://www.mitchellimaging.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But in your PM I think you said your lens diameter was a 67mm. You'd need a stepping ring of you wanted to use a 77mm on it. I use a 77mm because that's the diameter of the lens I usually use for landscape work.

The only other thing you could look at is a cokin P series system which use big square filters that can adapt to many lenses, but you need the stepping rings. If you wanted to go down this path, I may be able to dig out my cokin gear which you could have... But the quality is nowhere near as good (and I possibly don't have the stepping rings for your lenses, not sure). Lee do a better quality system I believe. To be honest, I dumped using all that gear, too many stepping rings and crap, it's fiddly and annoying.


Sent from Han Solo using TK-421's phone.

[Gougoodthing]

Cheers. Not keen on connectors at all

So I guess I better option may be to buy a new lens as well....

Or presumably a filter will be available that fits my lens.

[DexterPunk]

I would think so yeah. A 67mm ND.


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[Gougoodthing]

I would think so yeah. A 67mm ND.


Sent from Han Solo using TK-421's phone.

Dex, a quick search of ebay and there's some filters that cost practically nothing


Would something like this be a complete waste of money?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BK-Filter-67 ... 20cd88a7b3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or this?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-FOTGA-67 ... 19d39e458e" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[DexterPunk]

in my opinion you don't wanna chuck poor glass in front of your lens. I don't know anything about these brands. A good ND filter isn't cheap. I think mine cost about $180. You don't have to go that nuts, but I'd be sticking with Hoya, and B+W etc.


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[Gougoodthing]

Cheers mate.

As allways, appreciate the help!

[Gougoodthing]

Dexter, have spent 90 minutes on EBay and am as confused as all shit

Plenty of Hoyas on there

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=ho ... acat=78997" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Plenty of B+W on there

http://www.ebay.com/itm/B-W-ND4-4x-102- ... 35c09248e3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like the B+W ones may be variable but the Hoyas arent

I'm really confused as to which specification to get

All i can really see myself doing is taking long exposure shots of waves over rocks, that kind of thing

Is there anything in particular you used when chosing yours?

[J.D.]

I'm really confused as to which specification to get

All i can really see myself doing is taking long exposure shots of waves over rocks, that kind of thing

Is there anything in particular you used when chosing yours?

Then you probably don't need a variable one.

I have a Hoya ND400 and it's fine. I wanted a B&W originally but I found I don't miss it. From memory, the ND400 is 9 stops (Dex?).

[DexterPunk]

Sounds roughly right, 1/512 or something should be 9 stops? Too many damn ratings for ND filters... Optical densities, % transmissions, filter factors, stops...

Goodthing, I wouldn't grab a variable, or ND grad... Just a standard 10 stop would be great. Although keep in mind that with something as dark as a 10 stop, you need to focus and compose your shot before screwing on the filter.


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[Gougoodthing]

Cheers again guys. Much appreciated.

[Gougoodthing]

Ordered

[DexterPunk]

what you end up grabbing??

ND can make even a shitty day fun to shoot. congrats.

I just spent $149 on a UV filter that essentially does nothing haha. :S

[Gougoodthing]

Hooray for Filters that do practically nothing


B+W 67mm 110 Neutral Density ND 1000x 3.0 10 stop Filter 67 mm (about $85)

Have some leave over Summer. looking forward to getting frustrated trying to sort this thing out

[DexterPunk]

It's not hard really. Just takes some patience. Water and clouds in shot will look nice! Try and find things like old jetties, rocks formations etc. in my opinion landscapes/seascapes need a point of interest rather than just some beach and sky alone. Use a smaller aperture and focus just behind the closest thing you want to keep in focus... Generally 1/3 in front, 2/3 behind will get pulled into focus using 'hyperfocal distance'.

Once you're setup and focused etc, screw on your ND filter (you won't be able to see through the view finder with it on), and just play around with shutter speeds. Oh, you're probably going to want a cable release/shutter remote. I got an IR one for not much. They are good anyway, and stop you shaking the camera when shooting, but also on 'B' or 'BULB' you don't have to keep your finger on the shutter to keep it open. 30s probably won't be enough if you wanna get nice sweeping clouds and smokey looking ocean water.


Sent from Han Solo using TK-421's phone.

[Gougoodthing]

cheers ears!


Owe you one (or two)

[norbs]

Dex covers it. Just be prepared to experiment.

I have a ND8, ND4 and ND2 and find I stck them all up at times. Still doesnt give me the length of exposure I want.

[Gougoodthing]

there's plenty of good guides on the web on how to shoot the photos, so will be a suck it and see time!


Oh, and spent some big coin just now on this



ML-L3 IR Wireless Remote Control for Nikon D5000 D5100 D7000 D3000 D90 D80 D60 ( 120831006632 )

Subtotal US $1.58


Total US $1.58

Including postage

[DexterPunk]

lol! Nice.


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[Nigel]

You can get some very nice images from using multiple filters but you have to play with them

[DexterPunk]

It's better if you don't do that. I've done it before with an ND and polariser before, but the more you stack, the more likely you're going to introduce more aberrations and reduce sharpness. For the same reason more groups of lens elements within a zoom lens reduce quality in comparison to a fixed focal length lens, you're multiplying error. Not only that, you're giving light more surfaces to bounce around on, which can introduce flaring.

You'd be better off (dare I say it) photoshopping it. A bit different if you need to polarise light, and cut it down though, which is why I've stacked them before. But better not to if you can avoid it. Take the UV filter off if using an ND or polariser as well.


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[Nigel]

Sharpness is not always the way to go though. From memory a polariser 2x nd6 filters and an orange filter.

[VTRacing]

[DexterPunk]

Not sure if trolling...


It's great that photography is subjective. It means everyone's opinion is valid. My opinion is this photo is wrong.


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[Nigel]

Of course I'm not trolling. Your welcome to your opinion.