Neutral density filter for waterfall shoot

[isabel95]

An upcoming trip with the Asheville chapter says we should bring an ND filter with us.

They come in different densities.

What would be a good density?

TIA.

Isabel

[rpk717]

Isabel,

They come in many strengths but have weird designations. The 2X is only a one stop difference. I have the 4X [2 stops] but in bright light you really need the 8X which will give you a 3 stop decrease.
http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=itemlist&cat1=Filters&cat2=Neutral%20Density%20Filters&Startat=1

For big bucks [$340] you can get a 2 to 8 stop variable ND filter, from Singh Ray.
http://www.singh-ray.com/varind.html

You can also stack the cheaper ND filters and the total cost for a couple of them would be much less than the Singh Ray.




Hope this helps,

[isabel95]

Thanks, Robert.
What do you think would be most useful for waterfalls?

The biggest problem I've found with them, living in waterfall country as we do, is time of day and super bright sky which gets blown out, leading me to think the best ND filter would be graduated to tone down the sky the most.

I have an NDx8 in 58mm for my Sony F717, but none for my Canon 17-55 or 10-22 (77mm).

Isabel

Isabel,

They come in 3 strengths from Hoya but have weird designations. The NDx2 is only a one stop difference. I have the NDx4 [2 stops] but in bright light you really need the NDx8 which will give you a 3 stop decrease. For big bucks you can get a 1-5 stop variable ND filter, I think from Single Ray.

You can also stack the Hoya and the total cost for a couple ND filters would be much less than the Single Ray.




Hope this helps,

[rpk717]

It's not the sky you need the ND filter for, in bright light even with your smallest aperture your shutter speed will be too fast to blur the water. So you use the ND filter to slow your shutter speed to something like 0.5 to 2 seconds. Most people advise you include as small amount of the sky as possible in a waterfall shot. Also don't shoot waterfalls on a blue sky day or the middle of the day.

[isabel95]

I am congenitally lazy and HATE tripods, so I've learned to handhold my cameras to very low speeds like 1/10 of a second.

With the IS in the Canon 17-55 lens I'm hoping I can get by with no tripod and no ND filter...will have to see what 1/10 of a second gets me.

Hopefully Bill's Tamron 17-50 lens will arrive before Friday and we can go to Pearson's falls and see what we can come up with. (He may want to use the tripod!)

Isabel


It's not the sky you need the ND filter for, in bright light even with your smallest aperture your shutter speed will be too fast to blur the water. So you use the ND filter to slow your shutter speed to something like 0.5 to 2 seconds. Most people advise you include as small amount of the sky as possible in a waterfall shot. Also don't shoot waterfalls on a blue sky day or the middle of the day.