How many stops do you get by stacking two 3-stop ND filters?
Asked 4/1/2011
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If I stack two 3-stop neutral density filters, is the total light reduction 6 stops or 9 stops?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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It's six.
Remember, the stops are already logarithmic. That is, a 3-stop reduction (as from a 3-stop ND filter) is a 2³× loss of light — ¹⁄₈ of the light gets through. A one stop filter halves light, since 2¹ is just 2 (→ ¹⁄₂), and two stop filter is 2² (→ ¹⁄₄ the light). When you stack them together, you're adding the exponents, so 2³ stacked with 2³ is 2⁶ — or ¹⁄₆₄th the light. That's the same as thinking "three stops is one over 2³, or ¹⁄₈, and ¹⁄₈ × ¹⁄₈ = ¹⁄₆₄ — which is one over 2⁶".
But, fortunately (and in fact partly why it's done that way), you don't have to remember all this. Just remember that 2³ × 2³ = 2⁶ — or, 3 stops plus 3 stops is 6 stops.
Of course, this is just the math. In the real world, there may be other practical effects, like vignetting in the corners (due to the increased thickness) or color casts — you're adding more layers for the light to go through, and that takes a toll on image quality. See the comments below.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Two 3-stop ND filters stacked together give a total of 6 stops of light reduction, not 9.
Stops are logarithmic: each stop halves the light. A 3-stop ND passes 1/8 of the light (2^3 = 8). Stacking two of them multiplies the light reduction: 1/8 × 1/8 = 1/64, which equals 6 stops total (2^6).
So in practice, you simply add the stop values when stacking ND filters: 3 + 3 = 6 stops.
One practical note: stacking filters can also increase the chance of vignetting, especially with thicker filter rings or wider-angle lenses.
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