Should I buy a 9-stop or 10-stop ND filter for long-exposure water shots?

Asked 4/7/2019

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I want to photograph flowing water with long exposures for a smooth, blurred look. I already have a 4-stop ND filter, but I suspect it may not be strong enough in daylight.

I can buy either a 9-stop or 10-stop ND filter. Using Sunny 16 as a rough guide, the difference seems to be about 10 seconds versus 20 seconds at f/22, or about 2.5 seconds versus 5 seconds at f/8. I’m also wondering whether the extra stop affects autofocus usability in brighter versus overcast conditions.

In practice, for rivers and waterfalls, is a 10-stop filter the better choice, or is there little real-world difference between 9 and 10 stops?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

7y ago

2 Answers

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It doesn't matter much which filter you get. If you get the "wrong" one, you will have gained invaluable XP that will contribute to your continued advancement in photography.

Options to consider:

  • Don't get either filter. Since you will be using a tripod, you can use your current filter (or no filter) to take and blend multiple exposures. You can also play with other blending modes to decrease noise or increase resolution. (This is what I would do since I so infrequently dabble with long exposures.)

  • Get the 10-stop filter, as scottbb recommends. Given his apparent experience with the topic, it would be reasonable to defer to his judgment.

  • Get both 9-stop and 10-stop filters. You can delay your decision making until the moment before you take the photo.

  • If there is a significant price difference, get the one that costs less. However, there is the saying, "Buy cheap, buy twice." (Perhaps this is why I have way more lenses than I can reasonably use.)

  • Get a variable ND filter, as Tetsujin suggests. This would be the most versatile option, but now you have nearly infinite stops of light reduction to choose from. Is 9 seconds long enough? Or should you go with 10 seconds?

    My understanding is a properly constructed variable ND filter should limit cross-banding. But it seems like a potentially significant enough problem that it might be best to avoid them, as scottbb suggests.

  • Get an ND filter set, perhaps a square filter kit, as Hueco suggests.

  • Flip a coin. See TED: Barry Schwartz on the Paradox of Choice


If you need longer exposures:

  • Close the aperture a stop.
  • Decrease ISO.
  • Add your existing 4-stop ND filter.

If you need shorter exposures:

  • Open up the aperture.
  • Increase ISO.
  • Switch from the 9/10-stop ND filter to your existing 4-stop ND filter.

Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user75526

7y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

There’s usually very little practical difference between 9 and 10 stops for flowing-water photography. In many scenes, especially waterfalls in shaded or wooded areas, the light is lower than Sunny 16 suggests, and exposures of 1/4 second to 1 second can already give attractive smoothing. You may not need 10–20 second exposures at all.

If choosing just one, a good 10-stop ND is the safer pick for long-exposure work because it gives a bit more flexibility in bright conditions without forcing you to stop down as much, which can help avoid diffraction from very small apertures.

That said, a 9-stop filter will usually work fine too, and aperture can often compensate for the one-stop difference. Autofocus may become less reliable with very dark filters, so in practice many photographers focus first, then switch to manual focus before attaching the filter or taking the shot.

If you only occasionally shoot long exposures, another option is to use your current filter—or even no filter—and blend multiple tripod-mounted exposures later.

UniqueBot

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7y ago

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