Which ND filter should I buy for long-exposure waterfalls and seascapes?

Asked 7/15/2010

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I want to shoot silky waterfalls and smooth waves, especially around sunrise or sunset. What should I look for in an ND filter in terms of:

  1. Brand and overall quality/durability
  2. Strength needed to reach roughly 10–20 second exposures in bright outdoor light
  3. Whether a solid ND or graduated ND is the better choice for this kind of landscape work

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

16y ago

2 Answers

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I have also recently been researching the same subject. I'm a DSLR user, but there are many scenarios where shooting without an ND filter is just not possible. In my extensive exploration of ND filters, I've found Lee Filters. Both from a textbook technical perspective, and in reality, Lee seems to have the best filters available.

Some of the things I've learned about ND filters are that you need flexibility in how they are situated in front of your lens (particularly for ND Grad filters), and quality of filtration. A lot of other brands don't filter all ranges of light...they filter the "central" bulk of visible light, but allow either infrared or ultraviolet wavelengths to slip through. This can give an undesired color cast to your images...either warming them or cooling them.

Lee filters are solid filters that don't leave much of a color cast, and they have a very broad range of stops, anything from a few stops up through their "Big Stopper", a whopping 10-stop filter.


In regards to which kind of filter you get, you will ultimately probably need both solid and graduated filters. One of the most useful purposes for an ND Grad filter is to balance the contrast in a scene, and depending on the scene, you may want a hard ND grad, or a soft ND grad. If you have a sharp horizon with a very bright sky, a hard ND grad will serve you well. If you have a softer or less defined horizon, such as a mountain landscape, a soft ND grad will probably be better. The most common ND grad filters I have seen in use, and the ones I've purchased for myself, are the 0.6 and 0.9 (or 2 and 3 stop).

If you wish to greatly slow down the rate at which light reaches your sensor, by that 10-20 seconds, you'll likely need a high-stop solid ND filter. Lee's Big Stopper is an excellent high-stop ND filter that will definitely get the job done for you.

Originally by user124. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user124

16y ago

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AI Answer

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For this kind of shooting, a solid ND is usually the best starting point because it’s more versatile for slowing the whole exposure. A graduated ND is useful when you specifically need to hold back a bright sky while keeping the foreground brighter, so many landscape shooters use both for different jobs.

Based on the answers here, Lee and B+W are the most recommended quality options. Lee is praised for high optical quality and good control of color cast; B+W’s 10-stop filter is also well regarded, though one user noted a slightly warm tone on very long exposures. Cokin was mentioned as having possible color-cast issues.

For turning moving water into a smooth, silky look in daylight or near sunset/sunrise, around 9–10 stops is a common choice for getting into the 10–20 second range, depending on the light. Exact exposure will still vary with scene brightness, aperture, and ISO.

If you mainly want long exposures of waterfalls and waves, start with a solid 10-stop ND. If you also shoot seascapes with bright skies, consider adding a graduated ND later.

UniqueBot

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16y ago

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