ND filter: helps minimize blowout?


Status
Not open for further replies.

cks2k2

New Member
Feb 12, 2009
932
2
0
Noob question on ND filter: I find myself shooting scenery quite often in the afternoon when the sun is high up and bright resulting in blowouts esp on the sky.
Can I reduce the blowouts by using an ND filter? With the ND attached the rate of light entering the camera is significantly reduced, hence reduced incidence of blowouts? Or should I just try to do -EV and then PP?
 

Hi TS...you started a gd thread which i wanna ask too..
actually i'm more into...
wat's the real different between ND and GND...
i dun understand even after reading..lol....both reduce the contrast of the sky...
blur..:(
 

It may be interesting to note that using high density ND filter to achieve a correct exposure as compared to no ND filter does increase the dynamic range of the scene.

I know this as i must shoot shutter 1/48 on video for a traditional cinematic effect, and certainly ND filter scenes under bright sunlight have more midtones (seem saturated) and less blowouts.

It is also common sense graduated ND filter (increasing density across the filter) can help tone down the highlights in the sky of a scene in the correct direction.

So both ways it is true!
 

Hi TS...you started a gd thread which i wanna ask too..
actually i'm more into...
wat's the real different between ND and GND...
i dun understand even after reading..lol....both reduce the contrast of the sky...
blur..:(

ND filter is just a filter which is just to reduce the EV stops. (whole filter is dark in colour, looks similar to the CPL filter but much darker)

GND is a filter that have a gradient colour.
Example, the sunset orange GND filter, it is half in orange and the other have in normal colour.
 

ND filter is just a filter which is just to reduce the EV stops. (whole filter is dark in colour, looks similar to the CPL filter but much darker)

GND is a filter that have a gradient colour.
Example, the sunset orange GND filter, it is half in orange and the other have in normal colour.

Oooo...y e way u explain sound easier..
i read n cross reference till i damn blur lol..
anyway..
thanks a lot!
 

Gradual ND is no so a common filter use. It is a typical clear rotating filter with one half darken BUT the middle is gradually lighter as towards the divide line. Some may call half ND.

The dark side is rotated to cover the brighter area but you must frame your picture carefully so that the darkening is gradual.

ND however is whole piece the same. There is another call fader ND which uses multi-plane polarizer glass to change the darkness as the filter is rotated, from as low as ND2 to ND400 at max plane.
 

ND filter is just a filter which is just to reduce the EV stops. (whole filter is dark in colour, looks similar to the CPL filter but much darker)

GND is a filter that have a gradient colour.
Example, the sunset orange GND filter, it is half in orange and the other have in normal colour.

Shaoken,

EV stops are reduced but dynamic range is really indeed increased. You need to try it for yourself to realize it. The difference can be very great especially if one is using a 1/64 (6-stops reduced) ND filter and beyond.

Issue is that in our times of high shutter ability (1/4000 up to 1/8000 is norm), we simply do not use ND filter enough to understand.
 

Shaoken,

EV stops are reduced but dynamic range is really indeed increased. You need to try it for yourself to realize it. The difference can be very great especially if one is using a 1/64 (6-stops reduced) ND filter and beyond.

Issue is that in our times of high shutter ability (1/4000 up to 1/8000 is norm), we simply do not use ND filter enough to understand.
If u really want bokeh on a sunny day, 1/8000 is definately not enough ...
 

Like they always say, a picture is worth a thousand words...

P7012291.jpg
 

If u really want bokeh on a sunny day, 1/8000 is definately not enough ...

huh?!...does filter such as ND enable to create bokeh?!
didn't read tat before..hm...
 

You guys are using a wrong term, it is not bokeh but shallow DOF

Bokeh is the quality of background blurness
 

Noob question on ND filter: I find myself shooting scenery quite often in the afternoon when the sun is high up and bright resulting in blowouts esp on the sky.
Can I reduce the blowouts by using an ND filter? With the ND attached the rate of light entering the camera is significantly reduced, hence reduced incidence of blowouts? Or should I just try to do -EV and then PP?
at such lighting conditional, filter will have little help, you are shooting at a wrong time for scenery, just go and check out how others pick their time of the day to shoot scenery.
 

Noob question on ND filter: I find myself shooting scenery quite often in the afternoon when the sun is high up and bright resulting in blowouts esp on the sky.
Can I reduce the blowouts by using an ND filter? With the ND attached the rate of light entering the camera is significantly reduced, hence reduced incidence of blowouts? Or should I just try to do -EV and then PP?
if you meter the sky and the foreground of the scene, you will notice shooting at more then 5 stops exposure latitude, a Gradual ND usually come in two or three stops, unless you want to stack filters.

of course, you also can try shoot in HDR at such situation.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.