Hi sammy888, no problen yes i am new to photography as i just buy a new dslr ( really cheap, on discount at expo; havnt really use already regret) because all the 3 basic landscape photography books i borrow from library write about using gear i do not have and i cant continue as i cannot set accordingly.
Something like f2.8 with some filter etc, thats why i start asking but i dont to spend so much first.
Don't spend money unnecessary when just starting out.. you might not even like to shoot sunset and sunrise often once you are past doing it a couple of times. Okay so you buy a cheap GND filter to save some money. I guess that mean if you stop using it and throw it aside, you don;t feel so bad. I get it BUT when you develop a attitude like that without learning your fundamental, you are going to end up buying a lot of wasteful gear.
Without basic photography know-how, you have no idea what F-stops means, shutter speed selection and why, types of lens and their focal length, what is depth of field in relation to f-stop..etc. If all this sound "alien" to you.. you really NOW know you are not ready to waste more money buying ADDITIONAL gear which also require you to learn even more things on how to use them well depending on the situations. It is not so simple as screwing on a filter and everything comes out fine automatically. Even if I put a pro camera in your hands you will not shoot anything great simply because you are not well verse with how to use your camera.
There is no reason why you can not shoot sunrise or sunset without a GND filter. And for some we might use a Neutral density (ND) or Polariser Filters. It all depend on what or how you want to capture the scene. You need to understand how light works in a scene way before you even consider using a filter for your sunset and sunrise shot. And yes it is crazy to shoot a sunset with the aperture set at F2.8. Seow unless there is a damn good reason for doing it.
So learn your basic first. The sun is always going to be there for you to shoot.. today, tomorrow, next year, 50 years from now.... you get the picture. Books don't say enough especially if you don't understand the photographic terminology becasue you picked up a higher level book that is teaching you tricks and advance tips. Get books that teaches a newbie that will start by explaining to you all the basic features of a camera and what they do and how making certain adjustment will produce a certain kind of look. In fact your camera's manual is a good read in itself.
Personally, I still say for FREE lessons in video format, type key word about what you want to learn into YOUTUBE or Google and you get so much more from there without going library. Be becareful of books or videos you read written especially by pro or famous photographers as sometime they will ask you to buy something to improve your shoot or get more Pro gear....etc. They sometime do this to earn extra commission when yo ubuy the product from their website or mail order. don't fall for all that stuff at this stage.
I say again, learn your basic first. It does not take more then a week and some practicing with your camera at the same time. Once you master that, all the other things you learn later will be more clearer and you might even spot errors or fake selling from what you read or hear. New toy, your camera, I can understand.. you are excited and can not wait to do all kinds of shooting. But if you do not pay your due diligently to know your gear and basic photography skills now, you will not be ready to take the next step.
Trust us when we tell you, most of us are all still learning every time we play with our camera it is a life long thing. Just like you will see about sunset or sunrise... you can never capture two sunrise looking exactly the same. And because they are forever different from today and tomorrow, you have to make changes to your shots, add filters or take away filter or use a tripod....or something else. Don't buy the filter.
Learn your basics.
