10 stop filter tips?

[Analog6]

Anyone have any? My new HiTech 10 stop ND will be having its first outing to the Natural Bridge meet up on Sunday. I plan to use it for the flowing water downstream where there are some nice rock formations in the creek.

[ricktas]

make sure the filter is tight in the holder and there are no light leak points around the edges otherwise you get some wonderful streaky over exposed and tinted bits across a perfectly good photo.

[Rattus79]

Cover your viewfinder to get better meter readings. (Or use your chart )

[old dog]

I have pretty good success putting the filter on and then focussing ...what you can do is set your aperture wide open to let more light in and try to focus...when focussed then set you desired aperture. If you are in very low light then this may not work. I find with my ND400 (9 stop) that I have to overexpose at least one to two stops to get the right exposure. So I assume that you are shooting in either aperture or manual....I`d go manual and just chimp it. It`s far easier with a wide lens to do the focussing (dof much deeper) ..but you know this..:th3: Have fun Odille, you will love the results.

[Xenedis]

You'll need to work out the exposure, as ten stops is a light of light loss.

A while back I prepared an ND Shutter Speed Cheat Sheet, which you can download and print out.

It lists shutter speeds from 1/8000th to 30 seconds, and for each of those shutter speeds, it covers filtration from one to ten stops.

You can download it from here:

http://xenedis.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/nd-shutter-speed-cheat-sheet-updated/

[Ian Brewster]

Thanks Xenedis for making this available.

Ian

[Dylan & Marianne]

Make sure there's no light source behind you if you're using a rectangular filter (could reflect off the glass)
MAke sure things like cable releases and camera straps won't shake your setup
Make sure you kind of know what you're trying to get from the exposure rather than exposing and hoping for the best
Take some test shots without the CPL for compositoin first
If it's really bright, a CPL can add another stop or two if you want a really long day time exposure!

[zollo]

i have a 9 stop hitech filter for the 14-24 nikon, its absolutely massive (165mm square), things i have discovered while this square type of filter

- if there is any rain, seaspray or other water particles flying around, there is virtually no point as the filter attracts water like flies to ____ in the desert
- the hitech's give off a blue/greenish cast which is actually quite difficult to correct in post, it helps if you manually set WB in camera (attached photo shows the blue/green cast)
- wind will produce movement and it needs to be shielded
- tiniest bits of dust/particles will show up in 30sec plus exposures
- as Dylan has mentioned above, there probably will be internal lens reflections if you have a light source from behind or the side, or if you stack filters (attached a photo showing this)

[Analog6]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I have printed the very useful looking chart. I had read acouple of reviews which covered the blue tint, see how I go. I know the scene I want, I shot it with the Blad last time I went and at 7am in the morning needed f32 and my strongest ND (3 stops). And even with that the shutter speed was a bit faster than I wanted. I shall report back.

[Xenedis]

Yesh, the heavy blue cast is a pain.

I haven't used my ten-stop filter many times, but next time I use it, I'll need to see what is the most rapid and effective way to colour-correct the resulting image.

[arthurking83]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I have printed the very useful looking chart. I had read acouple of reviews which covered the blue tint, see how I go. I know the scene I want, I shot it with the Blad last time I went and at 7am in the morning needed f32 and my strongest ND (3 stops). ......


f/32 is fine on MF.

that's basically equivalent to about f/16 in terms of diffraction(from what I'm lead to believe) depending on which digital back.

if you are shooting film then you could easily shoot down to f/64 as well.

Graeme: just an FYI .. no matter what you set your lens aperture value too, it will always remain open unless there is no connection(mechanical or electronic) to it.
So if you set f/22 on the aperture control dial(whichever that may be .. sub command dial or aperture ring) the camera will hold the aperture open until the time of exposure.

WB is best set later on in PP on the raw file. If in doubt a grey card used as a reference point is handy to have access too, but with this wavelength shifting type of photography, there may be a need to adapt to a particular situation with alternative processes.
With WB, other forms of processing that I regularly use is to seek out a white or grey point in the image. There are sometimes white or grey points in a scene that can be used as a reference point to set WB, where you then fine tune as you see fit.
eg. clouds, white water(foam) old faded timbers .. etc.

[dulvariprestige]

I know this is a bit late Odille, but I have an app on my phone called ND filter calc, very handy

[ElizabethAtkinson]

I have one of these filters and have received numerous helpful tips including :-
use Live View, it makes focusing easier. Also, centre weighted focusing is recommended and don't forget your remote control.

[Xenedis]

I have one of these filters and have received numerous helpful tips including :-
use Live View, it makes focusing easier. Also, centre weighted focusing is recommended and don't forget your remote control.

Live View probably won't help at all.

I used my ten-stop filter yesterday, and even using my own eyes right up against the filter, I could barely see through it.

[ricktas]

I agree with Xenedis. I go completely manual, focusing and framing my shots before I put the filter in place. I know before I even start shooting what ISO and aperture I want, so then it is down to adjusting the shutter speed to get the results I have planned for the shoot. If you have a 10 stop filter that you can consistently focus through and see through on a variety of shoots, I would suggest your filter is probably not really a 10 stopper, but maybe more like an 8

[Xenedis]

Yep, definitely do all of your setup first, then attach the ten-stop filter and adjust the exposure time accordingly.

Also, if you use grads like I do, and therefore need to stack filters, make sure the ten-stop filter goes onto the filter holder first (ie, it should be positioned most closely to the lens). I learned the hard way yesterday, as I ended up with light leakage due to placing the ten-stop filter on the top of the stack.

I wasn't thinking straight (I'd been awake since 11pm the previous night, and it was 6:something in the morning when shooting).

[ricktas]

I have one of these filters and have received numerous helpful tips including :-
use Live View, it makes focusing easier. Also, centre weighted focusing is recommended and don't forget your remote control.

I hope we get to see some of your photos soon.

[Dylan & Marianne]

ps. live view can be useful for midday shots still! - but yea most other times, it's like trying to use live view at night

[Steve Axford]

I don't things are any where near as complex as people are making out. I have an 8 stop ND and I use it with a polariser which makes 10 stop. I use a wide angle lens with manual focus and a high fstop so focus is not a problem. Just make sure your filter is clean and maybe take several different exposures so you can blend the results if necessary.