DIY ND Filters

[Thoma]

Hey all,

I have a great affection for long exposure shots, & have been playing a little with trying to capture some different things.
No worries at night, pic attached, but daytime is another thing.

What i'd like to know is has anyone successfully made themselves an ND fliter that works..?

I have a few ideas, but someone might have some better ones...!;)

Regards,
Clayton

[Bax]

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=61363

Welding glass. Depends how many stops you want to go.

[Allan Ryan]

hi Thoma
i tried clear lexan and tinted it with felt pens :)
it was a complete failure.

maybe car window tint ?

[ricktas]

Umm. why not just buy some ND filters?

[davidd]

I have seen an article where someone used the glass from a welding helmet successfully. However I do think the real thing would be much more convenient.

[Thoma]

Thanks for the feedback...

I have recently purchased an additional UV filter (cokin) & had it tinted by my local tint-a-car shop with 35% blockout tint......
I tested the filter at Deloraine two weeks ago....with success..:)
With no filter attached @ 11am in bright sunlight, taking a shot of fast moving water, i couldn't get anything slower than 1/15 s/speed. Below this, the pic was vertually white...!!
After screwing on the filter, i achieved speeds anywhere from 1/4 down to .5 sec.

The pics were a tad on the brighter side @ slower speeds, but nothing that a bit playing couldn't fix.
All colours remained true thru the filter.
I used the filter for the entire day & had no issues. Filter was also successful for monochrome. Shall post some pics soon.

I am now in the process of have a few more tinted. The tint place can tint down to 5% blockout, & at $2 each to tint, if it doesn't work it's no great loss...!!

I shall report findings soon.

Regards,
Clayton.

[dreams]

car tint hey, great idea.

might try it on my unused uv filters,

tints should be free, just ask them for the excess cuts, usually found in their bins. save your $2
you dont need a great size and length for it anyway.