Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

[Bhuna]

I have just ordered myself an 10 stop ND1000 filter from Amazon (the SRB Photographic one for £30) as I am looking forward to experimenting with this for water / cloud / movement effects in my photography.

Whilst I am aware that the stops are relating to the number of steps down in either time or apperture to be used (or both), I do not know how to use it...

By that I mean, do I set up my tripod/camera and focus the picture etc with the filter off, taking the reading from the camera - then add the filter, set camera to manual, amend the settings to what i want (ie taking into account the ten stops now) then take the picture? or does the camera take accurate readings/focus with the filter on already?

Sorry for such a stupid basic question and thanks for anyone replying.

Andy.

[jimsphotography]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

Hi Andy,
Yes that's the correct method as outlined by you. I use a Lee system so it's possible to slide the filter up to check focus and composition but you will have to do that first with a screw on type. I suggest using a low ISO and a reasonably high f number (say 11 or 13) . Set the camera to bulb mode and use a cable release to get five to ten minute exposures. There are free phone apps that will calculate the ten stop increase for you.
Enjoy
James

[Bhuna]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

Thanks James much appreciated and pleased to know that I was on the right track with my thinking.

[jimsphotography]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

One more thing - if you find screwing the filter on knocks the focus or zoom ring then take some easy peel masking type tape with you so you can lock things down. Depends on the lens - some are reasonably stiff so it not easy to knock anything off whilst other slip easy even with the faintest touch
James

[GORDH]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

If you have Apple products heres the app I use it on my iPod Touch and its easy to use, theres also a free one for Android stuff

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/longtime-exposure-calculator/id362297743?mt=8

Gordon

[Bhuna]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

One more thing - if you find screwing the filter on knocks the focus or zoom ring then take some easy peel masking type tape with you so you can lock things down. Depends on the lens - some are reasonably stiff so it not easy to knock anything off whilst other slip easy even with the faintest touch
James

Its going to be on my 24-105 F4L so I think that should be ok but thanks for the warning.

Thanks GORDH - I have a iphone so will download that later.

[djguk47]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

If you have Apple products heres the app I use it on my iPod Touch and its easy to use, theres also a free one for Android stuff

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/longtime-exposure-calculator/id362297743?mt=8

Gordon

The Apple App works a treat and is very easy to use... just remembering that you have it on your phone is the hard bit

[S_J_P]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

I must say that I don't find the app that useful, firstly because not all ND2,4,8, or 10 filters are equal, and secondly because I tend to meter with the filter in-place and then adjust up/down from that first capture.

Some long-exposure things I've discovered along the way:

With high-attenuation ND filters, using LiveView with Exposure Simulation turned off (so that the screen tries (within limits) to show what it thinks is a reasonable representation of the scene regardless of your actual chosen exposure settings) can help immensely with composing and even checking focus.

In all likelihood you'll be using exposures of greater than 30 seconds which is the maximum available using the camera's systems, so you'll need a remote release. A locking-release is best as this will allow you to lock the shutter open and then either count the 1-second beeps or use a timer/stopwatch/second-hand to time the exposure.

If you're using auto-exposure (any mode except Manual/Bulb) then cover the eyepiece otherwise you'll get erroneous exposure readings from the stray light. I tend to use Bulb mode and adjust exposure on the fly to compensate for changing conditions (the sun going behind/between clods on a beach for instance) which means the viewfinder isn't such an issue, but covering it does prevent the potential for stray light interfering with the final image.

Beware water spots on the filter, generally you'll be running at narrow apertures and wide-angles and consequently the spots become quite obvious when depth of field is so great.

If you're on a beach or a stream-bed make sure your tripod is firm and don't walk away from it, running water around the tripod can erode away sand/silt from beneath the tripod legs and cause it to fall over if you don't pay attention!

Leaving the shutter open for lengthy periods and the use of liveview, particularly in bright sunshine, causes the sensor to warm up which increases noise and makes any hot-pixels become far more obvious. Consequently you're likley to notice a lot more hot and/or dead pixels when you're using exposures of a minute or so. Draping a light-coloured microfibre towel over the camera/lens with both protect it from spray/splashes and help reflect the sun and keep temperatures lower, also, turn the camera off for a few minutes every couple of shots, sit back and enjoy the scenery whilst the camera sensor cools. Also, avoid the sun in a long-exposure image, whilst the ND filter should attenuate the signal sufficiently to not damage the sensor there will still be an awful lot of IR radiation flying around which could permanently damage the sensor.

Combining ND and CPL filters can yield pleasing effects (as well as giving you another 2 stops of light-stopping ability), though be wary of the increased filter depth causing vignetting with wider lenses (24mm on a crop-camera shouldn't be a problem). Be aware too of the different magnitude of effect across the frame (as the angle of the light changes significantly across a wide-angle scene) as it most probably won't be obvious on the live-view screen.

Once you're caught the long-exposure bug why not try IR-Cut filters which attenuate visible light by a similar margin to a ND10 which exaggerates the IR component, giving inky-black water and sky and bright white clouds and foliage?

Oh, one final thing Andy, your wish-list is far too short - a single lens?!? Get with it

[jimsphotography]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

That long list from SKP is spot on - excellent advice !
James

[Bhuna]

Re: Stupid question time sorry. ND10 use and readings..

Oh, one final thing Andy, your wish-list is far too short - a single lens?!? Get with it

Thanks for the detailed post. Really informative.

As for the wishlist...it should I suppose read "Next on my wishlist" but being realistic it will be a while now before my next lens purchase