31
votes
Does using long exposure together with ND filter make the scene look more evenly lit?
No, changing the exposure or using an ND filter will not help you with this, since both will only brighten or darken everything by a certain factor.
Your problem is the large relative difference ...
- 4,634
30
votes
Accepted
Why did my ND filter produce washed out exposures?
You've got the sun almost in the frame. This is causing huge amounts of veiling flare — light bouncing all around, reducing contrast. You'll get better results from a different angle, or at a ...
- 143k
20
votes
Accepted
What is the advantage of carrying a tripod and ND-filters when you could use image stacking instead?
I'd like preface my answer with a note that a tripod is not only useful in conjunction with ND filters — it also improves the results from image stacking as well. By fixing the position of the camera, ...
- 32.3k
15
votes
Why did my ND filter produce washed out exposures?
Why did my ND filter produce washed out exposures?
You're shooting straight into the sun with a dirty, unshaded, and flat surface on the front of your lens.
The image demonstrates all three classic ...
- 175k
13
votes
What is the advantage of carrying a tripod and ND-filters when you could use image stacking instead?
Well, with regards to your (1)... You could carry a light tripod (or beanbag or any other way of stabilizing a camera) and use only a single ND filter instead of several stacked filters.
With regard ...
- 5,128
13
votes
Accepted
Is it not a good idea to use ND filters with a wide angle lens?
The advice you read is an example of the phrase, "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing."
There are filters known as Variable ND filters that are basically two polarizer filters stacked on top ...
- 175k
10
votes
Does using long exposure together with ND filter make the scene look more evenly lit?
I have to disagree (to a limited degree) with most the answers you've gotten. For a picture like this, a longer exposure will probably do a little to reduce contrast a bit. Not much, but a bit.
This ...
- 19.3k
10
votes
In-body neutral density (ND) filters?
Just a guess, but I don't believe that ND filters are so widely used as you assume. A very large share of the users of a specific camera will never need an ND filter and therefore not be interested in ...
- 2,997
9
votes
Does using long exposure together with ND filter make the scene look more evenly lit?
Is this combination of ND filter and long exposure responsible for having such even lighting on the scene in the former image?
No. The reason for the ND filter is to allow the long exposure, but the ...
- 1,497
8
votes
Is it not a good idea to use ND filters with a wide angle lens?
Graduated ND filters are usable with wide angle lenses. They should be big enough to cover the complete field of vision.
There are certain wide angle lenses that have a protruding front element that ...
- 364
7
votes
Does a large scratch in an ND filter affect image quality?
It is impossible to say without trying the filter on the lens you intend to use it on and under the conditions you are going to use the combination. It is IMHO impossible just by a visual inspection ...
- 2,997
6
votes
What is the advantage of carrying a tripod and ND-filters when you could use image stacking instead?
For me the main advantage is... Joy.
I enjoy a lot more taking photos, people places, products, rather than editing the images, especially on automated tasks, like stacking photos. Of course, there ...
- 23.8k
5
votes
Does using long exposure together with ND filter make the scene look more evenly lit?
Most of what you seem to think was accomplished by using the ND filter was actually accomplished using one of several raw conversion/post-processing techniques to reduce the contrast of the final form ...
- 175k
5
votes
Is it not a good idea to use ND filters with a wide angle lens?
The issue is that with some ND filters and all polarizing filters, the light dropoff is not even as the angle of the light passing through the filter changes. This obviously is more pronounced as the ...
- 171
5
votes
Accepted
How to decide which lens to buy ND filter for?
I'm going to provide a second answer to this question (there's nothing wrong in providing two answers).
Somehow, the "landscape", "seascape", "cityscape" suggests me that you want to take wide-angle ...
- 6,588
5
votes
Does a large scratch in an ND filter affect image quality?
The job of the lens is to project an image of the outside world on the surface of the digital image sensor (or film). Our desire is a faithful image. To date, camera optics do a good job but residual ...
- 38.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Right ND for filter size for Nikon 24-85 mm lens
The NIKON AF-S 24-85 F/3.5-4.5G ED VR lens has a filter thread size of 72mm. It's listed in the specs for that lens at Nikon USA.
If you have other lenses that you may also be interested in using ...
- 175k
4
votes
Metering on a Zenza Bronica with ND-Filter
With my long exposures, I meter for the scene and then add whatever ND amount needed and disregard the camera’s meter from there on out. That being said, it wouldn’t hurt to do some testing to ...
- 20.5k
4
votes
What is the formula to calculate aperture ("diaphragme" in French)?
The equation is:
$$
{N^2\over t} = \frac{E \times S}{C}
$$
for \$N=\$ f-number; \$t=\$exposure time (in seconds); \$E=\$ illuminance; \$S=\$ ISO value; and \$C=\$ incident-light meter calibration ...
- 143k
4
votes
How to decide which lens to buy ND filter for?
There are basically two ways to share filters between lenses with different thread sizes.
You can buy screw on filters that fit the larger lens and use a step up ring to attach those filters to the ...
- 175k
4
votes
Do i need a Grad filter along with ND for long exposures that involve the sky?
With shooting a foreground and the sky, you've got a couple of choices:
A) You can use multiple shots and then blend them together in post processing. A minimum would be two exposures - one to ...
- 20.5k
3
votes
What is the advantage of carrying a tripod and ND-filters when you could use image stacking instead?
For use cases where image stacking might often be the preferred technique over single long exposures, a tripod or other physical method of stabilizing the camera is still invaluable and almost always ...
- 175k
3
votes
How to decide which lens to buy ND filter for?
Buy the largest one you need, and a couple step up rings to make it fit the other lenses. The caveat is that, especially for the smallest, you probably won't be able to use a lens hood and the filter ...
- 5,128
3
votes
Does using long exposure together with ND filter make the scene look more evenly lit?
No, using an ND filter with or without a long exposure won't change the lighting of a scene or somehow make it appear to be more evenly lit. This is because an ND filter reduces the amount of light ...
- 572
3
votes
How to find right ND filter for my panasonic lens Lens LUMIX G VARIO 12-60mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S.?
It is easy to get lost in the specifications, if you do not know what they mean.
The only one important to get an filter is the filter size. In this case, it is 58mm. Any filter with a 58mm size will ...
- 103k
3
votes
How do i use a ND filter without screwing it onto the lens?
This isn't a direct answer to your question, but probably a more correct one.
You really should get the broken filter off the lens. Sometimes filters get stuck and are hard to get off. That is ...
- 17.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Will a ND filter help me blur the background better (Example pictures)
Since you were shooting at f/16 and around 1/30 or 1/60 s. (ISO 100) the scene that day was around 13 EV (see an Exposition Value table here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_value#...
- 436
3
votes
In-body neutral density (ND) filters?
The camera lens is a converging lens. Light rays from the vista being imaged traverse the lens. Their path is altered by the density of lens material and by the shape of the lens. This action is ...
- 38.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible