I went back to Little Manly Cove the other day, a local beach in Manly with a great ocean pool. This image is the result of a one minute exposure, sufficient time to allow the fast moving clouds to streak through the sky.

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I’ve had the B+W 10 stop 3.0 ND filter for a few months now and thought I would give it a whirl on a recent trip to NZ. In retrospect I should have played with it before I left or even researched other peoples experiences, needless to say I had mixed results. Since then I’ve studied up and thought I would share some tips that may help you get better results.

First up how I use the filter. Before you even put the ND filter on follow these steps:

• put your camera on a tripod you are going to be shooting upwards of 10s so this is a must.
• compose the shot, if you are using this filter it’s likely you want to show some sort of motion blur, include clouds, water, crowds or something that moves and juxtapose this with something static.
• set focus and switch to manual, I wouldn’t rely on auto focus through the filter.*
• set the white balance if shooting jpeg (the camera has no chance once the filters on)*
• correctly expose the scene, setting the aperture and shutter speed (for the scene without the filter at this stage).*
• take a test shot and check histogram (re do previous step if unhappy).

Setting the white balance isn’t as important if shooting in RAW as it can be changed in the RAW editor. Focus and exposure can be set with the filter on if your camera has ‘live view’. Zoom in 100% to set the focus approximately 1/3rd into the image. I find with live view setting the exposure with the filter on the resulting images can come out somewhat dark. I suggest to add an extra stop (3 clicks of shutter speed) to correctly expose the image….or shoot and review the histogram.

Put the filter on!

• stop down the exposure 10 stops (for my camera this is 30 clicks of the shutter speed dial as each increment is a third of a stop – make sure you are going the correct way!).
• go for it, check histogram, correct accordingly.

At 17mm on a full frame camera you really notice lens drop off (darkened edges on the image) so be mindful of this. When you get your photos into post you are likely to have to do a lot of colour correction, first correct the white balance. Colours still look way out? You’ve either got colour cast caused by your filter (the drop in Formatt (Hi-Tech) filters are bad for this, tisk tisk not again Formatt?) or infrared contamination (images lack contrast, appears ‘muddy’).

 

Here is a shot taken at Craters of the Moon, Taupo, New Zealand. Straight out of the camera you can see it looks muddy and the white balance is all off:

After some colour correction in Adobe RAW we get (note the lack of contrast):

Converting to black and white and processing in Photoshop the end result is a far more contrasty shot where colour is not an issue:

IR contamination the good the bad and the ugly:

• foliage (leaves, grass etc.) come out bright, can be a good look in b&w, leaves reflect IR so they don’t burn in the sun!
• Blue sky’s appear darker, good thing
• Rocks and sand absorb IR, can look muddy and lack contrast
• the sea absorbs all IR, ok to shoot

There are a couple of options to minimise IR contamination.

• The use of an additional hot mirror filter to block IR (I’ve never tried this so can comment on its effectiveness)
• Shoot the sea to minimise IR
• Don’t shot long exposures!
• Shot long exposures as well as short ones and blend in PS

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I’m writing this purely out of frustration. I’ve spent many an hour on the net researching definitive answers trying to build the best filter kit. I haven’t found anything specific to my setup so here it is for anyone else looking.

Neutral Density Graduated Filters

Ok, so I have a Canon 5D, I mostly shoot with the Canon 17-40mm L Series lens and as you may have figured I mostly shoot landscapes. Bracketing exposures is a good option (one for the sky and one for the foreground) but I still prefer the getting it right ‘in camera’ approach so I like to use filters. We are all after dynamic range so they really are a must…I’m still not convinced by HDR software.

What brand of filters should I buy? Are they truly neutral or do they give a colour cast?

Let’s start with filters and colour cast. Cokin P Series filters give a pink colour cast and should be avoided like the plague. I’m sure it’s the same with the other Cokin series filter but after my experience with the P filters I’m not going to bother trying. What about more expensive filters such as Lee or Singh Ray? Being of Scottish blood I opted to purchase mid range filters made by HiTech (aka Formatt). For the most part I’ve had an ok experience with them, they still have a colour cast but are definitely a vast improvement on the Cokins. However, when I use the 3 stop ND filters I get lines across the entire image which are very noticeable in the shadows. The images are unusable as you can see:

I learned the hard way and had to throw out a handful of images.

As far as Lee or Singh Ray filters I’ll let my fellow photographer Brent explain this one. For the tech heads click here. It would seem that regardless of the cost no filter is truly neutral (does that constitute as false advertising?) and of all the brands Lee are the most neutral. I wonder if there is a difference in the optical quality, Anyone? I will definitely be upgrading to Lee filters in the future and be profiling each combination as Brent has done.

Filter Holder

OK now for filter holders. After dropping my Z164 down a waterfall I decided to buy the correct Z Series holder. Playing with it the other night I noticed a big dirty vignette (arrg!). I decided to investigate further.

I setup the 5D with my Canon 17-40mm L series glass to test both the Cokin Z Series and Lee filter holders. Remember the 5D is full frame, the following is not true for cropped sensor cameras.

F4, 17mm no filter holder

F4, 17mm Cokin Z Series filter holder reversed, 77mm adaptor ring

F4, 17mm Cokin Z Series filter holder with 2 slots, 77mm adaptor ring

F4, 17mm Lee filter holder with 3 slots, wide angle 77mm adaptor ring

F16, 17mm no filter holder

F16, 17mm Cokin Z Series filter holder reversed, 77mm adaptor ring

F16, 17mm Cokin Z Series filter holder with 2 slots, 77mm adaptor ring

F16, 17mm Lee filter holder with 3 slots, wide angle 77mm adaptor ring

From the above test you’ll notice little or no difference between the holders. The major difference is between the apertures. What I didn’t realise in my initial tests was that what I was actually seeing was lens drop off. That is the outer corners of the frame receive less light than the centre causing what seems to be a vignette.

Circular Polarizing Filter

Yes I know using a Circular polarizer on a wide angle lens will give you inconsistent polarization across the sky, and no it doesn’t look good…but what if you want to use one and not include the sky? or just cut down reflections in one part of the frame? Will it vignette? Should I splash out on the Lee 105mm CPL ($500AU – $600AU including adaptor ring)? Or what about Cokins Z164? Which filter holder should I go with?

Well I would say go like brand with like brand, the Z164 won’t work in the Lee filter holder (see my previous post) and visa versa. I think it’s definitely wise to go for the drop-in filter rather than a screw in and then mount the holder on that. The CPL can be used on any size lens with the correct adaptor ring and you can spin the grads independently.

Will it vignette? Here is the Cokin setup:

F4, 17mm Cokin Z Series filter holder reversed with Z164 Circular Polarizing filter, 77mm adapter ring

F16, 17mm Cokin Z Series filter holder reversed with Z164 Circular Polarizing filter, 77mm adapter ring

Yes it will and it will even encroach on the frame, not quite as easy to fix in post.

Summary

As expected the aperture makes a big difference, as I’m shooting landscapes I generally use F16 which makes for a vast improvement. I’m thinking I should have just splashed the cash and got the Lee circular polarizing filter. I’m sure it still vignettes but probably not as bad, I’ll post the results when I find out.

Please feel free to ask questions, post your thoughts, correct me if I’m wrong and maybe together we can put this one to rest! So far my thoughts on the ultimate setup are Lee all the way…that’s right, Lee endorses Lee.

UPDATE: Have Lee got the solution? Click here for more information.

With my new polarizing filter in hand and after lots of rain fall over Sydney I visited the Valley of Waters near Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. It’s a steep climb down especially with kg’s of camera equipment but it’s definitely worth it, even if I did lose the filter.

This article is for anyone looking to use the Cokin circular polarising filter (Z164) with a Lee filter holder. After lots of consideration I purchased this filter last week to use with my Lee filter holder. The Lee filter holder will hold filters of 100mm in diameter, the exact diameter of the CPL. The perfect match you would think but this is not the case. Yes it does fit but what the Lee filter does not have are little pegs to hold the filter in place and to stop it from sliding out, something the cokin holder does have. I probably should have modified the filter holder before going out for a test run at the weekend. I thought it would be ok as the fit is relatively tight but alas I was wrong and the filter dropped out of the holder and down a waterfall. Fortunately my insurance covered the loss so it didn’t sting quite as much as having to buying another one. I think I will be selling my Lee filter holder and going with the Cokin one as I would advise anyone else to do.

Here are some shots I got before dropping the filter down the waterfall, early results look promising!

This is where I dropped my filter, if anyone finds it let me know! This photo didn’t make it onto the site, I’ll go back when I get the new filter and give it another go.