[UdubBadger]

So I was shooting at the Chicago Botanical Gardens today. Wanted to get a long exposure shot of a little waterfall but I couldn't get the shutter time over 1 sec without it blowing out all the highlights (my aperture was 32 @ ISO 100). I thought I remember hearing of a filter that is like tinted or something to let you take long exposures in bright conditions. Anyone know what I'm talking about here?

I settled for just doing 2 exposures, 1 blown out and 1 darker so I can just layer um in PS but I swear there is something out there for this...

[dcstep]

Yeah, you need a Neutral Density filter, which has no color, but reduces light. You can buy sets that have differing EV impact. Also, a Polarazing Filter can help, but it might not darken enough on a bright day.

[jhv]

yep, an ND filter is what you're looking for

[UdubBadger]

but they make them with different EV values?

[vachss]

Originally Posted by UdubBadger

but they make them with different EV values?

https://www.schneideroptics.com/ecom...y.aspx?CID=679


Above is a link to the ND filter page on B+W's website. Note the filter designations contain 2 numbers: a decimal value which is the optical density (log of the absorption), and a number of the form Nx which means that the filter attenuates by a factor of N. For example, the 77MM ND 0.9-8X has an optical density of 0.9, meaning it only lets through 1/8th of the incident light (i.e. 3 stops).

The strongest ND shown is an OD3 which attenuates the light by a factor of 1000 (about 10 stops), but you'd only need this for some very long exposures. Most folks looking for exposures of a few seconds in daylight seem to go for 2 or 3 stop NDs.

[BillLee]

i had one up for sale a while ago. it was 4x, didn't work too well with waterfall shots so i'm getting 8x.

2x = ND.3 (exposure adjustment = 1 stop, reduces ISO 1/2)

4x = ND.6 (exposure adjustment = 2 stops, reduces ISO 1/4)

8x = ND.9 (exposure adjustment = 3 stops, reduces ISO 1/8)

[rodi]

I have a ten-stop ND. it's pretty rad.
I also have a faderND, but only for my 72mm thread lenses.