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| *SoulEyes Photography>>>Landscape Photography |
How many stops would I need on a gradualted neutral density filter if I plan to do some landscape photography? |
I have a nikon D50. I want to do some landscape photography, and I was thinking I need a graduated neutral density filter because my sky washes out a lot. I have never used one of those before so I was wondering how many stops would be good for a graduated neutral density filter I should get if I plan to take some landscape with sky? A neutral density (lets call it an ND filer for short) filter reduces the light that hits the film or the digital sensor. It depends on the filter you buy; some reduce the amount by a full f/stop, some will go to 2 full f/stops. Few go beyond that, you can combine filters if you need more, but it is better to use a lower iso in that case. But you need to know what your ND factor is before you can adjust for it. A graduated filter gradually goes from perfectly clear to maximum ND factor. Its job is to average out the exposure difference between the highlights and the shadows. (There are also 50/50 filters, no graduation, just a distinct line between clear and ND filtered) If you have an automatic TTL exposure camera (almost all are nowadays) and want to use auto exposure, just put it on and shoot away. It's smart enough to compensate for most situations. On manual exposure, meter on the sky thru the ND filter, note the exposure, then meter the rest of the photo without the filter, note that exposure. Set your camera's exposure halfway between the two (on a 2X ND filter, get a bit closer to the sky's exposure, on a 1X ND, favor the unfiltered exposure). I know, this sounds too simple. But every ND filter is different even from the same manufacturer, you will need to experiment to find the exact sweet spot between the two halves. And that Sweet spot will differ from one type of shot to the next. That's the ugly truth Thats not quite the question you need to ask. What you need to do is consider how much of hte picture you want to be in focus, the more you want in focus the higher you need your F-Stop. So now that you have decided which F-Stop you want to use, then you need to adjust your shutter speed so that the light meter is in the middle, or shows 50% or however yours works. Based on what I think that you're looking for, you're going to need at least 2 stops and possibly 3 for a pretty bright day. |
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