Neutral density filters or ND filters can be used to produce stunning landscape and portrait photos. The two common DSLR photography usage of ND filters include longer shutter time or a wider aperture. A 10 stop ND filter looks very similar to a black piece of glass, which is why it is also known as a black filter. Due to the extreme darkness, it becomes nonrealistic to use 10 stop filter for outdoor portraits. If you are wondering the meaning of 10 stop or how ND filters are named, check out my old post about the nomenclature of ND Filters. For daylight landscapes, you need 6-10 stops to create those stunning long exposure shots. In fact, a few things you will easily find in a landscape photographer's arsenal includes:
Sturdy tripod
Polarizing filter
Neutral density filter
Hoya, Singh-Ray, B+W, Lee, Haida, Cokin, etc are few known brands in the neutral density filter market. The cost of a given neutral density filter is determined by the coating and optical quality of glass used. This post will focus on the Haida NanoPro MC ND3.0 (ND1000) 10 stop filter review. The package comes in a silver box with a foam gasket and the filter. I have been using this filter for all of my daytime long exposure photography needs. It is a square-shaped constant density ND filter which means darkness is the same throughout the filter. It connects with Tokina 11-16 mm F2.8 mm lens through a cheap filter system I bought from eBay. Adding another piece of glass between the lens and subject often can produce weird colour casts or it can also change the white balance of the image. Luckily, my experience with the Haida Nano Pro ND1000 filter has been successful so far.
Good:
No weird colour cast.
No white balance issue. I mostly shoot raw, but have never been forced to correct white balance tint or temperature when using this filter.
Bad:
If you are a pixel peeper, it slightly decreases image sharpness. But my personal experience says this is a common issue with most of the neutral density filters.
Vignetting. Yes, there is a marginal amount of vignetting on the left bottom and right bottom in some of the images. It happens to 1 in every 15-20 images so not really a huge deal breaker.
Example shots:
All the images used in this post were taken by using a Canon T5i with Haida 10 stop Nano Pro ND filter connected to a Tokina 11-16 F2.8 lens.
Tip:
While using a 10 stop ND filter during daylight, never forget to cover the viewfinder. If the viewfinder is facing a direct source of light and left uncovered, there is a high chance to see a lot of strange artifacts and flares in the captured image. During the daytime, there is tons of natural light hitting the lens and camera from all sides. If you notice a light leak flare, try adjusting the foam gasket in addition to covering the viewfinder.
Hope you found this post helpful for your long exposure photography needs. Share the photography love by sharing this post. :)
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