nyarla wrote:So..I really want to be able to take long exposure shots in daylight. Y'know, the typical thing that everyone does where flowing water looks super smooth and misty...
Yep!
nyarla wrote:So a filter's what I need right? Neutral Density, 10 stop?
ND filters, yes. Density will depend on what you're looking to achieve. A 10 stop filter is really for that silky smooth effect on very choppy water, whereas in a lot of cases you only need to achieve something like 1/10th -> ½s to show movement.
Two problems:
With a 10 stop, it's like welding glass. You can't see through it *at all* so you need to compose your frame, focus etc. and then attach the filter. With a screw-in filter that's fiddly, and if you're half way down a welsh waterfall somewhere it can be a real pain if you have to do it a few times.. I learned that the expensive way. I bought
a *really* nice B&W one at about £120. Used it twice and found it to be a pain in the arse, so I cut my losses and bought the
Lee Big Stopper.
Also, with cheap filters they often really aren't very neutral and you can get a nasty colour cast on long exposures. Yes you can correct the raw file later but it's another thing to think about.
nyarla wrote:My dad, who has a bunch of camera stuff, is sending me a circular polarising filter, but I dunno what exactly it is.. (your comparison with/without filter pic is amazing RiK).. He reckons it might do an ok job at the daytime long exposures..
In simple terms, a polariser eliminates scattered light and when aligned with the direct sunlight will reduce reflections and increase the contrast, producing amazing definition in the clouds, brighter sky, more vivid colours etc. It will also lose about 1 - 1½ stops too so you can use it in place of an ND filter for those simple water shots too.
Right, a few examples then:
One I did last week:
Second Severn Crossing by
Richard Olpin LRPS, on Flickr
That's 70s, f/16 and ISO 50. I did previously do a 40s exposure at ISO100 which worked ok for the fairly choppy water, but didn't show enough movement in the clouds.
I used a 10 stop filter (
Lee Big Stopper)
And some older things:
BreconWaterfalls-9882-Edit by
Richard Olpin LRPS, on Flickr
1.3s @ f/16: Off the top of my head that was probably just a 2 or 3 stop. it was pretty dark down in the valley anyway.
Brecon Waterfalls by
Richard Olpin LRPS, on Flickr
0.6s @ f/16. 2 stop IIRC
Brecon-8497 by
Richard Olpin LRPS, on Flickr
0.5s @ f/16. I think that was probably just my
B+W Circular Polariser
)
