UKC

I've seen that a lot of landscape photographers use ND filters for balancing land and sky exposure.

Anyone here got any advice on buying them, or tips and ticks for using them?

I may invest in a set soon.

Thanks in advance.

In reply to stroppygob:

Unless you're going to expose separately for sky and land and then blend digitally later, I'd say they are essential.

Their use isn't always straightforward, however - if the horizon is clear (e.g. in seascapes) then it's easy, but otherwise you may end up having some work to do in the digital darkroom since anything above the transition line will be under-exposed. This is more so for 'hard' grads rather than 'soft' grads.

I've used the Lee system for several years now. Not the cheapest but very reliable and excellent customer service (for example, I lost a component from my filter holder, phoned to order a replacement and it was waiting for me when I got home the next day, free of charge).

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

The link below gives a good introduction.

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/how-to/tech-explained/529599/graduated...

Lee system is excellent but very expensive. Lots of cheap alternatives on ebay etc and worth having a play around before buying a costly set.

As mentioned exposure blending is an alternative and has the advantage of coping with horizons that are not fairly straight. Grad NDs are good for fairly straight horizons such as seascapes but less useful for uneven ones with mountains or trees sticking up. Blending also means less to carry in the field but does mean more computer time later.

In reply to stroppygob:

Lee system is usually regarded as the 'best', but I also use Hi-Tec and Cokin P and can't see any real difference.
They are all a bit of a fiddle to use, especially if you are chasing changing light! And as Doug mentions, there's umpteen bits n pieces you need to have on you, for different lenses.
I'd advise you to kick off with the 0.6 soft Grad as its quite forgiving, regarding horizons, it's still the one I use most.
Ps
They ALL scratch easily!

In reply to stroppygob:

You tend to find that cheaper filters have a slight colour cast. It can easily be corrected though as part of your post-processing. Personally I think the Lee system is worth the money and should be considered an investment. Exposure blending is a great alternative if used lightly (folk tend to go over the top with HDR blending - do you really need +/- 6 stops?!). The problem with blending is that anything with movement in it (e.g. wind in trees, clouds, water, people) will blur as the subject will have moved in-between exposures.

Just my opinions/thoughts.

Si

In reply to stroppygob:

I now use the Lee filters,having recently replaced my Cokin P set. The latter don't last very long, (they scratch very easily), and also leave a noticeable blue colour cast.

The Lee filters are a bit expensive but are definitely of a better build quality and I haven't noticed much, if any, of a colour cast in subsequent images.

I think the soft grads are more versatile for hilly subjects, or those without a flat horizon, as they have a larger transition region that allow better for undulations on the horizon.

In reply to stroppygob:

Many thanks people, some great advice and a handy link.

I may invest in a set of Lees.

Any more info / tutorials welcomed.

Here in Aus there tends to be sufficient light, but trying to blend in post processing can lead to a over-posterised / hdr look

In reply to stroppygob:

Lee system is the best solution (imho), and in the right hands is equivalent to post-processing. I prefer the former, mostly as it lets you get it right while in situ -- important if it's a difficult to get to location, or one that you can't get back to easily, or simply amazing conditions.

I did originally buy an intro cokin system (small and crap) but have never regretted upgrading to the Lee system. You're welcome to try the cokin crap for free (I still have it) if you want to follow suit...!

See the videos on the Lee website for pretty good introduction. I rarely use much beyond hard .6 and .9 and soft .9. Anything else and the sensor can generally cope (though I generally shoot in medium-low contrast situations, with Canon 20D/6D).

In reply to Jon Read:

Cheers Jon. If you're prepared to send them to Aus, I'm happy to pay the P&P, and chuck in enough for a beer or two!

In reply to stroppygob:

Have a look at the Lee starter kit, stay well away from expensive class versions (until you fancy the 10 stop big stopper) stay with soft grad to start if your buying one buy the two stop 0.6 by far the one I use most often for landscapes,if your getting two get the one stop 0.3 + 0.6 take care with the 3stop 0.9 it can unbalance an image easily.
If you stack them offset them so the hardest gradients don't fall exactly together, of you want to be really clever for long exposure don't use the holder and manually feather them with constant movement in front the lens...gives a better natural blend of light.

Colour cast is minimal, currently for myself...correct exposure in camera with grads comes before bracketing but you have to check your live view image to make sure it works....if time is on your side ( which it often isn't when using grads) do both correct in camera and bracket.

Regards Shaun