Tiffen Gradual Neutral Density Filter
12:38
Following is a bit technical stuff, so for you who likes more philosophical readings you can just skip it. ;-) Yesterday I purchased this Tiffen Gradual Neutral Density filter. I was looking to do it for rather longer time. I use to have same filter on my old Olympus OM2n with, was it 49mm filter mount. Anyway I was really curious how this thing works and if it really have the effect I was hoping for. You know shooting sometime in high contrast environment can bring huge challenges, especially in situations I like. I mean shooting against the Sun or any other intensive source of light.
I was using ND8 filters to put intensity down by three stops when shooting on beach and similar. But the fact that you loos also light on places where there is not much of it is a problem. You can balance that with flash or any other reflective, light bouncing surface, but I was looking for something easier to carry and handle.
Today morning I put the filter on and did few test shots. You can see first image without the filter and second with filter filtering top part of image. This is ND0.6 filter as the Tiffen names it. That mean two stops down in darkest parts. In case of second image it is top part.
I find rather interesting how histograms are looking for this two shots. First histogram is for shot without the filter and the second for the shot with filter.
Interesting isn’t it? Filter seems to cut everything in top part. So matter a fact it is compressing the range. Same effect you see with Active D-lighting on Nikon cameras.
I have two more shot here for you. As the position of the ND part on the filter can be easily set by rotation outer ring of the filter you can set it also on bottom or left and right. In these two shots you can see and compare how the scene looks when ND part of the filter is on left and on right of the image.
You can clearly see the effect to balance the highlights. This was just really quick test to get a bit of feeling how does such a filter effects the scene. About the real use I will report as soon as I make some serious images. In case I will experience some kind of interesting behavior I will share that with you as well.
Looks useful… but why ISO 200 in the bright sun? :)
Simple, that is minimum I can get. There are also some extra software options like 1/2 and 1/4, but those are not the natural CCD sensitivity settings, but processed data.
Yeah, a split ND gradual filter has been a staple filter of mine for a good long while.
That is one thing I have thought long about, Richard, in my going completely digital in just over a month’s time, when I get the D700 – black and white photography. As you may remember :-) , with film, we used color filters to dictate how we wanted to capture a scene, by which color spectrums we wanted to highlight, or darken, and that was one, of the several, major deciding factors in my not wanting to go digital years ago… I wanted to truly be able to capture black and white images, using B&W shooting means, on B&W film, and not just converting some captured color image file to black and white. I am sure, and guess do know, that all the effects of B&W colored filters can be applied to an image in post, but honestly, that still is fake, not real and unnatural to me, and a detraction to going fully digital… though, on the tipping scale as to whether or not I go digital, it is on the lighter pan side, up in the air, while all the other reasons for me now wanting to fully go so, after all these years, weighs down the other pan side.
How do feel about that aspect of shooting, Richard, as compared to how you used to when still shooting film? How have you adjusted? Do differently? Or, were colored filters never really a part of your shooting? I never shoot B&W without at least one colored filter on (plus polarizer over top of it, and sometimes the gradual split ND filter over that!), and more oft than not, go out shooting with two colored filters on (my favorite combo being an orange and green, producing this deep mustard yellow).
Okay, so well anyway… like the technical posts as well as the philosophical… though, they really are the same, aren’t they truly? ;-)
Jeff,
interesting that you asked this. I still do use color filters when I go shooting purely black & white. I do use almost always Yellow 4 something from Nikon and often orange. I do use sometimes ND and polarizer and in extreme cases red as well.
So nothing has changed for me in this sense. Actually I am using them even more as they help a lot. Doing b&w only with filters on computer doesn’t work for me to my satisfaction. If I use color filter I do use mixing a color channels in computer as well, but is is much easier and nicer to work. I also get much more effect I am looking for. The pure color image is for me too flat if I like to get deep contrast b&w or sometimes this creamy b&w tone, which I was getting from Fuji Neopan and FD10 developer.
Moving to digital solved for me only two major problem and that is a chemicals on my hands and decrease a time in which I could work on image. I by the way, can not really imagine how I would do this flash photography without having digital. There is so much try and error, which can be done in question of minutes, which would not be possible with film. My flash equipment is so cheap that I do use all manual stuff. Each flash manual, exposure manual. Only digital allows me to see image right a way, take a look at histogram and zoom in image to see reaction on my manual settings.
So you going for D700 I would love that I also have look at Tokina 11-16/2.8, but there is no money. Selling prints is quite slow and a lot of investments I had in last few weeks hold on on ground.
BTW: Take a look at http://en.gravatar.com/site/login register there your email with image and than we can see your picture with your comments ;-) It will become more personal here.
Have a nice weekend Jeff!
-r-
One thing you have to get your head round is that digital is not film. Sounds obvious, I know. It is not a “fake” and you should not try replicating film or the behaviour of film. If you want it to look and behave like film, shoot film. We are still the generation that is familiar with both, but nowadays newcomers will not know this and develop their own language using the medium they choose. If we are too hung up with connecting digital to film in our minds, we will stay behind. They are two different things and don’t be afraid that a digital shot may look different from a film shot under the same conditions. When you “go digital”, you are not changing medium and tools, you are also changing syntax and you need to face up to that.
Dirk, somehow I have need to react on your comment. I think the question for me is not digital or not. It is now the tool I use. This tool helps me to express myself in form of images. I do not care if I stay behind and for me it is not important if it works with CCD or chemicals. Important is that using it I can create result I like and because I am lazy with minimum effort. :-)
Okay, maybe my post just clearly revealed my ignorance of shooting digital – I thought color filters could not be used with digital because they did not work with the sensors… Like, if I put a ubiquitously used red filter on the front to increase contrast and darken blues (in my film trained mind), will that still achieve the same effect on a digital sensor? Or, just do what I thought it did, will just wash the whole image as like a red color channel only file? Can’t digital cameras only shoot in color? Is there a setting where the sensor only reads a scene in shades of grey?
I guess when I get the D700, my learning curve on the whole digital aspect is just going to be very steep as I realize what all can and can’t be done with it, as I just simply learn of the format, which again, I really have no real knowledge of apparently.
I just need to get my hands on the D700 so I can just dive into learning and filling the lack of knowledge void I have of the format! I can’t wait! :-) Just a little over a month, just a little over a month, just a little over a month… :-)
PS: I did the Gravater register thing… So now my comments should be graced with my funny lookin’ mug! :-)
Jeff,
as far as I know and also what my experience with Nikon D300 tells me the CCD is made of the pixel which are set to be sensitive (by filtering or by other means like masks) to different colors. Mostly those are RGB and some cameras they have two red, one green and one blue for the one pixel in output image and some has different patterns.
Point is that the software in camera mix that to the resulting image based on some algorithm. I really do not know the details. I know that filter does effect how much light of which color hits the CCD. I think the best would be if I write a little text about it with some of my images, what do you think?
P.S.: Thanks for your image/gravatar!
> Point is that the software in camera mix that to the resulting image based on some algorithm.
Film does the same :)