Help needed big time. I read an article on here about blown out skys and the use of nd and nd grad filters. Someone mentioned that if you buy cheap then you will get pink skys and not natural colours. I have this issue with a cheap set I have so am looking to get a decent screw filter nd8. I used nd8 and circ pol alot and nd grad too. My circ pol is by hoya and is great so I was considering getting this hoya nd8 see link
Can get it cheaper on ebay but wanted to know if this filter will not produce the pink issue I am having? Any advice on other brands would be most welcome
Firstly, you are aware that an ND filter (as opposed to a graduated ND filter) will not help with blown out skies? An ND filter is like a pair of sunglasses -- it makes everything darker, both the ground and the sky. If you are exposing the ground correctly and blowing the sky without an ND filter, you'll do the same with an ND filter, just using a longer exposure. If you want to lower the overall exposure of the image (underexposing the ground and correctly exposing the sky), you can do that simply by altering your camera settings.
To correctly expose both the ground and the sky in a single shot you will need a graduated ND filter (one which gets darker from top to bottom). These are almost always square filters and need a special filter holder -- it's vital that you can adjust where the gradation occurs on the image.
To answer your question, it's quite unusual to get a significant tint with a 3-stop (8x) ND filter -- this typically only becomes a problem with much 'darker' filters like an 8-stop (400x) or 10-stop (1000x) filter. I wouldn't expect you'd have any problems with an expensive filter like that. I believe B+W make the most neutral screw-in filters, if you want to be sure, but they'll be more expensive.
@abirkill thanks so muxh alexis. I total understand the uses of nd and nd grads. It was not me experiencing the sky blowout. Just the dact that my cuurrent cheap nd8 make blue skys have a pink tint.
Totally agree with what Alexis says, as for the link in my opinion it's too cheap so I would avoid but that's not to say its not genuine. As Alexis suggest with the grad filter take a look at http://www.cokin.co.uk/ reasonable cost and will serve you well
Agree with @abirkill about the difference between ND and ND Grad. Unless you use a graduated filter blown highlights could be an issue.
I use the B+W screw in 10 stop a lot and would just offer this word of advice. Although I am extremely happy with the results it produces if I had my choice again I would go for the Lee Big Stopper if you want to extend shutter times as its extremely limiting to have to remove the filter whenever you change composition etc. Plus the Lee filter holder needed for the Big Stopper can also hold ND Grads.
@brav OK, I just wanted to make sure, as you mentioned blown highlights to start with :)
That's a nasty colour change on that second photo. Just to confirm, are you setting your white balance correctly (e.g. to daylight?) The auto white balance sensors may not make an accurate assessment when you fit an ND filter on the camera, as they don't have enough light to work with, and that can cause a colour shift (although easily corrected if you shoot RAW)
I would think a (genuine) Hoya Pro1 filter would be fine, but I'm not an expert at picking the real ones from the fakes -- I expect the adage 'if it looks too good to be true, it probably is' may apply here.
This would be the B+W equivalent I'd recommend (from a US site but should give you enough info to find it locally):
@abirkill appreciate the help alexis. The second shot was taken to bring out some purple and pinks. Will do some tests next time I get the chance to see if the awb makes signuficant changes.
There is a UK based company that make glass nd filters similar to the cokin ones and compatible with them. They're called premier ink and photographic (seem to advertise on the back pages of a lot of magazines) and have a set of filters and filter holders including graduated and plain for about £50. Not sure how much their individual filters are, but they might be worth you looking at.
@agima I am sold Brendan. These are fantastic. Have been looking on internet today. Most shops sell at RRP around £55 but online there are deals to be had. Amazon £25. Just ordered one ND8 and see how it goes. WIll be tempted to get a ND4 and possibly ND16 in the future. Have you ever stacked more than one filter? Like ND4 and ND8 etc?
This is a shot I took with my Hoya NDX16 filter by taking 3 shots at different exposures and processing them into a single image with Photomatix .
http://365project.org/rwhite/365/2012-12-10">
@brav Stacking is not a problem depending on how many you want to stack and the lens you are using. If you stack them too high and image is wide enough they will bleed into the image. This is also why these filters have a low profile.
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To correctly expose both the ground and the sky in a single shot you will need a graduated ND filter (one which gets darker from top to bottom). These are almost always square filters and need a special filter holder -- it's vital that you can adjust where the gradation occurs on the image.
To answer your question, it's quite unusual to get a significant tint with a 3-stop (8x) ND filter -- this typically only becomes a problem with much 'darker' filters like an 8-stop (400x) or 10-stop (1000x) filter. I wouldn't expect you'd have any problems with an expensive filter like that. I believe B+W make the most neutral screw-in filters, if you want to be sure, but they'll be more expensive.
Example
Without nd8 filter
http://365project.org/brav/365/2013-01-04
With nd8 filter for longer exposure
http://365project.org/brav/365/2012-12-05
I use the B+W screw in 10 stop a lot and would just offer this word of advice. Although I am extremely happy with the results it produces if I had my choice again I would go for the Lee Big Stopper if you want to extend shutter times as its extremely limiting to have to remove the filter whenever you change composition etc. Plus the Lee filter holder needed for the Big Stopper can also hold ND Grads.
That's a nasty colour change on that second photo. Just to confirm, are you setting your white balance correctly (e.g. to daylight?) The auto white balance sensors may not make an accurate assessment when you fit an ND filter on the camera, as they don't have enough light to work with, and that can cause a colour shift (although easily corrected if you shoot RAW)
I would think a (genuine) Hoya Pro1 filter would be fine, but I'm not an expert at picking the real ones from the fakes -- I expect the adage 'if it looks too good to be true, it probably is' may apply here.
This would be the B+W equivalent I'd recommend (from a US site but should give you enough info to find it locally):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/752855-REG/B_W_1066142_58mm_103_Solid_Neutral.html
Cheap filters do not give the true image as you have found. Sure they may be cheap but you get a different coloured images.
Here are some images using mine.
http://365project.org/rwhite/365/2012-12-10">