Living on an Island taking landscapes, a lot of these will include the sea. On occasion, I would like to slow the shutter right down to get some nice water images. If I could buy a single (Hoya) ND filter for my projected landscape outfit of D610 + Nikkor 16-35mm f4, which strength should I get?
Which ND filter?
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BackdoorArts
Senior Member
9 or 10 stop. Anything less and you'll be miserable trying to do water. 16-35mm f/4 is a 77mm, which is what you want to get because you can always step down to other sizes with adapter rings, but not step up.
Thanks Jake
A question about adaptor rings. I had expected Nikon or Hoya to sell these, but all I can find at the moment are on Amazon are cheap looking no-name rings. Are there any quality adaptor rings available?
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I got a couple quality step down rings (77mm to 72mm, 77mm to 67mm) from B&H, and also got the generic semi-flimsy set of rings that step one notch at a time. The cheesy ones are fine provided you store them properly and don't tighten them up when you have them put together or you won't get them apart without a filter wrench. and before you ask, I don't remember the brands.
RocketCowboy
Senior Member
What is the ND "rating" for a 9 stop? Is this the ND512 or what Hoya called the ND400? Or am I off base? I'm getting confused trying to match stops versus the filter names.
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BackdoorArts
Senior Member
ND400 is actually 8 2/3 stops, ND512 is 9, ND1024 (or ND1000 as it's sometimes called) is 10.
Thanks Jake
Unfortunately, B&H products do not appear to be available outside of North America.
Thanks Tracey, I notice that SRB have a few items on Amazon.
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I'm now in the same room as the bag. The "cheap" set I have is Fotodiox, here on the US Amazon site. Amazon.com : Fotodiox 7 Metal Step-Down Ring Set, Anodized Black Metal. 77-72mm, 72-67mm, 67-62mm, 62-58mm, 58-55mm, 55-52mm, 52-49mm : Flash Adapter Rings : Electronics
The quality 67 to 77mm is a Marumi, which was available on Amazon at the time but no longer. If I had to buy from Amazon now I'd likely go with the B+W. It costs the same as the entire cheap set, but most of my quality lenses are 67mm or 77mm so having one good step down for that conversion is important because, a) it gets used a lot and sits in my filter case inside my camera case (higher propensity for abuse), and b) stacking a 77-to-72 plus a 72-to-67 won't work on my 28mm f1.8 without vignetting.
The quality 67 to 77mm is a Marumi, which was available on Amazon at the time but no longer. If I had to buy from Amazon now I'd likely go with the B+W. It costs the same as the entire cheap set, but most of my quality lenses are 67mm or 77mm so having one good step down for that conversion is important because, a) it gets used a lot and sits in my filter case inside my camera case (higher propensity for abuse), and b) stacking a 77-to-72 plus a 72-to-67 won't work on my 28mm f1.8 without vignetting.
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I'm thinking every filter maker likely makes step down rings as well, so whatever brand name (Hoya, Tiffen, Marumi, B+W, etc) you can find should be solid and not the cheap aluminum that the set is made of. Which one matters less than getting something quality.
Checking step-down rings from B+W & Tiffen, both are made from aluminium. Hoya don't seem to make them any more. Sensei pro seem to be the only ones made from brass. I've not heard of the Sensei name, any comments please?
B&H do ship to Europe, the price is about $46. I will check import duties.
B&H do ship to Europe, the price is about $46. I will check import duties.
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BackdoorArts
Senior Member
That's a lot of money to pay for shipping on a simple step-down. Amazon has a fairly liberal return policy. I'd look through what they have, read the buyer comments and see what you can get.