nd filters vs. f stop adj

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patrick in memphis

Senior Member
hi there just a quick? why would a person use an nd filter vs just adjusting f stop? any pros or cons?i was just doing my usual ogeling of toys on ebay i.e. more junk i dont need ...and thought about getting an nd8? for doing my moon photography. i believe thats the right one but correct me if im wrong.apparently they make a moon filter for telescopes so....i figured there has to be a camera equivelent....i have begun to amass a colection of filters that appear to be of littile use but for 20$ who cares..i might as well play..photography has always interested me .but now at my ripe old age of 38 lol im trying to hone that down to what i like to shoot(according to my teenagers im old )lol... makes me laugh
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
On bright sunny days you can't stop down a lens enough to achieve the same shutter speeds that you can with an ND filter. Also, anything above ~f=11 will begin to lose sharpness.
 
E

Eye-level

Banned
A ND filter that gives you two or three stops is in most cases good enough for just about any picture. Now with astrophotography I am not so sure.
 
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skyferno

skyferno

New member
only thing i know about nd filters is that they let you keep your aperture wide open and wont max out your shutter speed on a really bright setting. Wide aperture for more DOF!
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
patrick in memphis said:
ok thanks i had not thought about that aspect since i was thinking to use it at night
but it makes sense during daylight usage
Click to expand...

One other reason to use a ND filter is when you want a really longer exposure time in daylight. Like when you want to photograph a river, creek or a fall and you want to have the water become milky. You have to use such a filter then.
 
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