First test run with my B+W 1000x / 3.0 / 10-stop ND filter

[480sparky]

I ordered a B&W1000x / 3.0 / 10-stop ND filter last week, and it showed up Saturday. This afternoon was the first chance I got to get out and give it a try.

First off, a baseline test shot at 1/1000 sec (ISO 400 f/2.8, Nikon D600, Nikkor 17-35/2.8 AF-D) .

I then installed the filter and tried to let the on-camera filter take a light reading. It only changed 5 stops, so I kept going until I had counted off 10 full stops (1 second).

Still seemed a bit dark, especially after viewing the histograms. So I changed the shutter speed to 2 seconds, or a full 11 stops.

Both filtered shots show a striking lack of color vibrancy, but I knew there would be some issues to overcome.

Here's a 100% crop of both SOOC and 11x side-by-side:

These are just my 'preliminary' findings, and I was just shooting JPEGs to see what direction(s) I need to take. I'm sure with raw files, I'll be able to correct most, if not all, the lack of saturation and contrast.

 

[Rick M]

I think part of the difference is the fact that you shot Jpegs. You need to find some waterfalls! Thanks for sharing your results and I look forward to seeing more!

 

[480sparky]

I think part of the difference is the fact that you shot Jpegs. You need to find some waterfalls! Thanks for sharing your results and I look forward to seeing more!

I'm just looking to nail down any variance in exposure, as well as color casts.

 

[Fred Kingston_RIP]

Can you tell me the thought processes you went through to pick that lens to purchase that expensive a filter for???? Were you looking to do landscapes so you chose a wide-angle lens as opposed to any other lens??? I assume you have other lenses...

 

[Rick M]

I'm just looking to nail down any variance in exposure, as well as color casts.

​I understand.

 

[480sparky]

Can you tell me the thought processes you went through to pick that lens to purchase that expensive a filter for???? Were you looking to do landscapes so you chose a wide-angle lens as opposed to any other lens??? I assume you have other lenses...

I have the 17-35, and plan on getting the 24-120G soon.

 

[Billy Y.]

Sparky, you need to black out your view finder when you use the 10-stop. Once you do this metering is much more accurate, the D700/d800 have a little switch for this - the D600 comes with a little insertable block of plastic. Maybe you already know this, but I was even getting light leaks last year on my D800 when I would forget to close the viewfinder shutter switch.
I also get a lot of Vignetting with the 17-35 2.8, not sure if it is the B+W or the lens - I noticed too that it is much warmer than the Lee big stopper.
cheers

 

[BackdoorArts]

Here's the best way to see the difference, and check if it's REALLY a 10 stop filter.

1. Shoot your unfiltered shot in manual mode, setting your exposure manually using the meter in the viewfinder, or shoot in Aperture mode and copy the settings into Manual mode.
2. Use an app like NDTimer to adjust your shutter speed for use with the filter (trusting the in-camera meter with a 10-stop filter is risky in many situations). If your baslineline image is 1/1000 sec. then you should be shooting at 1 sec. with a 10-stop filter.
3. Shoot with the filter in manual mode, changing only the shutter speed to the value produced by the app.
4. Compare shots.

You can also do this manually since each "stop" added effectively doubles your shutter speed, but if can get confusing to some since "doubling" fractions is really dividing the bottom number by 2, and when you from 1/125 it goes to 1/60 and not 1/62.5, but you get the idea. If you set your ISO Sensitivity Step Value in the Custom Menus to 1/2 and not 1/3, then each click of the shutter speed adjustment wheel equates with one stop change, so for a 10-stop filter just roll the shutter speed wheel through 10 clicks.

 

[480sparky]

OK, had some time this afternoon for some real testing. This time, things were a bit more controlled. And I tossed in my gray card for good measure. Taken at ISO 2000, 1/500. f/11, WB set to daylight (since I placed the WB card in the sunlight):

After installing the filter, and reducing the exposure 10-1/3 stops (that seems to give me a nearly identical histogram), I end up with this:

The first thing I noticed is it's quite warm. So I used the gray card to set the WB:

After the color correction, not only do I have a more natural-looking image (compared to the no-filter shot), it looks like the colors are a bit more saturated!

I'll do some more testing, but with these results, I think I'm gonna like having this filter in my arsenal!

 

[Rick M]

Looks Excellent!