ND Filters
- Thread starter Moab Man
- Start date
A question for you guys experienced with ND filters...
I'm considering the Hoya ND400 to experiment with.
Conventional advice says to get the filter for your largest lens and use step-up rings. My two lenses that might get used with the filter are my Nikon 18-105 and my Tokina 11-16.
So my question is, if I get the larger size, will situations arise where I will regret not being able to use the hood on my 18-105?
I'm considering the Hoya ND400 to experiment with.
Conventional advice says to get the filter for your largest lens and use step-up rings. My two lenses that might get used with the filter are my Nikon 18-105 and my Tokina 11-16.
So my question is, if I get the larger size, will situations arise where I will regret not being able to use the hood on my 18-105?
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I disagree with the comment about the hood. Long exposures usually are done on cloudy days and you won't need the hood, but you're using the ND to provide that ability on a sunny day and could be shooting into the sun. You may not need a hood, but you'll want to check for lens flare beforehand and if you have it use something to shadow the lens from out of view to prevent it. And that said, it's a bit of a PITA to do it without mucking the filter, but you can actually insert a 67-77mm step up ring inside the hood of the 18-105 - at least I can put mine in there. Too much of a pain to muck about taking it on and off to meter and reframe, but if you're willing to do some guesswork on settings you can use live view to reframe with the filter on. I put together a little blog post on it when I got both lazy and a little wary of dropping an expensive filter on rocks when I was shooting on a cold day.
http://nikonites.com/blogs/backdoorhippie/186-long-daylight-exposure-lessons-breaking-rules.html
http://nikonites.com/blogs/backdoorhippie/186-long-daylight-exposure-lessons-breaking-rules.html
Thanks for the replies. I can envision cloudy day use as well as sunny conditions. I live on the east shore of a lake so many of my out-the-back-door shots involve inconvenient sun later in the day.
Jake, thanks for the blog post. That will be helpful.
My mind is thinking about a makeshift hood if I need it to fit over the filter and ring.... a short length of 2" rubber hose split down one side should easily slip on and off the front of the lens with filter assembly and be self-holding. Like a piece of radiator hose or a rubber pipe coupling for pvc pipe.
Jake, thanks for the blog post. That will be helpful.
My mind is thinking about a makeshift hood if I need it to fit over the filter and ring.... a short length of 2" rubber hose split down one side should easily slip on and off the front of the lens with filter assembly and be self-holding. Like a piece of radiator hose or a rubber pipe coupling for pvc pipe.