gel sheets...how many stops

HerzogisGod

HerzogisGod

Well-known member
This is for the ND filter sheets that get applied to windows .....

How many stops should I consider....I want to be able to see outside a window and have full control over interior lighting. It's a small room with two standard windows

should I get the three stop reduction?
 
Well I should think it would depend on how bright/dark it is in the interior, the closer the light gets to outside, the less light you need to block from outside.

Also you need to think of the color temp difference, so probably balance to daylight inside with your lighting.

- Derrick
 
I think it depends on how low your going to shoot in the room and what kind of lights you have.

Remember that the outside light will change as the day goes on so if your shooting late in might be easier to have 1 or 1 1/2 stop ND gels and double them up so you can remove one later if you need to match shots.
 
on a bright sunny day, we use ND.9 (3 stops) in the windows. this was in a residential neighborhood.
 
And it would also depends on what you actually see outside the windows. If there's a lot of buildings with dark walls or trees or things like that then not a lot of ND is required. But if you see the sky then you definitely need at least a .9.
 
If you are using Tungsten instruments you can also gel the windows with CTO. It will cut down the amount of light and balance the temperature for the lights you are using indoors.
 
KKeller said:
If you are using Tungsten instruments you can also gel the windows with CTO. It will cut down the amount of light and balance the temperature for the lights you are using indoors.
Click to expand...

Better yet, you can find ND + CTO. So you don't need to put multiple gels up on the window. It's an all in one package.
 
If you're going to buy more then one roll of ND, get .6 and .3, so you can do .3, .6, and .9 with only 2 sheets... If you can only afford one roll then flip a coin on .6 or .9.

We don't use .3 very often.

On an overcast day .6 usually does it... and as Zak says... sunny gets .9... the .3 is for a couple hours in the morning and evening... generally speaking.
 
MattinSTL said:
If you're going to buy more then one roll of ND, get .6 and .3, so you can do .3, .6, and .9 with only 2 sheets... If you can only afford one roll then flip a coin on .6 or .9.

We don't use .3 very often.

On an overcast day .6 usually does it... and as Zak says... sunny gets .9... the .3 is for a couple hours in the morning and evening... generally speaking.
Click to expand...

Yep. Also, ND.6 is what we use the most. Also the equivalent of what we spec when we have the car windows tinted for picture cars.

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I just wanted to cut back a bit....doesn't have to be perfect....Im gonna with 6....seems like a good middle ground

problem though...I only need a 4'x4' piece. I dont want to spend 100 bucks on a 25 foot roll

any suggestions
 
Small Apartment Lit from outside

Small Apartment Lit from outside

This small apartment is almost entirely lit from outside and any angle I shoot will have a window in the background. The place is very small and limited space for my own equipment. I originally thought to shoot at night to avoid the sunlight, but I'm having second thoughts.

I am now thinking of putting ND filter gels (if I can find a roll) on the windows and light the interior for daylight. I do have a couple of Kino Diva lights with both tungsten and daylight balance flo tubes.

I have never had to use gels before so I'm not sure which to use. I think I can get the Lee 299 1.2 ND which will bring them down 4 f-stops. What are your thoughts?
 

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percoplus said:
This small apartment is almost entirely lit from outside and any angle I shoot will have a window in the background. The place is very small and limited space for my own equipment. I originally thought to shoot at night to avoid the sunlight, but I'm having second thoughts.

I am now thinking of putting ND filter gels (if I can find a roll) on the windows and light the interior for daylight. I do have a couple of Kino Diva lights with both tungsten and daylight balance flo tubes.

I have never had to use gels before so I'm not sure which to use. I think I can get the Lee 299 1.2 ND which will bring them down 4 f-stops. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Advice on gels is above but what I commonly do is roll a 12X12 frame of double net outside up to the one or two or three windows in the shot. Of course, that's only one stop, but it often looks fine. Don't try a sandwich of a single and a double if it's in the shot because you get Moire patterns.

Those using gels do you tape them up dry to the outside or squeegee them on inside or outside? I try to tape them on the outside so I don't have to cut the widths. The stuff is expensive. The problem, of course, is that you can't always get to the outside and there can be issues with wrinkles and wind.
 
BTW, while on the topic of ND, a trick I use, because I'm too cheap to buy wire scrims for all my lights, is to use 0.15 ND, which is a half stop, and use it to scrim down a lamp. You can put two together for the equivalent of a wire double, for example.
 
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