Graduated ND Filters

gco

gco

Veteran
I've decided I need a graduated ND filter for knocking down the brightness of the sky and improving exposure on overcast or rainy days. Question is, hard or soft edge and .3 (1stop) or .6 (2stop) ND?
Seems like a soft edge .6 would be most practical but not quite sure.
Any reason to use a hard edge or something higher than .6?
 
it all depends on the landscape you are shooting, the weather and the dynamic range of your camera.
 
Landscape is nearly always an open field with a woodline in the background. Weather is overcast. I'm finding that when I shoot in these conditions I have to be real careful to minimize the amount of sky in the shot to keep the exposure where I want it. Since I'm only buying one for now, I'm thinking 2 stops (.6) is most practical. Just dont know whether to go with a hard or soft edge. I've read that the soft edge is more appropriate for wide shots---is there a significant difference to having one over the other?
Also, for graduated filters, where on a 4x4 glass would the graduated edge be; in the middle or at 1/3?
Might I need a 4x5.65 to get some vertical adustability out of it?
 
well generally the whole point of the soft edge is so that intensity drops off. for overcast, personally IMO, i would go with a soft edge because the sky is pure white. going with a 4x5 isn't a bad idea if you want that adjust ability, but it wont make too much of a difference.

take you set-up to where you're buying the filter and play around with it, see what you like.
 
Hard-edge filters can be very useful in architecture photography, especially when rotated 90 degrees if you're taking a photo of a building and want to cut the light coming from the sky to the side of the building etc.
 
Yep, i can see where that hard edge would be useful for sharp delineations.
I just read that hard edge transitions are best for the longer focal lengths because as you zoom in, you use less of the filter area thus softening the transition. Apparently zooming in to a soft transition diffuses it to the point where the transition becomes ineffective. Ok, that makes sense but now i'm really not sure. My subjects are always in the field and I am usually zooming between a little and a lot to frame my shots. So now it seems like the hard edge is the way to go. At $200/ea. I cant afford to buy both and see which is suitable over the other. If someone knew from experience that a soft transition isnt worth it for anything over the widest settings, then that would settle it. If anyone could shed some more light on this , I would apprecitate it. Trying to avoid throwing a dart if possible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top