General Is ND really essential for outside shooting?

H

hendog

Member
I've read a few times on this forum and elsewhere that direct sunlight could damage a camera's sensor... which is one reason to get an ND filter.

I want to get a Fader ND but the new generation of Faders seems "on order" for a while. So, how important is it that I shoot with some sort of ND right now? Can I shoot outdoors in the sun for the next month or two without an ND?

And does anyone have real world experience with a damaged T2i or 7D because it was exposed to the sun? Or is this just a potential risk that doesn't happen often.

I've got a few old manual primes, where I can manually adjust the f-stop way up. Would this prevent any possible sensor damage to the camera or do I still need to get an ND or two?

Thanks for helping a paranoid newbie out!
 
as i understand it:

1) you shouldn't shoot directly into the sun
2) you need an ND filter to control the light coming into the lens (i.e. shooting wide-open in the sunlight)

you can shoot in the sunlight without an ND filter just fine... it only means that you can't have shallow depth of field (i.e. the aperture will be closed down to control the incoming light).

hope that makes sense.
 
what he said.

the beauty of these dslr's is shallow DOF and in order to get that u have to shoot at a very wide aperature...hence the risk of overexposing everything comes into play. the ND lets u shoot at these small aperatures and keep your shutter at 1/50 which is ideal for the film" look. without the ND u'll have to stop down the lens( resulting in deep DOF) or increase ur shutter speed (making the movement very choppy and sharp)
 
NDs are absolutely essential for proper control of exposure in video. If you want the shallow DOF in bright daylight, you need an ND. Some people say they adjust the shutter speed in video to cut down light, but it makes your footage really crisp and un-natural looking.
 
Thanks. That all makes sense.

There are some situations coming up in a few weeks that I want to get on video in some fashion (regardless of DOF, just to capture) that are going to be outside in the summertime. I'm not confident that those Fader NDs will be available by then ...

I'll do my best to make sure not to point at the direct sunlight (no big deal, I already do that every day!) and, when those Faders are available, I'll be the first in line to buy one. I just don't want to hassle with two or three different regular ND filters on the shoot ... too much fumbling.

For those of you not using the fader style NDs, is there one single ND filter you'd recommend for most general outdoor / sunny video situations?
 
It depends. If you want really shallow DOF, then you need more ND. I hesitate to recommend anything because it really does depend on what you want. I know I'd want a 1/8 and a 1/64.
 
Variable ND filters are incredibly useful outdoors. And you don't want to have to crank shutter speed way up or ISO way down to get to a wider aperture for shallow DOF because that can give undesired side effects. ND filters are the way to go.

Noah
 
The new Lightcraft Fader ND mark 2 that I just order is in the mail right now. It says it takes about 7-10 days since it's coming from Hong Kong, but I believe they have them in stock since I just order one last week.

I have the original Fader and it is INVALUABLE for getting correct exposure. You can do it so fast, as opposed to the old way of screwing on NDs which is slow as heck. Plus, with Fader NDs you can get exposure exactly how you want it.

For me, the Fader ND is the most valuable accessory there is, followed closely by the Z-Finder. Get it from Lightcraft, they're a great company with solid support.
 
You are using a stills camera that can shoot video. Shooting in very bright light is no problem - it's just about exposure, so if you shoot in the snow, with clear sky and sun in shot, then the cameras cope - deliberately point at the sun and overexpose on purpose and you could damage the sensor - so simply don't do it. You can set higher shutter speeds, close the aperture, bung on an ND filter - but until the ND filter arrives, just make sure you keep control - all will be well.
 
gene_can_sing said:
For me, the Fader ND is the most valuable accessory there is, followed closely by the Z-Finder. Get it from Lightcraft, they're a great company with solid support.
Click to expand...

Trust me, I'd be happy to give them my money. The only problem is that the size I want - 58mm - isn't available now and there's not even a pre-order button on their site (just says "temporarily out of stock").

I may just do the 62mm (apparently in stock) and get a step up ring since they seem to have that in stock right now. Just kind of weird since I own no 62mm lenses.
 
If you want shallow DOF outdoors without using a ridiculously long telephoto lens you will need to use ND filters. This is because you should not use shutter speed to control exposure with video. You should be shooting locked at 1/60 (usually) and you should be using only ISO and aperture. Outdoors you'll be at ISO 100 (or maybe 160 on a Canon) but even that'll be blown out.

I don't know if you're familiar with the Sunny F 16 rule. This states that if you're outside on a sunny day, if you set your exposure time to be the equivalent of your ISO number (so 1/100 for ISO 100) then your aperture will be set to F/16 for proper exposure. F/16! With a shutter faster than your 1/60! This is going to give you really deep DOF on most lenses! You need to use an ND filter. However, you don't necessarily need a fader ND if you can't get one by your shoot, go pick up some fixed ones.
 
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