ND Grad filters - which are most often used? (And soft filters!)

E

EditingFX

Well-known member
Want to get neutral density graduated filter(s) for my mattebox, and curious as to which ones people find most useful. From what I've read, 0.6 seems to be a common choice - is that enough to cover the majority of situations, or should I consider others as well? (Like a set of .3, .6 1.2?)

2nd; anyone using filters like the Formatt HD Soft? Easier on talent's skin, it appears, with minimal reduction in detail & contrast.... (or so they say). I've used various blur effects for years in post, but now that I'm shooting HD, perhaps this is the way to go.
 
I shoot straight out the lens whenever I can and opt not to use filters.

I always have a polariser. A couple of nds and nd grads. Thats about it.
 
I use a 0.6 graduated neutral density all the time for landscape work. It's enough most of the time to balance out the sky with the land.
 
Think about a graduated .6 or .9 ND filter. A filter in like this in a rotating/adjustable stage is extremely useful for knocking a few stops out of a bright sky while leaving the darker portion (land) untouched. Add in a .9ND and polarizer, and you've got a very useful set.
 
I am a big fan of the color grads, but usually end up using them with a .3 ND or a polarizer. I have a blue and tobacco I use often and I picked up some really uncommon ones on clearance at my local shop: red, lavender, banana, and green. Not that I have any use for the green one 364 days out of the year, but it's nice to have in the kit anyway. :)
 
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