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Nd Filters and color balance
Curious to know if anyone has used Nd filters and how much of an issue is it with white balance. I've seen a photographer use them before on a shoot but didn't see the final effects. Sep 11 14 08:14 pm Link In theory, there is no effect. That's the 'neutral' part of neutral density. In practice, a cheap ND filter has a colour tint (usually magenta), as do any of the variable ND filters on their strongest settings - even the expensive ones. I use a 2 stop ND for some things, and a variable for video. What I did with the variable is take an X-Acto knife, and make a mark at the 2 stop point, at the 4 stop point, and then where the colour gets a little wonky. For me, it was at about 5 stops, but it will be about 3-8 stops before YOUR colour gets weird, depending on what you pay for the filter. So with those marks made I know never to go past the third mark for video, and to use mark 1 or 2 when I need the match that lens to other gear. It took a while to figure it out, but now I can use it with 3rd grade math, which is about right for me. Sep 11 14 09:20 pm Link only use nd filters in nature shots to get longer exposure with water or moving clouds, never worry about white balance, software will fix it if it matters, altho purists will scream Sep 11 14 09:38 pm Link mophotoart wrote: Sophomoric advice Sep 11 14 09:54 pm Link DarkSlide wrote: That word never made sense to me. We've all met people who turner into insufferable asshats after Philosophy 101 ... If 'sophomoric' implies the guy is a rube, why do we become sophomores after we were freshmen? Did college used to be three years? Sep 11 14 10:19 pm Link  Moderator Note!Why don't we address the OP's original question. It is legitimate to want to know about the effects (or lack of effect) of an ND filter on white balance. If you disagree with the advice of others, let's address the advice and not get personal. There is a lot to talk about here if we look to the real issue, ND filters and white balance. Sep 11 14 10:31 pm Link I made a comment about ND filters and how and when I use them...no need to attack me with that sophmore attitude, stay on topic......what the op asked was about nd filters and not what you think about my work or my skill level... Sep 11 14 10:35 pm Link I have a cheapo Chinese ND filter with a horrible color cast I have had no success getting it looking normal for color photos Its B/W only with it for me Sep 11 14 11:07 pm Link In addition to the quality of the ND filter the response of the sensor etc with longer exposures can also impact. With film reciprocity failure was a certainty, both extending exposure times and shifting colours. With Digital the exposure time extension is less of a problem but some sensors do shift colours with long exposures. For normal use I do a custom in-camera WB reading and I try to do the same when using a Solid ND. Sep 12 14 12:33 am Link I had one of the rotating variable ND filters but got a lot of flare, some odd X pattern in the image at full ND, and vignetting as they are thicker. Had odd color casts too depending on how strong I set it up so I eventually got rid of it. Went to B+W 10-stop ND for $199. It has a warmish color to it and can be fixed if I tune the Auto White Balance in the Nikon D800E camera menu to A6, G3. That or set the WB manually to around 4,000 Kelvin. My issue with the B+W is the screw-in deal. Have to constantly remove the hood to screw it on and off for things like focus and metering and framing (It is dark like a welder's hood.). Gets a bit fiddly with all the threading so I went to the Lee slip-in filters (i.e. "Big Stopper" & "Little Stopper" which are 10 and 6 stops respectively, or more like 10.5 and 6.5 stops for mine.). The Lee is a bit on the cooler side and I set the Nikon D800E Auto White Balance to around A3, 0. If in Manual WB, I set it to around 9,100 Kelvin which warms it. Lee is a better setup in that one can use gradual ND as well and the filter can pop off the lens ring by a simple pull of the brass knob which makes things like unscrewing the hood and filter less of an issue than with the B+W. Good luck! Sep 12 14 05:53 am Link Thanks for your answers. I was playing around with these Nd filters made by Cokin. It left a weird color cast with the long exposure images. Of course I know I can adjust the color balance in post but lets say if I want to shoot with a shallow depth of field using strobes or speedlights Id have to use a nd filter anyway. I guess adjusting to a custom color balance is what I need to do. Finding it may be the hard part. Sep 13 14 09:28 am Link I use an ND filter for nature landscapes. Never really worried about WB that I couldn't adjust in post, my camera is good with that anyways. Sep 13 14 09:44 am Link Longtower wrote: It's not that hard to do. Sep 13 14 09:50 am Link |
