10 Stop ND: Help Please

dlplumer

Excuse my dumb question, but I bought a 10 stop ND and I could not even see through the view finder. So I took the filter off, focused and framed the shot and put the filter back on. It was early evening and cloudy so maybe that is to be expected.:dunno

I had no ideas how long an exposure to use so I set it at 100 iso, f/11, and 5 minutes. Nothing. Pitch black.

OK, so how do you do this properly?

Thanks

pathfinder

You can't see through a 10 stop ND as you noticed, but you should be able to meter through one for a proper exposure. How dark was it?

Why would you want to use a 10 stop ND in dim light though, Dan? Most folks use them to shoot moving water in bright sunlight.

I prefer to use a 4-6 stop ND plus a polarizing filter. You can see to focus through one of these in good light and meter through it as well, and the polarizer helps cut the glare off the water surface.

Andy uses a 10 stop and I know lots of other do to, but I like to be able to see through the filter at least a little bit anyway. Maybe others will chime in with more encouraging viewpoints.

Mitchell

I've used a 10 stop a few times, but much prefer my 3 or 6. My 10 has been used on very bright days. The challenge of not being able to see with the 10 stop can be frustrating. The camera does meter normally.

Nikolai

As Path said, that's the typical deal to NDx10: you can't see (or focus), but you can meter. So do as you did: frame and focus, switch to MF, put the filter on and then use manual exposure or Av.

dlplumer

Nikolai wrote:

As Path said, that's the typical deal to NDx10: you can't see (or focus), but you can meter. So do as you did: frame and focus, switch to MF, put the filter on and then use manual exposure or Av.

Thanks y'al. Will do.

Tango

send it to me, I will test it... (:D )

ian408

The whole purpose is to cut the amount of light that gets to the film/sensor. You likely wouldn't want to use it in the evening hours. So what you've done is about the only way to use it. Autofocus is affected because of the lower amount of light as could be your manual focus when you attach the filter after making your initial adjustments.

During the day, you shouldn't have any problem at all.

Scott_Quier

Nikolai wrote:

As Path said, that's the typical deal to NDx10: you can't see (or focus), but you can meter. So do as you did: frame and focus, switch to MF, put the filter on and then use manual exposure or Av.

A critical step is missing here - check the histogram for exposure after you've taken the shot. If neeed, adjust your exposure settings and take another one. Repeat as needed to get the exposure you are looking for.

Nikolai

Scott_Quier wrote:

A critical step is missing here - check the histogram for exposure after you've taken the shot. If neeed, adjust your exposure settings and take another one. Repeat as needed to get the exposure you are looking for.

That kinda goes without saying, but thanks for catching that up:-)