Hasselblad has announced a set of new lens filters that it says meet the same stringent optical standards and high-quality marks as its lenses. It also launched a brightly colored strap that it bills as "eco-friendly."
Haida has announced a new 2-in-1 filter that provides both a variable circular polarizer and a variable neutral density filter in a single device that allows each to be controlled independently.
Neutral density (ND) filters are a must-have for both videographers and landscape photographers, but there are so many options out there of varying cost and quality that choosing the right one can be a daunting task.
The neutral-density filter, or ND filter, is a powerful lens filter photographers use to reduce the amount of light entering a camera lens in order to select exposure combinations that would otherwise result in overexposed images. This article is a basic guide to ND filters and how they are used.
In this article, I'll share a technique that I learned many years ago and that I still use occasionally. You can use it for removing people from a scene, but in this case, I will be using it to mimic one of a neutral density (ND) filter's main purposes: longer exposure.
Photographer Nicco Valenzuela recently published a helpful "crash course" that covers everything you need to know to get started using lens filters for landscape photography. The video covers everything from the two main filter 'formats,' to the three main filter 'types,' to the various situations where you might want to use each filter for the best possible results.
NiSi has just launched the 150mm Explorer Collection of square glass filters. This new lineup of ND and Graudated ND filters promises the same professional optical quality, but uses a special hardening process to deliver twice the durability of a typical glass filter.
Smartphone accessory maker Moment is breaking further out of its established niche today. The company—which recently expanded into drone accessories—is debuting Variable ND filters for cameras and drones that it claims "hit the sweet spot on affordability, functionality, and quality."
SANDMARC has launched a new line of professional grade hybrid lens filters for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The Hybrid Pro Filters combine the company's ND and Polarizer filters into a single filter.
Attaching the variable neutral density (ND) filter to a lens basically means that we have added a fourth dimension to our camera. The exposure triangle -- aperture, ISO, shutter speed -- has been expanded with a fourth variable with which we can play to achieve a desired effect or outcome. This opens up for new creative opportunities in our photography and also adds a lot of flexibility to our shooting.
Light-painting photography is generally done in the dark since you need long exposure times to capture moving light sources as streaks. But use can also shoot long-exposure photos in bright sunlight using a neutral density filter. Photographer Eric Paré recently did just that, experimenting with doing light-painting in afternoon daylight.
In recent years, the number of new ND filter manufacturers has risen quite dramatically and this, of course, is great for competition. This competition has helped push companies to create even better filters that are sharper with better color rendition.
Filters are the bread and butter of landscape photographers. Here's a 12-minute video from Nature TTL that will teach you what filters every landscape photographer should have in their bag, as well as why to use them in the first place.
If you're looking to pick up a great ND filter, one of the new(er) brands on the block is NiSi; but how does this relatively young company compare to one of the biggest names in filters? In this video, NiSi Ambassador Imran Mirza pits the NiSi Nano IR 10 stop filter against the famed LEE Big Stopper.
Tempered glass is a toughened form of glass used in car windows, shower doors, refrigerator trays, and mobile screen protectors—and now Breakthrough Photography are using it to create their new Dark CPL and X4 GND filters.
Neutral Density (ND) filters are a great tool for producing unique photos in lighting conditions where a long exposure would otherwise not be possible. This 7-minute video tutorial goes in to detail about which filter to select for your scene, with before and after photos showing the effects possible.
Gear company Syrp is best known for their timelapse motion controllers—like the Genie and Slingshot—but the company's latest release won't move your camera. In fact, we suggest you keep your camera very still when using it.
With the advent of better camera technology and clever processing software, do we really need neutral density filters any more? Can’t we just replicate the effect of filters in Photoshop or even in camera? Isn’t the dynamic range sufficient in my shiny new Sony camera? Well, yes and no…
Hoya, Kenko Tokina's filter making branch, just announced a new line of IRND (Infrared Neutral Density) filters that promise to keep both exposure and infrared contamination at bay for the landscape photographers out there.
Want to shoot long exposure photos in bright daylight without having to shell out big bucks on a neutral density (ND) filter? Try using a piece of welder's glass -- the kind that protects your eyes while welding. The 13-minute video above by photographer Mathieu Stern provides a nice overview of this photo hack.
This is useful. The folks over at LEE filters just released a handy little exposure guide app that will help you calculate the right shutter speed when you're using their Little Stopper, Big Stopper, or Supper Stopper ND filters.
Lee Filters is getting a new neutral density filter called the Super Stopper. It reduces light to your camera by 15 stops, meaning an ordinary 2-second exposure will take over 17 hours to expose through the filter.
At the IBC 2015 trade show in Amsterdam, which just wrapped up a couple of days ago, the camera gear company Genus was showing off a prototype of a groundbreaking new product: an electronically controlled neutral density (ND) filter adapter. It was a Canon EF to Sony E lens adapter that had a dial that lets you adjust the level of ND filtration electronically.
Dan Chung of News Shooter filmed the short video above in which Genus shows off the prototype. Chung calls it "one of the most impressive things we saw at IBC this year," and "the holy grail of DSLR filmmaking."
This week, Cokin has announced a new lineup of mineral glass neutral density (ND) filters to fit within its Creative Filter System for photo and video cameras. Consisting of an adapter ring, filter-holder, and a number of various filters available from the company, the system allows photographers and videographers to modify the color, contrast, and saturation of their images. The new ND filters, called the ‘NUANCES’ range, feature a special new coating process to ensure a uniform result.
You've probably seen star trail photos before, but how about a "moon trail?" A Finnish photographer named Janne shot this beautiful photo earlier this week as the rising moon streaked across the sky. Janne was shooting with a Nikon D800 and 100-300mm lens at 300mm, f/8, and ISO 100. The trick behind the shot was a 10-stop neutral density filter, which greatly cut down the amount of light hitting the sensor and allowed Janne to shoot a 2258-second exposure -- that's a whopping 37.6 minutes!
Fotodiox is adding a new piece of gear to its impressive lineup of adapters and accessories. It’s called the Vizelex ND Throttle, and it’s a Sony E-mount to Canon EF-mount adapter that comes with a variable ND filter that’s capable of ND2 all the way up to ND10 (10-stop difference) built right in.
Graduated ND (neutral density) filters have been a staple of landscape photography for a long time now, but if you've never taken the time to learn how these simple but useful tools work, this solid video guide will run you through the basics and then some.
GoPros are popular little action cams. Between the company's brilliant marketing and the well-liked hardware, it’s not difficult to see why they decided to go public. But as impressive as the little cameras may be, they do have their limits. Most notably: the lack of exposure controls when it comes to capturing something.
To help combat that problem and also spice up the action cam footage being captured, Lee Filters has announced a new line-up of holders and filters for GoPro’s latest Hero models.
CJ Kale and Nick Selway long ago fell in love with Hawaii and founded Lava Light, a photography gallery focused on capturing the ever-changing landscape created by an active volcano and crashing waves -- and sometimes both together when the conditions are just right. And if swimming with fire and dodging lava bombs weren’t challenging enough, these photographers believe in creating their images completely in-camera.
Balancing exposures between sky, water and lava can be incredibly tricky. Luckily, Lava Light has shared some tips to help you get the shot without combining exposures or using HDR.
French optical filter company Cokin has launched a new line of lens filters under the brand name Pure Harmonie. The new filters are unique in that they're the thinnest and lightest in the world -- the UV filter in the set measures only 3.3mm (~0.13in) thick!
Silent World is a project by Paris-based artists Lucie & Simon that shows post-apocalyptic views of famous locations around the world. All but one or two of the people in each location are removed from the scene. Rather than use multiple exposures and compositing the images to remove moving objects (e.g. people and cars), they chose to use a neutral density filter -- one that's normally used by NASA for analyzing stars -- in order to achieve extremely long exposure times during the day.
Runners in broad daylight aren't often captured as motion blurs, but that's exactly how Flickr user Justin (just big feet) shot the London Marathon. Just stick a neutral density filter or two onto your lens to restrict the amount of light entering your camera, allowing you to shoot at slower shutter speeds.
What is a variable neutral density filter?
The neutral density bit means it is a filter simply designed to block some of the light getting into a camera. The variable bit means it is variable - you can control the darkness of the filter just by twisting one part of it. A proper variable neutral density filter can cost £100 or more!