My journey with the 10 stop ND

[thefonz78]

500 seconds i had no idea exposure times could be so long. I think the noise on my d40x would be horrific with times like that.

I think i would use one a lot if i had one. They seem like you can get good shots on the gloomy days we have so often in the UK.

I bought some welding glass to day to have a play around with on the weekend. Yes I know it not optical glass and massive green cast but its a lot of fun to be had for the £2 cost of the class. If you go to a BOC gas shop there 50p. I'll post some results.

Jim what you go for the 10stop over the B&W or Lee that most people tend to go for?

[jimmyosram]

Originally Posted by jools-elliott

Jimmy. that method can be quite haphazard and as someone who has experimented with a similar technique I urge you to avoid this.

It really is in your interest to buy a decent set of grads. Do go for Lee filters. Avoid Cokin at all costs.

When you use a grad on the front of your lens and get it right "in camera" your confidence in image taking will soar!!!

What gear are you using?

Thanks for the guidance Jools. I can't justify the £300.00 for a Lee set just yet, but I understand what you are saying.

My gear:
Canon 60D
Tokina 11-16 f2.8
Heliopan 10 stop

[jimmyosram]

Originally Posted by thefonz78

500 seconds i had no idea exposure times could be so long. I think the noise on my d40x would be horrific with times like that.

I think i would use one a lot if i had one. They seem like you can get good shots on the gloomy days we have so often in the UK.

I bought some welding glass to day to have a play around with on the weekend. Yes I know it not optical glass and massive green cast but its a lot of fun to be had for the £2 cost of the class. If you go to a BOC gas shop there 50p. I'll post some results.

Jim what you go for the 10stop over the B&W or Lee that most people tend to go for?

This Heliopan filter is well reviewed. I went for the screw in one for two reasons. I didn't want the issue of light spill from the sides that can affect square filters sometime, and I didn't need to spend tons of cash on a Lee foundation kit.

[jimmyosram]

Day 3

Well, popped back down to St Mary's Island again as out on the rocks there were some decent waves hitting the shore. The waves add a totally different look to the shot on long exposures. The other challenge I had tohight was shooting into the sun at sunset. Now remember, I don't have a ND Grad so getting the correct exposures was a nightmare, but also fun too.

Anyway, this is my best effort.

Exif data
Camera Canon EOS 60D
Exposure 48 secs
Aperture f/9.0
Focal Length 16 mm
ISO Speed 100

[donoreo]

That looks good.

I know Lee are "best" but you could look at the Hitech/Formatt filters. Their ND grads are good and their hardware is very good. Lee filters will fit.

[dan123]

Talked my Girlfreind into buying me a big stoper to replace my poor hi tech, My longest 10 stop exp to date, 700 seconds, an awfull lot of waiting i can tell you, lol

Nice shots though, im struggling finding time to get out recently missing the long exposures... i need my fix, lol, Carry on the Good work Jimmy,

[MattUK]

How you finding the Lee compared to the Hitech Dan? I find my Hitech degrades the image quality quite a lot, and am thinking of going for the Lee.

[dan123]

not got it yet matt,just ordered it be a while, , you have the decent hi tech ive gopt the crappy one with the IR colour cast, wich im now sick to death of, Lee all the way soon, If i were you matt id order one tomorrow if yopur not happy with the hi tech, altho those heliopans seem good, just a shame there not square,

Have a look at my fb link matt, most are done with the hi tech and youll see just how degraded the images are beacsue of it,

[MattUK]

They look pretty good to me Dan, though they're all B&W. I tend to get really washed out colors making shots look like they're from the seventies. It's a nightmare to correct each one. I also get a lot of luminosity noise :/

[James Blonde]

With regards to the Lee foundation kit, it really is a top quality robust piece of kit, for only a couple of quid more than the Cokin Z-Pro holder but apparently of a much much higher build standard. As has been said, the Formatt filters will fit the Lee holder, and will be my route into higher quality grads I think. I'd heard that the Formatt holder was quite fiddly or agricultural, and again, its not much cheaper than the Lee. Its just the Lee filters that are expensive! Even then though, the quality really does explain the price!

You guys with Big Stoppers, have you had any problems with light leakage? It was the one concern I had before ordering it over the B&W...