Neutral density filters darker than ND8?

Remi M. · Jul 11, 2007

I'm having trouble finding any ND filters darker than ND8. I want something that will give me at least 10 stops of reduction. In 77mm.
I don't like stacking filters. It greatly increase the amount of dust spots no matter how well I clean. Not to mention viginetting.

Thank for any help.

usayit · Jul 11, 2007

I am using two polarizers.... I popped the glass out of one and insert into a UV single glass filter ring (replacing the UV glass with the polarized one). I then stacked a polarizer ontop of that. Gives me 3-8 stops easily. This was a DIY project of mine since stacking two rotating polarizers was a royal pain to use and a bit too thick in front of a 50mm. Just did this a couple days ago so I haven't had a chance to shoot with it... but testing it on my lightbox is sure neat.

BTW... doesn't ND8 mean 3 stops?

Remi M. · Jul 12, 2007

Yes ND8 is 3 stops. I'm looking for something like a ND64 (6 stops) or ND1,000 (10 stops).

avcabob · Jul 12, 2007

Singh-Ray makes a variable ND filter that goes to 8 stops.

http://www.singh-ray.com/varind.html

And I've found references to an ND1000 made by B+W, but wasn't able to find anything on how much or where to get one.

Steph · Jul 13, 2007

You can buy a ND1000 filter from Adorama, but they seem to be out of stock at the moment. You can also buy a 17 stop ND filter apparently (the type used in astronomy, to look at the sun).

Alex_B · Jul 13, 2007

Hmm, not sure which scale you are talking about, but isn't

ND 0.9 : 3 f-stops or 8x longer exposure
ND 1.8 : 6 f-stops or 64x longer exposure
ND 3.0 : 10 f-stops or 1000x longer exposure

??

At least those are the three 77mm B&W filters I use ...

[edit:] ok, maybe I am just mixing up different ways of labelling filters ...

Iron Flatline · Jul 13, 2007

Arg - ok, so what ARE the various NF filters. I've been looking for one for some time now as well, I want to bring it down as far as possible - but not shooting to the center of the sun kind-of-thing...

10 stops sounds right, I'd go even a little further. So what's out there?

Alex_B · Jul 13, 2007

Iron Flatline said:
Arg - ok, so what ARE the various NF filters. I've been looking for one for some time now as well, I want to bring it down as far as possible - but not shooting to the center of the sun kind-of-thing...

10 stops sounds right, I'd go even a little further. So what's out there?

Those numbers I gave are the ones I have from the B&W-line. They have one even darker filter I think.

Mostly for me the 8x and the 64x are more than enough. The 1000x allows you, with the right aperture, to have exposures beyond several minutes even in bright daylight. It is basically (to the eye) pitch black and metering and focus should hence be done before you screw the filter on

Steph · Jul 13, 2007

There are at least 2 ways of labelling ND filters;

ND 0.3 = ND2 = 1 stop
ND 0.6 = ND4 = 2 stops
ND 0.9 = ND8 = 3 stops
ND 1.8 = ND16 = 4 stops
: : :
ND 3 = ND1000 (should really be ND1024) = 10 stops

Digital Matt · Jul 13, 2007

Go to www.adorama.com, click filters on the left menu, then choose neutral density, and with the menu on the right, select "9x and up", and 77mm", and you'll find 64x and 1000x filters.

Alex_B · Jul 13, 2007

Steph said:
There are at least 2 ways of labelling ND filters;

ND 0.3 = ND2 = 1 stop
ND 0.6 = ND4 = 2 stops
ND 0.9 = ND8 = 3 stops
ND 1.8 = ND16 = 4 stops
: : :
ND 3 = ND1000 (should really be ND1024) = 10 stops

Thanks for the enlightenment !

I only knew the first notation (ND 0.3, ...)

Iron Flatline · Jul 13, 2007

Got it.

I'm looking for a B+W 77mm 113, which equals 4.0 - I gather they don't make them anymore though, apparently they were for shooting the sun after all. The issue goes back to this thread which I started last summer. After that I ordered a B+W 110 77mm filter, but it wasn't strong enough to do what I wanted - see the image I linked to in the older thread.