First test run with my B+W 1000x / 3.0 / 10-stop ND filter

[480sparky]

I ordered a B&W1000x / 3.0 / 10-stop ND filter last week, and it showed up Saturday. This afternoon was the first chance I got to get out and give it a try.

First off, a baseline test shot at 1/1000 sec (ISO 400 f/2.8, Nikon D600, Nikkor 17-35/2.8 AF-D) .

I then installed the filter and tried to let the on-camera filter take a light reading. It only changed 5 stops, so I kept going until I had counted off 10 full stops (1 second).

Still seemed a bit dark, especially after viewing the histograms. So I changed the shutter speed to 2 seconds, or a full 11 stops.

Both filtered shots show a striking lack of color vibrancy, but I knew there would be some issues to overcome.

Here's a 100% crop of both SOOC and 11x side-by-side:

These are just my 'preliminary' findings, and I was just shooting JPEGs to see what direction(s) I need to take. I'm sure with raw files, I'll be able to correct most, if not all, the lack of saturation and contrast.

 

[480sparky]

OK, had some time this afternoon for some real testing. This time, things were a bit more controlled. And I tossed in my gray card for good measure. Taken at ISO 2000, 1/500. f/11, WB set to daylight (since I placed the WB card in the sunlight):

After installing the filter, and reducing the exposure 10-1/3 stops (that seems to give me a nearly identical histogram), I end up with this:

The first thing I noticed is it's quite warm. So I used the gray card to set the WB:

After the color correction, not only do I have a more natural-looking image (compared to the no-filter shot), it looks like the colors are a bit more saturated!

I'll do some more testing, but with these results, I think I'm gonna like having this filter in my arsenal!