Graduated ND filter help!

[jterry85]

I'm looking into getting some graduated ND filters for some landscape and travel photos I want to take here in Afghanistan as well as my 10 day trip to Italy I have coming up. Can anyone break down into Newbie terms how exactly they work and what/when they are used? Or even a good site to read, I've looked around and there is a lot of info out there it's just kind of confusing to put it all together. Also I don't know if ND filters would help with this (I'm thinking not) but one of the biggest problems I have shooting landscape type photos here in Afghanistan is that there is always a constant dusty haze everywhere. What kind of filter would take care of this or is it just impossible to compensate for due to the fact that it is sand/dust in the air? Thanks everyone!

Joe

 

[user3977]

from what i was told by a couple guys in 5th group they use circular polarizers on there lenses to help with the dusty haze look. they said it helps but there is no getting rid of what is out there.

 

[480sparky]

There's two general flavors of GND: Those that screw on to the lens' threads (round), and those that slide into a filter holder (square).

The round ones have one huge disadvantage: The split is always in the middle of the frame. But they're cheaper to buy, so it's a compromise.

The square ones can be moved around with much more flexibility, so you aren't forced to put the horizon in the middle. Downside: They cost more. You can either purchase a filter holder to free your hands up when you use them, or simply hold them in front of the lens by hand.

After that, there's a wide variety of options, more so in the square ones. The amount of ND is one. Some are light, some are medium, some are quite dark. The transition between the ND and clear portions are made differently. Some are 'hard', meaning the transition is over a very small area, and some are 'soft', in that the transition area is much wider.

Colored GNDs are also available, but they have limited uses.

As for the haze/dust, there's not much you can do except pray for rain and no wind.

 

[jterry85]

Thanks for the replies, from what I'm understanding then if I want to use the screw on types it would be best to get a variety of them so that I can suit the particular filter to the situation? As for the haze/dust that is pretty much the conclusion I came to as well. Although, I have noticed that when the sun is setting it tends to be clearer. Perhaps because the sunlight is directly hitting the mountains and cutting through the dust?

 

[2WheelPhoto]

You can get around dust somehow, others have shot in extreme conditions per my quoted post below. Hey if you're a military man in Afghani, thanks for doing what you do.

burning-man-1 : theCHIVE

 

[jterry85]

2WheelPhoto- thanks for the props! Although sometimes it feels like we're not doin much. I'm waiting for my camera to look like that one of these days. Most of the time the photo backpack its in gets thrown in the back of a truck and left there until we get to where we're going. At first I was worried about ruining my camera out here but then I realized if I do I can trade my Rebel XT for the new Canon 5d MkII I've been wanting, lol.

 

[jterry85]

So... If I wanted a basic assortment of Graduated ND filters which ones would I get?

 

[GeorgieGirl]

You can get around dust somehow, others have shot in extreme conditions per my quoted post below. Hey if you're a military man in Afghani, thanks for doing what you do.

+1,000

 

[GeorgieGirl]

So... If I wanted a basic assortment of Graduated ND filters which ones would I get?

I would say .6 and .9

 

[480sparky]

Thanks for the replies, from what I'm understanding then if I want to use the screw on types it would be best to get a variety of them so that I can suit the particular filter to the situation?

Both flavors come in a variety, but there's more likely a wider choice in the square versions.

Again, the big problem with the round screw-on type is the split is ALWAYS across the middle. This severely limits you composition choices.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Agree no screw-ons for grads.