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Fun with MF images - ARCHIVED - FOR VIEWING ONLY

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Shashin

Well-known member
Thanks for the tip, the Tiffen IRND appears to be a good solution for me. Are the variable NDs just crossed polarizers?
Variable ND filters are two linear polarizers. With low ND, they work fine. When the polarizers hit the extinction position, it results in a black X depending on the focal length/angle of view. This problem seem to plaque these filters universally--I did some research on this as well and could not find a single filter that does not exhibit this problem. Ideally, a variable ND filter should be place inside the lens right about where the aperture is located.

Graham Welland uses the IRND and I am sure he can give you more feedback.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Peter, I do not know about the Schneider. When I was looking to solve my IR contamination problem I looked at all possibilities and did research on the variable type. I kept running into examples of the black X problem at maximum density with a number of popular brands--the wider the lens, the more pronounced. I would definitely would try to find out if the Schneider does exhibit the black X--it is not something you can compensate in post.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Notes on ND filters: (mods - you might want to move the ND discussion here to it's own thread?)

I've used the B+W, Tiffen IRND and LEE system Big Stopper / NDs for long exposure work.

The B+W filters used alone for extended shots tend to allow for increasingly prominent IR contamination resulting in a strong pink/magenta colour cast. For shorter exposures there's no issue. You can fix this with the addition either of a UV/IR cut filter (something like a 486 hot mirror filter) or stacking with a IRND filter. Alternatively what most people tend to do is just convert to B&W as it is perfectly fine as-is if that's your intended output.

The LEE Big Stopper (my one at least) doesnt' have the magenta IR contamination at anything like the level of the B+W and I assume other non-IR cut ND filters. It does still introduce some colour cast but that can be neutralized with a grey card or careful grey point selection. With auto or daylight white balance I find it tends to produce a shift to blue. For daytime shooting I will stack a big stopper and .9 ND pair and wrap the outside with tape to stop light ingress between the filters. This is the combination I shoot when I use my Alpa technical camera.

For my DF/Nikon/Fuji I typically use Tiffen IRND filters. I have a couple of 1.8 & 2.1 pairs in 77mm and 82mm that I will combine to get me to 13 stops. I will typically stack a 77mm and 82mm with a step up filter as this'll work without vignetting with wides such as a 35mm. I've even stacked with a polarizer too successfully for certain situations. The Tiffen is by far the most neutral solution and you can set white balance from a grey card or item in the scene. It isn't 100% neutral and I really don't know if any really are but it's pretty darned close. If you already have a different make of ND filter you can stack just a single IRND with it and you'll effectively kill off the IR contamination that the other filter would otherwise allow. I'm lazy and find it hard enough to remember to put the filter on the lens between shots so I stick with all IRND's and the price is pretty reasonable for standard sized filters. (They get much more expensive as you size up).

You can get your Tiffen IRNDs here (Tiffen 77mm IR ND, IRND 4x4 Camera Filters and Tiffen IRND Indie Kits) or B&H etc.

Vari-ND filters work great when you're only adding a few stops for use with things like waterfalls or cut light for shooting wide open for DoF etc. When you start trying for max ND settings the cross polarization will kill you with the X bands across the image as stated here earlier. For true daylight long exposure you need to stick to high cut regular NDs.

I'm going to be trying the Tiffen HMIRND (hot mirror IRND) filters soon for use with my full spectrum D800 and also to see if it adds even more neutrality than the regular IRND filters. I still find some level of contamination even with the IRND filters when you go beyond a couple of minutes, although as you've seen with the couple of examples I posted here the look isn't all bad.

Hope that helps.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Thanks... I like the interpretation!

In this shot I like to think she is being born from the stone... climbing out to meet her first dawn...
Note to self - I need to follow Nathan into the landscape because I've spent hundreds of days in the field and seen many 'interesting' scenes but I never seem to be there when the nudes appear in the rocks. :ROTFL:
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
One more from my Quebec trip (if for no other reason than to remove the D800 threads from the head of the list :) ). This is the St. Lawrence river at a point when it is really the Atlantic.

 
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Don Libby

Well-known member
Visited and have seen outstanding work lately however I haven't shared anything lately. This was taken at the Desert Museum a little while ago. DF, IQ160 and Mamiya 120 (f/8, 1/90 ISO50). I got the 120 earlier this year to do macro work but I'm finding other uses as well.



Don
 
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