nico_p wrote:
I hear you about the vignetting and such, but the Vari ND must suffer from it too, no ?

The 77mm anything wider than 28~ish certainly, but above that it's fine. I don't have the low profile Vari-ND... maybe in the future. At maximum density it leaves some very strange lines on the frame, but if youre just shy of that all the way to minimum density it's awesome.

You got some great "test" shots Tom!

Wow. i love these pics. i love the simplicity of number #3 and the details in #4. the fact that you were not composing photo's and these came out tells me i have a lot to learn.... a true master Tom

Here is another one from the series. I only took 16 photos in total due to time constraints. This shot had a train moving through the entire 62 second exposure. Also, a fisherman on the dock shows some head blur but his body is pretty sharp. Seagulls also show as fairly sharp in some photos. I don't know if they were perfectly still for 62 seconds or there is some other phenomenon that explains it.

It is fun huh?

I have stacked 2 - 9 stop ND's and a polarizer (or two) and have had a lot of fun with them!

Keep on man! Think outside that box!

Mark

Interesting topic. And these shots have got me very interested in trying this.

Please does anyone know where I can get gelatin ND filters in the UK.
I have a Sigma 12-24 with rear filter slot and would like to give it a go.
Thanks for any help and hope you don't mind me inserting this request here.
Paul

Here is a 121 second exposure. I can't wait to get out and do some more of these. I used a 24-70mm lens for these. I want to try my 70-200 to see what I can do with that 10 stop filter.

121 seconds in broad daylight! WOW! The effect of the water and clouds is amazing.

jmcfadden wrote:
nico_p wrote:
Very nice.

I might be saying something stupid but ... the Vari ND works with two polarizers, and one "darkens" the whole thing by turning one of the polarizers, right?

Did you try with two stacked polarizers? I hear you about the vignetting and such, but the Vari ND must suffer from it too, no ?


vari nd is 2 polarizers and the outher most one is Reversed soit's "back" is screwed to the "front" of the other. they cost over 350bux too


J


Ahh.. so that's the trick, I tried stacking two polarizers once, didn't do anything exciting.. so you need to find a reversing ring :P or spend lots of money..

Tom K. wrote:
Here is a 121 second exposure. I can't wait to get out and do some more of these. I used a 24-70mm lens for these. I want to try my 70-200 to see what I can do with that 10 stop filter.




Sure does look pretty neat!

Just to point out. The Pentax K10D does this sort of thing in camera. No expensive filter needed.

egarrard wrote:
Just to point out. The Pentax K10D does this sort of thing in camera. No expensive filter needed.

care to elaborate on that? does it have a built in ND filter like some of the canon G-series P&S's?

Tom,

I was looking at your great photos and thinking to myself, "Well, *I* just got the Singh-Ray Variable ND in the mail last week, but it is too damned cold for me to go out and try it yet. I wonder what warm locale *this* Tom guy is shooting in?" Then I embarrassed myself by going to your web site and discovering you are in Norwich, because I am down the street here in Rocky Hill, CT! So you are shooting in the same 20 degree weather that I am avoiding! What a wimp I am.

I think tomorrow I may take a ride to the Rhode Island shore and do some long-exposure ocean photography so I can try the Singh-Ray. If I do, I'll post some results here.

Be True,
Ed R.

Has anyone used a 100mm Lee ND Pro Glass filter (0.9) ?

My sincere opinion: the third one is a master work
Yes, and I mean: a master work. A humble but sincere opinion.

Javier

Tom,

Congrats for your excellent images. You insipred me very well.

I'm going to buy a ND 10 stop filter but IO hope I can use the experiece of this topic.

I'm also using Lee filters as you and I would go for the KODAK wratten2 optical gelatin filter that you found.
Is it slip into my Lee holder or do I need to buy anything more?
What do you think this is the same quality as your B+W glass filter?

Thanks,

Not sure what kind of camera you are using but with the addition of live view to some of the newer DSLR's you may be able to turn on the live view and turn on the simulated exposure setting and then crank up the iso, put your lens wide open and set it to a 30" exposure and compose with that and then drop the iso and settings back down to your desired level for shooting..... Might be something to try if you have the capability?

Shooting continuous streams of say 1s exposures and blending them all together in post should get you the same thing in theory..... any difference in practice?

On a somewhat related note, why don't camera manufacturers offer low ISOs, maybe down to 25 or lower? My D50 only goes down to 200; an ISO 25 setting would be like a 3 stop ND filter with the added noise benefits.

As for the Pentax, I don't think it is an ND filter like the Canon G3 for example (which had ISO 50), rather it seems to stack multiple exposures, which can be done with any camera in PS. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Beautiful photos, have you tried any subjects without water?

I hate when you people force me to spend money I don't have....
VERY cool.
It must be tried.

Great captures.
Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.

Tim

steveni70 wrote:


Beautiful photos, have you tried any subjects without water?

I have done a couple but I will try more in the near future. Here are two.

BTW....here is a group that does "urban long exposures" on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/urban-nd/

This does have water in it but that was incidental. The tree was what I wanted to produce an effect on. This is a 6 minute exposure that blurred the outer edges of the branches.

I finally found it: The Cokin NDx, 13 stop ND for their P-series filter system. Or ND10.000 if you like it that way

http://focuscamera.com/product.asp?id=964714410 - Even quite a fair price.

I'm getting one as soon as I find a retailer here in Europe.

I've had mixed experiences with the Singh-Ray Vari-ND, at least the 82mm variety. They took it back based on my feedback and said they'd go and work on the design a bit more. The interference at 35mm and wider was just way too much, rendering the images useless. So while I like the idea in general, and while it may work with smaller filters, the 82mm isn't ready for prime time yet.

I'm in the same boat. I love the Singh-Ray, but don't want to spend another $400 for my 16-35L II - if i stay with Canon. With the SIngh-Ray Vari-ND, at least you can dial down the ND stops, so you can acually focus and at 82mm the only other option is the Singh-Ray mo-slow, but that doesn't allow you to change the ND setting and you would have to unscrew the filter. Taking off the filter is not always a good option when you are dealing with changing light (i.e having to wait for a clould do diffuse the light).

Lee does make same custom ND (ND/warming Grad filters), I don't know why they don't also offer regular ND filters that are either 4x6 or 4x4 (like their enhancer). I would think tha there would be a market for them.