The primary purpose is to darken skies when shooting landscapes. It comes in handy for more than that, but that's the most important use.As far as the graduated ND filter goes, under what types of situations is that good for? I am also curious about how it affects depth of field.
Well, that is certainly not true. You can't match the proper use of a good grad filter in post -- and there's no rendering needed. I'll also put my Tiffen Soft F/X 2 filter up against anything you want to do in post. You cannot fake the same look.Don't forget to use it to kill glare on windows. It's great for that.Now with electronic means of post production, there is little reason to have any other filter in your bag other than a clear and a polarizer.
these responses of "fix it in post" are getting a little tired. there was no "electronic means of post production" available for my live shots yesterday. the only way to get rid of all the glare from my background, make the skies really blue and grass extra green was to have a polarizer on. i shoot probably 75% news, and in my world the production stops when it leaves my camera.Now with electronic means of post production, there is little reason to have any other filter in your bag other than a clear and a polarizer.
I know I'll sound like a snob & old fashioned, but the only priority mode I like in any camera is the "Me" mode. I tell what the camera what to do & not the other way around.One thing I've always been confused about (and would appreciate advice on): People always say that you need an ND filter to get a shallower depth-of-field, but what if your camcorder includes aperture priority control? When I set that to the lowest f-stop number possible, isn't an ND filter merely going to make my shutter speed worse?
Thanks for your perspective. I suspect I'm bumping up against the too-fast shutter speed, since my new Sony NEX-VG10 (I created a User Group here) has a large APS-C sensor and I want shallow DOF so have used aperture priority with the lowest f-stop possible, which drives up the shutter speed in bright daylight. At least I think this is how it works, within your explanation. If I were to darken the visible light using an ND filter, having set the aperture as wide open as possible, my shutter speed would take a little more time and let the image "burn" longer. And I suppose I'm best off (consistent with your affection for total manual control) getting one of those rotating variable ND filters so that I can hit my target shutter speed manually for each situation.I know I'll sound like a snob & old fashioned, but the only priority mode I like in any camera is the "Me" mode. I tell what the camera what to do & not the other way around.
The basic 4 things you have in exposure are: iris, shutter, gain (ISO in still) & ND.
If you want shallow DOF, you have to open you iris as wide as possible.
Now you're left with 3.
Most video cameras have limited gain control. You get 3 presets & if you want to change the intensity you have to go into the menus. Unlike a DSLR where you can change your ISO easily shot by shot, most videographers aren't adjusting their gain unless they need to.
Down to 2.
Adjusting exposure primarily by shutter is going to majorly effect your video. You're going to see crap video if you slow your iris more than 1/frame rate. 1/24 for 24p, 1/60 for 60i. (Some say 1/2xframe rate: 1/48 for 24p).
You also don't want speed up your shutter too much, 1/1000 is going to give you a very strobe like picture. Shoot cars at that shutter speed & their tires sometimes look like they're moving backwards.
Personally when I'm shooting 30p, I stay between 1/30 - 1/120. This gives me some fine control over exposure, but if I need a coarse adjustment I need to venture out of my comfort zone.
Last 1.
This is where ND comes to the rescue. Since I want to keep my iris open, my gain stable & my shutter changes limited, I can use ND to make large steps in exposure.
Make sense?
I think it's a little of both. But in any case, I do have full manual control over everything -- even if it's a "consumer" product, it's far from typical in that sense -- and will proceed to try some ND filters after all. I'll not be ruling out staying in aperture priority, though -- it's a tradeoff between staying there for ensured shallow DOF (with a better-looking shutter speed due to an ND filter), and going to shutter priority for ensured smooth motion (with a variably better shallow DOF due to an ND filter).It isn't the size, but the quality.
If a APS-C sensor can't handle motion as well as a 1/3" it isn't because one is bigger than the other, it is probably because one was made for stills & then hacked for motion as an afterthought (all the current video DSLR cameras fall into this category), while the other chips were designed from the ground up for motion image capture, ie video.
I haven't used the NEX-VG10, but I know it is more of a "consumer" camera, so you're probably not going to have full manual control. If you can control gain, aperture & shutter, go to that mode.