# What ND filter should I use in a bright day with the 50mm f/1.8



## whoisrikk

Hello everyone,

I'm having really hard moments thinking what ND filter should I use with my future lens, the Canon 50mm f/1.8. I'm looking forward to buy the Nifty Fifty and use it for videos, in bright light but still at f/1.8. As I can't spend too much money buying an adjustable ND filter, I saw a deal buying a set of three filters (ND2, ND4 and ND8). In a sunny day, at 1/50 shutter speed, ISO 100 and f/1.8, will the ND8 filter give me a normal-exposed shot or I need a "darker" filter such as ND30, etc?

Thank you!

L.E.: It seems I posted this in the wrong page, sorry for that! It should be somewhere in Photo Equipment section.


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## ann

a .3 is going to give you 1 stop  .6  2 stops, .9  3stops  1.8 about 6 stops  3.0 10 stops, 4.0 almost 14 stops  6. about 20.  What is "normal" for you?


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## whoisrikk

normal means a frame correctly exposed, a frame which is not over or underexposed.


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## bazooka

Well, if we think about the sunny 16... f/16 @ shutter speed 1/100, ISO 100.  Open up the aperture to f/2.  F/16, F/11, F/8, F/5.6, F/4, F/2.8, F/2... that's 6 stops.  Let's see if we can close the shutter speed 6 stops.... starting at 1/120th just to make it simpler.  1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000.  That's only 5 stops.  Assuming your camera has a max shutter speed of 1/4000, I'm calculating you'll be one stop overexposed @ f/2, ISO 100, 1/4000.  So for 1.8, you'd need be even a bit further overexposed.  So a 3 stop filter should get you there with some wiggle room.  Maybe someone can double check my math.


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## o hey tyler

You could just use all of the ones that Ann mentioned and then you'd have ~56 stops of light to compensate for. That would be fun, and it would make your lens look *really* funny.


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## SJGordon

Quick question.  Why do you want to shoot wide open at f:1.8 all the time even on a sunny day and have to use a ND filter and deal with a super thin DOF?  Why not close it down a few stops?


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## whoisrikk

SJGordon said:


> Quick question.  Why do you want to shoot wide open at f:1.8 all the time even on a sunny day and have to use a ND filter and deal with a super thin DOF?  Why not close it down a few stops?


 
It's about shooting *VIDEOS*. I'm reffering only to videography. I don't have the 50mm f/1.8 now but looking forward to get it. The main reason si to get that shallow DOP in my videos.

Give YouTube this search "KrafTu - Zile" (without quotation marks) to see my latest music video (shot on 550D and kit lens). Thank you all again and have a nice day!


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## SJGordon

whoisrikk said:


> SJGordon said:
> 
> 
> 
> Quick question.  Why do you want to shoot wide open at f:1.8 all the time even on a sunny day and have to use a ND filter and deal with a super thin DOF?  Why not close it down a few stops?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's about shooting *VIDEOS*. I'm reffering only to videography. I don't have the 50mm f/1.8 now but looking forward to get it. The main reason si to get that shallow DOP in my videos.
> 
> Give YouTube this search "KrafTu - Zile" (without quotation marks) to see my latest music video (shot on 550D and kit lens). Thank you all again and have a nice day!
Click to expand...


*NO **** SHERLOCK! *All you had to do is say you wanted the narrow depth which is what my question was.


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## whoisrikk

I got my DSLR two months ago and I'm still learning, relax , I'm an amateur into DSLRs and not English native, missunderstandings are common, but these forums are somehow meant to help people learning.


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## KmH

> It's about shooting *VIDEOS*. I'm reffering only to videography.


 
So go to a videography forum. You're the one that needs to relax and you were to ignorant/lazy to put your location in your profile. The internet has been international for a lot of years now, in case you had missed that!

This is a still photography forum.

These forums exist to make the owners money. Forum members provide free content. You have not yet contributed much.


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## djacobox372

Just make sure you buy one that says "made in germany" on the side of it, ND filters are pretty dense and need to be of the highest quality otherwise you end up destroying the performance of your lens.


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## Village Idiot

Why such a slow shutter speed? I'm using a 6 stop so I can shoot wide open with flashes in bright daylight. The problem is that it's really hard to see and focus with the 6 stop. If you can get away with a 3 stop, that's probably your best bet, but I don't know if it'll work for you.


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## Stryker




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## whoisrikk

KmH said:


> It's about shooting *VIDEOS*. I'm reffering only to videography.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So go to a videography forum. You're the one that needs to relax and you were to ignorant/lazy to put your location in your profile. The internet has been international for a lot of years now, in case you had missed that!
> 
> This is a still photography forum.
> 
> These forums exist to make the owners money. Forum members provide free content. You have not yet contributed much.
Click to expand...

 
Shooting a video means taking 24, 30, 60, etc photos (frames) every second, a video is made of photos, in case you didn't know. However, what are you saying about the still photography forum somehow remains correct but I bet that on this forum are also videographers searching answers for their concerns. Telling me how a forum works, as the owners are trying to squeeze money from it, it is also correct, but owning two highly visited international blogs with earnings exceeding $1000 every month, I can say I know better how this stuff works. As a conclusion, I realized that a lot of photographers have no idea about shooting videos. I'm glad I have pretty advanced knowledge in videography and amateur in photography. As a Romanian song hip hop song would say "Dont get off the plane showing off your true value, Cause if you worth that much we might sell you, Its the truth, I tell you"

However, you probably got a very bad opinion about the Romanian people, which is also sad, that's why I invite you to search YouTube "A world without Romania", trust me, at least is entertaining. With this all been said, I'm slowly quitting this subject and I'll close it (if there's an option to do this) as soon as I finish posting this.

Kind regards.


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## ann

First of all, it never crossed my mind to check your location or even consider your culture background so i don't understand you taking a position that we have a bad opinion about the Romanian people.
'
Secondly, folks did attempt to help you and when someone asked a question you got on the defensive and it has been down hill since.

Third. People on this site, beginners on up or down, do know that a video is made up of still photos, so you sir need to check out the mirror and deside which part of this sprial downhill belongs to you


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## whoisrikk

ann said:


> First of all, it never crossed my mind to check your location or even consider your culture background so i don't understand you taking a position that we have a bad opinion about the Romanian people.
> '
> Secondly, folks did attempt to help you and when someone asked a question you got on the defensive and it has been down hill since.
> 
> Third. People on this site, beginners on up or down, do know that a video is made up of still photos, so you sir need to check out the mirror and deside which part of this sprial downhill belongs to you


 
As long as I'm currently 17, directed a movie and received local recognition from a couple of TV shows I'm not gonna cry and just gonna say, okay, you're right, have a nice day. Wish I had the opportunity to close this thread, thank you all for your answers.


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## Village Idiot

whoisrikk said:


> ann said:
> 
> 
> 
> First of all, it never crossed my mind to check your location or even consider your culture background so i don't understand you taking a position that we have a bad opinion about the Romanian people.
> '
> Secondly, folks did attempt to help you and when someone asked a question you got on the defensive and it has been down hill since.
> 
> Third. People on this site, beginners on up or down, do know that a video is made up of still photos, so you sir need to check out the mirror and deside which part of this sprial downhill belongs to you
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As long as I'm currently 17, directed a movie and received local recognition from a couple of TV shows I'm not gonna cry and just gonna say, okay, you're right, have a nice day. Wish I had the opportunity to close this thread, thank you all for your answers.
Click to expand...


Ugh...what's with all the ****ing kids invading this forum?


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## bazooka

Hey man, careful talking that way about an international film director.


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## ann

ah, now i understand, 17,  I can remember when i was much younger and thought i knew everything

and talking about not leading with one resume, which you hinted at earlier in this thread  young man, grow up and walk your talk..


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## o hey tyler

whoisrikk said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's about shooting *VIDEOS*. I'm reffering only to videography.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So go to a videography forum. You're the one that needs to relax and you were to ignorant/lazy to put your location in your profile. The internet has been international for a lot of years now, in case you had missed that!
> 
> This is a still photography forum.
> 
> These forums exist to make the owners money. Forum members provide free content. You have not yet contributed much.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Shooting a video means taking 24, 30, 60, etc photos (frames) every second, a video is made of photos, in case you didn't know. However, what are you saying about the still photography forum somehow remains correct but I bet that on this forum are also videographers searching answers for their concerns. Telling me how a forum works, as the owners are trying to squeeze money from it, it is also correct, but owning two highly visited international blogs with earnings exceeding $1000 every month, I can say I know better how this stuff works. As a conclusion, I realized that a lot of photographers have no idea about shooting videos. I'm glad I have pretty advanced knowledge in videography and amateur in photography. As a Romanian song hip hop song would say "Dont get off the plane showing off your true value, Cause if you worth that much we might sell you, Its the truth, I tell you"
> 
> However, you probably got a very bad opinion about the Romanian people, which is also sad, that's why I invite you to search YouTube "A world without Romania", trust me, at least is entertaining. With this all been said, I'm slowly quitting this subject and I'll close it (if there's an option to do this) as soon as I finish posting this.
> 
> Kind regards.
Click to expand...

 
Oh my bad. I didn't realize you were 17 years old and already knew everything there was to know in the world.  We're all REALLY SORRY. 

Remind me to never go to Romania. Their hip hop music sounds like it would be awful.


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## SJGordon

LOL!  17 and has all the answers.  Glad I put the putz on ignore when I did, know-it-all kids just piss me off with their attitude and stubbornness.


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## KKJUN

Why can't you shoot video at higher shutter speeds? My GH1 lets me go up to 1/4000th, I can comfortably shoot at 1.8 without any sort of filter.


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## ziplock122949

Personally, I would go with a variable ND where you could get 8 stops. I have not shot video (yet) like this, but my thinking is since 1/50sec and 1.8 are the biggest factors, having maximum control of the ND would be best. I can not remember for sure, but I think Alex Lindsay (TWiP host and video specialist) uses the variable filters.


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