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This article is about my experiences with Haida ND (Neutral Density) Filters. Why did I buy Haida? Do they give acceptable results? What sort of colour cast do they give? Can You use them with other filters at the same time? These are some of the question we will be answering in this article. This is not a scientific study just one users experiences in the world of long exposures. The photos used are all taken by myself and have been optimised for web so the quality will be lower than originals.
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First The kit I am using for long exposure photography.
Camera:- Canon 5Ds or Canon 5D mkii Lenses:- Canon 17-40mm F4L USM or Canon 24 -105mm F4 L IS USM The Neutral Density (ND) Filters:
Other Equipment
Remote release. Plug in cable type. Tripod:- A Velbon 600 4 section Carbon Fibre. Tripod Head:- Velbon magnesium ball head with custom panoramic rotator. |
The photos I am using to illustrate have all been shot with Haida ND Filters and No Grads. The caption for each photo contains the filter details and shooting information. Clicking on any photo will view larger in a lightbox. So far I have not had any problems with colour cast or white balance using the Haida Neutral Density Filters. The photos below were shot with auto white balance and the results are just fine to my eyes.
My post processing starts in ACR where I check the lens profile correction and cromatic aberrations boxes under the lens profile tab, I then adjust the exposure slider and then open the raw file in PS where I carry out noise reduction before saving as a Tiff file The Tiff is imported into Lightroom where I do the remainder of the adjustments to the image and finish by exporting as a Jpeg for web or print use.
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Rider Of The Storms
using the Haida 6 Stop ND Filter. Exposures were 8 secs, 16 secs and 32 secs. Canon 17-40mm @ 19mm F16 ISO 100 |
The Devils Backbone
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Why Haida Neutral Density Filters
If you are looking to buy some ND filters the 3 main manufacturers are B+W, Lee and Haida. There are other types available to you but they tend to be resin type filters which are easily scratched. The three manufactures I have mentioned are the best on the market although their prices vary considerably. Some people will tell you that because something costs more it has to be a better product. I don't subscribe to that way of thinking and prefer to weigh up the relative merits of each product. I was using welders glass for my long exposures but wanted something with a better optical quality and without the colour cast welders glass gives you. I also wanted neutral density filters in different strengths to cover different shooting conditions and I also didn't want to spend a fortune to achieve this.
First I looked at Lee filters the market leader and their product is great but is let down by the high price tag. To buy their big stopper filter, filter holder and adaptor ring would cost in the region of £200 then there would be the additional cost of a 3 stop and 6 stop neutral density filters taking the final price tage to over £350. How much of the price you have to pay with Lee Filters is due to the fact they were the only company offering a 100 x 100mm 10 stop neutral density filter time will tell, especially now that Haida has now produced their own 100 x 100mm 10 stopper for half the cost. Then there was the fact that no one had any stock of the Lee big stopper waiting times for delivery were frankly stupid. People who could get one were buying them one day and selling them on eBay for silly money the next. It will be interesting to see what happens to the price over the next 12 months now there is some competition in the marketplace. So the Lee Filter system was ruled out because of the price.
Next I looked at the B+W Big Stopper which is a screw on 10 stop Neutral Density filter, the reports I found online indicated that this Nd filter suffered with a redish colour cast and was more suited to black and white work.
If you are looking to buy some ND filters the 3 main manufacturers are B+W, Lee and Haida. There are other types available to you but they tend to be resin type filters which are easily scratched. The three manufactures I have mentioned are the best on the market although their prices vary considerably. Some people will tell you that because something costs more it has to be a better product. I don't subscribe to that way of thinking and prefer to weigh up the relative merits of each product. I was using welders glass for my long exposures but wanted something with a better optical quality and without the colour cast welders glass gives you. I also wanted neutral density filters in different strengths to cover different shooting conditions and I also didn't want to spend a fortune to achieve this.
First I looked at Lee filters the market leader and their product is great but is let down by the high price tag. To buy their big stopper filter, filter holder and adaptor ring would cost in the region of £200 then there would be the additional cost of a 3 stop and 6 stop neutral density filters taking the final price tage to over £350. How much of the price you have to pay with Lee Filters is due to the fact they were the only company offering a 100 x 100mm 10 stop neutral density filter time will tell, especially now that Haida has now produced their own 100 x 100mm 10 stopper for half the cost. Then there was the fact that no one had any stock of the Lee big stopper waiting times for delivery were frankly stupid. People who could get one were buying them one day and selling them on eBay for silly money the next. It will be interesting to see what happens to the price over the next 12 months now there is some competition in the marketplace. So the Lee Filter system was ruled out because of the price.
Next I looked at the B+W Big Stopper which is a screw on 10 stop Neutral Density filter, the reports I found online indicated that this Nd filter suffered with a redish colour cast and was more suited to black and white work.
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Finally I looked at The Haida neutral density filters which are of an excellent quality using Schott Glass the same as B+W. They are circular and screw into the filter thread on the front of your lens. Both my 17-40mm and 24-105mm canon zoom lenses have a 77mm filter thread size so one size ND filter would be ok for both without the need to use any adaptor rings. Haida produce a 3 stop (0.9 x8), a 6 stop (1.8 x64), and a 10 stop (3.0 x1000) ND filter which can be purchesed as a set of three for just under £100 including postage (Summer 2013) from Camera Gear Uk on ebay. I searched the internet to find out as much as I could about these filters and found that the Slim Pro ii version would be the best for my type of lenses.
Satisfied with all the reports on Haida filters I found on the internet I purchased a set of 3 Haida Slim Pro ii MC for 77mm filter thread in the summer of 2013. The filters are threaded front and back so other filters can be mounted if required.
They are made using Schott glass the same as B+W filter so the optical quality is superb. There is no notabe colour cast from these filters. The black alumium frame is super slim and screws easily into the filter thread on the front of the lens. They are also very easy to keep clean. My Cokin "Z" Pro adaptor ring screws into the front of the filter but you do need to take care not to overtighten anything mounted in front of the Haidas. Because the Haida ND filters are so slim it can be difficult to get a good enough grip to get them apart again later, but with care it is not a problem. The only complaint I could have is the cheap plastic case they came in, it really is not up to the job. The photo on the right shows the filters in the case they came in including a free lens cap that was included in the price. |
Haida 3 stop 6 stop 10 stop neutral density filters in a case and a free lens cap
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When to Use Neutral Density Filters
When is the best time to use the ND filters, well the answer has to be anytime. In bright sunshine the 10 stop ND can be used to blur water or clouds and as the light levels start to drop you can switch over to the 6 stop ND filter or even the 3 stop ND. Subjects vary from moving clouds, water, people, transport the list is as long as your imagination. The filter will remove anything from the photograph if it moves fast enough, so crowds of moving people or cars just disappear from the photograph so experimenting is the name of the game with your new black glass.
Using Your Black Glass
The method for taking a shot varies depending on which ND filter you are using, the 3 stop ND lets enough light through to be able to use an auto camera setting if required.
The 6 stop ND lets enough light through so you can frame the shot focusing will still need to be achieved prior to fitting the filter or by using the lenes depth of field scale which is my prefered method.
The 10 stop ND is so dark all framing and focusing has to be carried out prior to fitting the filter.
When is the best time to use the ND filters, well the answer has to be anytime. In bright sunshine the 10 stop ND can be used to blur water or clouds and as the light levels start to drop you can switch over to the 6 stop ND filter or even the 3 stop ND. Subjects vary from moving clouds, water, people, transport the list is as long as your imagination. The filter will remove anything from the photograph if it moves fast enough, so crowds of moving people or cars just disappear from the photograph so experimenting is the name of the game with your new black glass.
Using Your Black Glass
The method for taking a shot varies depending on which ND filter you are using, the 3 stop ND lets enough light through to be able to use an auto camera setting if required.
The 6 stop ND lets enough light through so you can frame the shot focusing will still need to be achieved prior to fitting the filter or by using the lenes depth of field scale which is my prefered method.
The 10 stop ND is so dark all framing and focusing has to be carried out prior to fitting the filter.
Just Another Stormy Sunset.
60 secs F11 ISO 100 with the Haida 10 stop ND Filter. Canon 24-105mm at 24mm |
The Jetty. High Key.
181 secs at F11 ISO 100 Canon 24-105mm at 24mm. Haida 10 stop ND Filter. converted to Black & White |
My workflow when using the filters is as follows. Mount camera on tripod using a remote release or if you don't have a remote the 10 sec timer. (10 sec timer is better than 2 sec because it gives the camera time to settle after you have pressed the shutter button).
Switch to manual focus and turn off the Image stabiliser then frame the shot and focus. I usually use the depth of field scale on the front of the lens to set the focus so everything is sharp. Remember the 3 stop and 6 stop ND let enough light through so you can frame the shot with the filter attached. The 10 stop ND is so dark it is not possible to frame and focus with it attached.
Set your ISO to 50 or 100 next take a meter reading whilst in aperture priority mode at your chosen F stop.
I use F11 or F16 because my lens is sharpest at these F numbers. stopping down to F22 sees a drop in quality in the edges of the photograph. Check a test report to see which F stop gives the best results for your lens.
Next switch to Bulb or Manual mode attach the filter and work out the new shutter speed. It pays to have a correction card in your pocket with the shutter speed corrections already listed. (See diagram at bottom of this article and download link) Fire off a single test shot, then check the histogram for correct exposure. If the histogram is all to the left increase exposure, histogram all to the right means decrease exposure.
Switch to manual focus and turn off the Image stabiliser then frame the shot and focus. I usually use the depth of field scale on the front of the lens to set the focus so everything is sharp. Remember the 3 stop and 6 stop ND let enough light through so you can frame the shot with the filter attached. The 10 stop ND is so dark it is not possible to frame and focus with it attached.
Set your ISO to 50 or 100 next take a meter reading whilst in aperture priority mode at your chosen F stop.
I use F11 or F16 because my lens is sharpest at these F numbers. stopping down to F22 sees a drop in quality in the edges of the photograph. Check a test report to see which F stop gives the best results for your lens.
Next switch to Bulb or Manual mode attach the filter and work out the new shutter speed. It pays to have a correction card in your pocket with the shutter speed corrections already listed. (See diagram at bottom of this article and download link) Fire off a single test shot, then check the histogram for correct exposure. If the histogram is all to the left increase exposure, histogram all to the right means decrease exposure.
Victoria Pier, Yarmouth.
32 secs at F16, ISO 100, Canon 17-40mm at 28mm Haida 1000X 10 stop ND Filter |
Under The Pier An HDR image from 3 separate exposures using the Haida 10 stop ND Filter, Canon 17-40mm, ISO 100, F16
8 secs. 32 secs and 64 secs. blended using Luminosity Masks |
You will find like I have you get a feel for the conditions and will have a rough idea of exposure time taking a test exposure first then checking the histogram for correct exposure and adjust the next shot as needed
One big downside you will find when you come to process ultra long exposures are the number of hot pixels in the photo. Once your exposure gets into the minutes you will get red green black and white hot pixels showing when you view at 100%. These hot pixels can be removed along with any dust spots using the healing tool in Photoshop and Lighroom and can be very time consuming. This has nothing to do with the ND filter it is a camera sensor issue.
One important test to conduct before using the table below is to check what the exposure compensation factor is for your ND Filter. A constant light source is required to do this and you should take a photo without the filter then add the filter and take futher photos +_ 2 stops in 1/3 stop increments to find out exactly how many stops your filter is. When you look at the unprocessed results the photo that match the one without the ND filter will be the one.
ND Filter Conversion Chart
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If you would like a copy of this conversion card, click on the photo to open in a lightbox, then
above and to the right of the photo choose send as an eCard fill in your details for your free copy. When you get the eMail right click on the picture of the conversion card and choose save as. To save a copy to your computer, then bluetooth a copy to your phone so you always have a copy with you. Alternately print out the conversion card and have it laminated to keep in your camera bag.
above and to the right of the photo choose send as an eCard fill in your details for your free copy. When you get the eMail right click on the picture of the conversion card and choose save as. To save a copy to your computer, then bluetooth a copy to your phone so you always have a copy with you. Alternately print out the conversion card and have it laminated to keep in your camera bag.
It's important to remember that these conversion tables are only a guide and that the histogram should be checked for correct exposure after each shot.
To use the table take the filter reading without ND filter (column on the very left) then read across to the new exposure time with your ND Filter.
So if your camera meter is reading 1/125" and you are using a 10 stop ND filter the new exposure time would be 8" seconds. This would be your starting exposure, but then check the histogram to make sure it is correct.
If you are using additional grad filters for the sky then meter with that filter in place to get a shutter reading that you can then convert to the approx. exposure time. when you have attached the ND filter.
To use the table take the filter reading without ND filter (column on the very left) then read across to the new exposure time with your ND Filter.
So if your camera meter is reading 1/125" and you are using a 10 stop ND filter the new exposure time would be 8" seconds. This would be your starting exposure, but then check the histogram to make sure it is correct.
If you are using additional grad filters for the sky then meter with that filter in place to get a shutter reading that you can then convert to the approx. exposure time. when you have attached the ND filter.
Bembridge Lifeboat Station. Haida 10 stop ND Filter plus Haida 3 stop ND Filter. 128 secs @ F13 ISO 100 Canon 17-40mm at 19mm
Bembridge Lifeboat. Haida 10 stop ND. 64 seconds F14 ISO 100. Canon 24-105mm at 24mm
Bembridge Beach & Lifeboat Station. 16 secs F11 ISO 100. Haida 10 stop ND Canon 24-105mm at 24mm
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The Broken Jetty #2. Shot using the Haida 3.0 10 stop ND filter
60 secs @ F11 ISO 100. Canon 24-105mm at 28mm 
Remember to check the histogram after every shot. You cannot rely on the LCD photo preview when checking exposure, how they look on the screen will depend on how bright you have set the screen brightness. Whereas the histogram will show if you have a correct exposure.
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Conclusions:-
Plus Points: Price: One of the cheapest available Quality: Excellent quality No visible Colour Cast Consistant results 3, 6 and 10 Stopper options available Opens a new field of Photography |
Negatives: Not as easy to use as a slot in filter system If stacking filters, two filters can jam together if over tightened Supplied case is of poor quality |
The Haida Neutral Density Filters are without doubt a quality product producing excellent results, I really can't fault them. Slot in filters might be easier to use especially when you are using grads as well as the ND. But for the price the Haida's are a real winner. I shall be watching the test results of the Haida 100 x 100mm 10 stop ND filter because this filter will offer the best of both worlds. Half the price of the Lee equivilant but still delivering the quality and being a slide in filter it will be easier to attach.
Return To Valhalla.
An HDR long exposure using the Haida 6 Stop ND Filter exposures were taken for the sky, wreck and the sea and blended using luminosity masks then finished in Lightroom. Exposures were 8 secs, 16 secs and 32 secs. Canon 17-40mm @ 19mm F16 ISO 100 |
Woodside Beach Sunset.
Two exposures processed and then blended in PS with a gradient mask. The gradient mask allows a smooth transition between the two exposures. Ist exposure for the sky, 4 secs. F11 ISO 100. 2nd exposure for the foreground, 30 secs. F11 ISO 100. Both exposures Canon 17-40mm at 19mm. Haida 6 stop ND. A graduated ND filter on camera would achieve a similar result but the gradient mask is easier to apply allowing more control whilst viewing a much larger photo for precise positioning. |
UPDATED (May 2016)
Haida Neutral Density Filters 3 Years ON (May2016)
SS Carbon at Compton Bay Isle Of Wight. Shot with the Haida 10 stop ND Filter
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Freshwater Bay Sunset, Isle Of Wight. Shot with the Haida 6 Stop ND Filter
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