Which ND value for first ND?

[Randy Digby]

I want to purchase a good quality ND filter to start using and I want to go ahead and get a quality piece of glass, so I need to watch the budget a little. I would rather have one good ND than a bag full of junk. My typical application is landscape with my walk-about lens (Canon EF-S 18-135) with a CPF (if that makes sense to use both) and as luck usually comes my way, most activity would be in the harsh lighting part of the day.

So what ND value would you suggest if I were only getting one at this time and a brand recommendation if you have a favorite?

Thanks.

[Tony_Stark]

Which kind of ND are you looking at? Thats where you should start. Look at Cokin P series, Z Pro for higher budget. Learn what the different NDs are and what they do. Solid, soft, hard, reverse etc.

From what you said you want to do, get a starter Cokin P kit, adaptor ring for your lens, then a 0.6 Soft Grad ND.

[Randy Digby]

Originally Posted by Tony_Stark

Which kind of ND are you looking at? Thats where you should start. Look at Cokin P series, Z Pro for higher budget. Learn what the different NDs are and what they do. Solid, soft, hard, reverse etc.

From what you said you want to do, get a starter Cokin P kit, adaptor ring for your lens, then a 0.6 Soft Grad ND.

Thanks Tony. Picked up the holder and adapter at Wolf this morning. The didn't have any ND filters, but the booklet in the Corkin package was extremely helpful. I've got three ND filters coming via Amazon now.

[MCAsan]

Lightcraft VND is only one I carry. I can dial in the light loss I want to shooting waterfalls, streams, ..etc.

As for GNDs, I never carry one into the field. I do GND effects in post processing in LR and plugins as needed without losing capture data.

[SuffolkGal]

For starter 0.6 and 0.9 Hard grad and a 0.6 soft grad. Recommend getting a standard ND, too.

If you try and take photos of scenes with a high range you will lose detail if you don't use the ND when you shoot.