G15's ND filter: any visible effect?

The G15 has a digital neutral density filter, which the manual says reduces the light intensity to 1/8 the actual level, the equivalent of three stops. I took test shots in bright sun with and without the filter on. They look the same to me, and the histograms are almost identical. Shouldn't the difference show up in the images?

you will see the effect if there is movement in the frame. this depends on the shooting mode and your camera settings. in aperture priority with fixed ISO the shutter speed becomes 3 stops slower, with auto ISO - ISO will be bumped up and shutter speed slows down. in program mode - aperture opens up, SS slows down, ISO goes up.
if there is flowing water in the image - you will see the difference in the water blur, when ND filter is used.

I used Av and had ISO on Auto to find out whether ISO would change to compensate for the ND filter. If ISO rises automatically when the filter is on, the effect of the filter is neutralized. ISO didn't rise. Shutter speed and ISO were the same for the two shots.

These shots didn't involve movement. I thought the ND filter could be used to moderate the effect of bright sunlight--that is, make the whole image darker--but it didn't do anything.

If the filter is swinging in to place as it should either your aperture, ISO or shutter speed needs to change by three stops to compensate for the same exposure. If they don't then you should have a darker image. You may want to check those settings again or even try engaging the filter in manual mode.

Colorblinded wrote in post #16241136
If the filter is swinging in to place as it should either your aperture, ISO or shutter speed needs to change by three stops to compensate for the same exposure. If they don't then you should have a darker image. You may want to check those settings again or even try engaging the filter in manual mode.

Nothing swings. This isn't a DSLR. The filter is engaged by changing a setting. The EXIFs show the same values for aperture, exposure, and ISO for the two shots. I can test again using manual.

OhLook wrote in post #16241261
Nothing swings. This isn't a DSLR. The filter is engaged by changing a setting...

the menu setting (ND ON) actually moves a small ND filter in front of the sensor. It is equivalent to a threaded ND filter in front of the lens of a DSLR

rpolitsr wrote in post #16241575
the menu setting (ND ON) actually moves a small ND filter in front of the sensor.

Thanks for the correction. Once in a while, I find yet another way to embarrass myself. I'll try not to do it again for a week.

It seemed that the adjustment wasn't made mechanically, because I didn't hear anything. However, if I put my ear right next to the camera, two faint clicks are evident when the filter is turned on or off.

I tried ND and no ND in M, Tv, Av, and P. Results: In Tv, Av, and P, choosing ND-on doesn't darken the picture. The camera thwarts my effort to get three additional stops by changing something else. The changes it makes show up in the EXIF data. (They didn't yesterday, for the test in Av mode, and I don't know why.) For ND to work, I have to go to M and nail everything down.