Most common ND's

What power neutral density filters, solid and graduated, are most often used for landscapes? should I buy them all?

1 stop
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
9.0
10.0

I find 3 stop graduated filters to be the most useful. For solids, it depends entirely on what you like. I have a 10 stop for really strong smoothing effects, and again a 3 stop for more "general" use. I can combine this with my GND turned upside down for 6 stops.

3 stop GND (if not done in post either through bracketing or single exposure)
10 stop ND for smoothing effects, though 9 stop NDs are somewhat common because a circular version exists that is fairly cheap compared to the lee + holder, although not nearly as easy to use.

Anything below 4 stops probably isn't worth bothering with. You can usually make camera adjustments such as a single stop increase of shutter speed, one stop narrower on aperture, and 1 stop pulling the exposure back in post. Of course, the less you have to compromise, the better, but it is better than buying a bunch of ND filters.
I would suggest a 4 stop and an 8 stop for a pair. Or if you go for 3, get a 3 stop, 6 stop, and 10 stop.

I have a 2 stop soft and a 2stop & 3stop hard and a 10 stop ND filter and make use of them all the time. Really depends what and where you shoot. I also have a polarizer I quite often use with my other filters.

My filters consist of
3 stop ND - useful for long-exposure when there's very little light while still allowing you to view through the lens
10 stop ND - must for long exposure
3 stop GND soft - soft since not a lot of seascape here
2 stop Reverse GND - for the few times I go shoot sunrise/sunset by the sea

Square: 3, 10, 3 GND soft.... that's pretty much all I have. Might get a 3 GND hard and 4x4 polarizer to complete my setup, but I do tend to blend rather than relying on GND's.

Circular: polarizer and 3.

A set of 3, 6 and 10-stoppers will cover most needs. If short of cash you can have just 3 and 6-stoppers and stack them when needed.

3 Stop (or less) won't help much for landscapes, it's really only good if you want to shoot wide in open in bright sunlight.

Albino_BlacMan wrote in post #16965458
3 Stop (or less) won't help much for landscapes, it's really only good if you want to shoot wide in open in bright sunlight.

actually 3 is pretty good. 3 grads are great and effective. 3ND's also have a good purpose when the sun is setting or rising. Give just enough you buy you an hour of shooting, where 10 would be overkill.

Depending on your budget, you might want to consider getting a variable ND filter. They can be a little pricey, but if you're considering getting a number of the regular ones, this may be about as cheap.

Albino_BlacMan wrote in post #16965458
3 Stop (or less) won't help much for landscapes, it's really only good if you want to shoot wide in open in bright sunlight.

I use my 3 stop filters exclusively for landscapes.

Heya,

I use a 10 stop, 3 stop graduated ND soft edge most often. Just those two. I have a 3 stop ND as well, but I don't use it as much. I only use it if it's already so dark that I don't want to take a 10+ minute photo with my 10 stopper.

Very best,

i've got a six stop and a 10 stop. my x100s has a 3 stop built in.

Speaking of GNDs and NDs... which ones are the good ones and which ones should be skipped? (brands, I mean)