The filter I would like to see...

The filter I would like to see is a GND that has the cut-off at 1/3 of the field rather than down the middle. I would also like this filter to rotate (like a polarizer) so I could place the 1/3 ND field anywhere in the frame - (top, bottom, left or right). That way, I would not have to switch to a Cokin type setup to effectively use a GND filter.

I hate the standard 50% cut-off on round GND filters because it forces the photographer to stick the horizon in the middle of the image - boring, boring, boring!

Most of the time, I don't even use the GND anymore.

That's why most people use the rectangular ones. You can rotate the holders just fine and slide the filter within the holder to put the divide exactly where you want it. With a 1/3 round, what happens when you want the transition at the lower third (foreground dark, sunlit mountains and sky for the upper 2/3)?

there has to be a point at which you guys will just admit that taking a couple of exposures is better than messing with GND filters.

Solid ND and photoshop all the way.

Multiple exposures only works if nothing in the scene moves. Photoshop's not the universal solution some may wish to think it. You'd do well to remember that.

I'd do well to remember that some people think photoshop is a universal solution? I don't really care what some people think, tbh.

As for me, I think by the time you orient your grad ND *just so* those things moving in your scene are in the next county. The concern only arrises if the moving things in your frame are half-way in and out of your desired ND zone simultaneously. That's pretty rare, but I'll grant you not entirely impossible if your moving object is long/high enough.

I'd wager my gear that I could take two exposures close enough together to make a more then passable fix in PS though.

....and then there are those that would rather get the exposure right in the camera instead of spending yet even more time in front of thier computer. If photoshop is your best tool you might as well just have a P&S, why bother with any gear? Where has the passion for photography gone? People would rather be on their PC than out in the field.

To each his own, just my $0.02.

I don't really disagree with you, if it's possible to obtain a better result in-camera.

thing is, grad NDs are always going to be linear gradients, and the application of them isn't ever going to accurately match the scene no matter how you turn and slide it.

this has gone from "grad NDs aren't all that..." to "why do you want to do everything in photoshop you loser?" ... it's not everything that I want to do in PS, only the things I can't do quite as well with a filter...

.. and grad ND is one of those things I think... but you're right, to each their own, sorry for belabouring the point.

I see your point and my comments were more in general and not directed towards anyone specific. I do a lot of hand blending and gradients in photoshop but I still feel that with the type of shooting I do grad nd's are a very valuable tool.