best ND filter for water landscapes?

Hello, I have a 7D and I'm wanting to start trying to take more fountain and waterfall pics with long exposures. What type of Nd filters would you recommend? Any comments would be appreciated.

On a side note, has anyone dealt with "2filter.com?" They seem to have pretty good prices, but their website and pics of their business don't look very professional. I'm just a little leery.

Mike

That's a hard question to answer...a lot depends on the available light at the time. For this reason, multiple ND filters are usually needed since a single filter can't always fit the situation.

For waterfall pics, a good polarizer is always mandatory for many reasons. In addition to the polarizing effects, a good CPL will also act as a 1.5 to 2-stop ND filter, so I wouldn't go out and by a 2-stop filter. I'd recommend two ND's...a 3 or 4-stop, and a 6-stop. These, and a good CPL, should cover you for most situations and, as long as you're careful about your focal length as far as vignetting goes, you can stack the filters in any combination for greater ND effects since the stops are additive (e.g., a 3-stop + polarizer will give about 5-stops of light reduction, a 6 and 4 stop would give you 10-stops of light reduction).

If money is of no concern, there's always the Singh-Ray Vari-N-Duo filter. This is a variable ND filter (2 to 8 stops), plus a polarizer. It looks expensive, but when you add up the cost of a good CPL and multiple ND filters, it comes pretty close to a wash price-wise.

2filter.com is okay. My experience with them has been spotty due to the inevitable out of stock emails that I get AFTER placing the order. For that reason, I stick to B&H. If 2filter would modify their website to show the in stock/out of stock item status (similar to B&H), it would make things much simpler and I'd probably shop with them more often.

The singh ray vari-ND works great as well. Adjustable ND and color neutral ( the marking strip by the side is a little too flimsy though ). There has been a few other cheaper alternatives like Fader ND which i have no experience.

Ryan