Sony ND filter- how many stops?

Adub

New Member
Hello,

I purchased the RX1 and the plan is to shoot it wide open the majority of the time. Curious if a 3 stop ND is enough when at ISO 100 while in the direct sun on the water, white sand, etc?

Thinking the 6 stop may be a better idea as I could always bump up the ISO if need be? Thoughts?

Thanks.
 
a 3 stop is rarely not enough. Cameras that have built-in ND filters have 3 stoppers. When I use my X100 at f2, the built-in ND filter has always been strong enough, but if you're often in blinding light situations like snow or white sand, you may be better served by something with more light-stopping power.
 
I just had a look at the RX1 specs, max shutter speed is 1/4000. In this case, a 3-stop ND filter is advisable when in bright midday sunlight. I've never needed 6 stops of filter though, that's quite a hell of a lot of filtering for me even though I'm shooting wide open at f/1.1.

If you had a camera that had a max shutter speed of 1/8000 you'll probably only need maybe 1-2 stops.

But like Luke said, you may need more if you're in blinding light situations. I assume those sorts of situations are rare but you did mention sun-on-water and white sand.
 
Adub

It may be expensive but I really can recommend the Lee RF 75 filter system for the RX1. I use it for most of my landscape work. There is a ten-stop 'Big Stopper' which I particularly like to use to create creamy clouds or smooth water flows. I also use ND grads as well to balance the ev difference between skies and foreground.

LouisB
 
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