Description

What is a graduated neutral density filter (GND)?

GND filters are pieces of glass that are darkened at one end and clear at the other end. In between, there is a transition point from dark to clear which varies depending on the specific type of GND. They even out the exposure of a scene which naturally consists of a bright section (sky) and darker section (foreground). The use of GNDs assists with capturing the dynamic range of a scene using a single exposure instead of blending multiple exposures with different shutter speeds.

How strong is my GND?

The degree of light blocking for a GND uses the same terminology as described for ND filters. There is a slight difference in that the stated strength only refers to the darkest part of the filter. With most GND filters, the darkest part of the filter will be at the top end of the filter when placed in the filter holder. The nature of the transition from dark to clear is described by the type of GND.

Soft GND Filter

Soft-edged GNDs have a very gradual transition from dark to clear. This type of filter is most appropriate for scenes that have a gradual or interrupted transition from the foreground to the sky. The best examples of scenarios where a soft GND would be used include alpine scenery with mountains crossing the horizon line, dramatic rock formations (sea stacks) in a seascape. Generally, these filters are best used when shooting away from the direct light source.

The 150x170mm Nano IR Soft Graduated Neutral Density filter from Nisi is specially designed for landscape photographers. This filter is made from high-quality optical glass (not resin) with nano coating to prevent losing any single bit of detail. The filter is designed with dark area on the top and gradually to clear at the bottom preventing overexposure of skies. Neutral density filters do not affect the coloration of the image and the 0.6 density provides a 2 stop reduction in light from entering the lens

By using neutral density filter the camera is vulnerable to infrared light which will cast the unwanted red color to the photos when shooting at a small aperture. Nisi added the infrared protection coating layer to this filter which helps to eliminate the infrared light through the lens to bring back the nature color.