10 STOP ND FILTER - A MUST HAVE FILTER FOR LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

In years gone by landscape photographers carried around a large selection of photography filters, which usually included warming filters, cooling filters, graduated ND filters, ND filters and CPL filters to name just a few. Thanks to the age of digital photography, and photo editing software the amount of photography filters you need in your kit bag has significantly decreased. With decent photo editing software, together with the knowledge on how to use it, most effects can be created processing the RAW files. I say most of the effects because there is one particular effect, and a very popular one at that, photo editing software can’t create and that is the effect of using a strong neutral density filter.

A 10 stop ND filter, often referred to the ‘big stopper’ is a ND filter that slows the shutter speed by 10 stops, which allows long exposure photography. Those photos where clouds are turned to blurry streaks across the sky are captured using a strong ND filter. Those photos of waterfalls where the cascading water looks smooth and silky are captures using a strong ND filter. If you want to take these kind of photos you need a 10 stop ND filter since it is impossible to create these images using photo editing software. As a result a 10 stop ND filter is an essential photography filter all landscape photographers should have in their kit bag.

There are two types of 10 stop ND filter available including the screw in variety (i.e. the one you attach directly to the end of the lens) and the square variety (i.e. the type you place in front of your lens). Both are useful and do the same job however I prefer to use a square 10 stop ND filter. The square ND filters are easier to use, more versatile and allow for filter stacking and this is why I prefer them over the screw in 10 stop ND filters.

In order to use a square 10 stop ND filter you also need a specific square filter holder. Whilst there are loads of different square filter holders available you do need to take care as some of them are utter rubbish and as good as the proverbial chocolate teapot. The “best filter holderfor landscapes” is an article you may want to take a look at if you want a square filter holder.

The main players in the 10 stop ND filter market are Lee, Hitech and Singh Ray. All of these make top quality 10 stop ND filters, however they are very expensive and not the best value for money. There are alternative 10 stop ND filters, most of which are utter rubbish (they decrease the image quality to an extent where the photos are unusable) however there is one competitor that creates 10 stop ND filters that are just as good as the Lee, Hitech and Singh Ray filters but a fraction of the cost. This competitor is Zomei, and it is the brand of 10 stop ND filter I use for my landscape photography. The Zomei 10 stop ND filter is awesome and I can’t recommend it any more (for an honest and unbiased review take a look at “Review of the Zomei10 stop filter”).

If you’re on a budget or want a cheap 10 stop ND filter to test out before taking the plunge and spending more money on a good version you may wish to consider the Cokin filters. Cokin filters get a hard time from photographers and this is totally unfair. Okay, so Cokin filters leave a bit of a color cast (which is easily sorted out using some photo editing software) they get the effect and they are super cheap, i.e. great value for money. Cokin filters really aren’t that bad and may be something you want to consider, providing you ignore the negative reviews (of which you will find many) of course.

If you want to expand your landscape photography portfolio a 10 stop ND filter is a good way to go about this. You may wish to go down the screw in ND filter route which is fine, although I would suggest using the filter holder system and square filters every time. The filter system, whilst more expensive, is easier to use, more versatile and allows for a wider range of shots. 

Shot using the Zomei 10 stop ND filter