Summer is one of my favourite times to experiment with filters – especially Neutral Density filters. I always keep a selection of ND filters in my camera backpack. I’ll use these filters for everything from portraits to long exposures.
The Kenko REALPRO ND filter kit includes the most common ND filters I use: ND8, ND64 and ND1,000. These equate to 3-stop, 60stop and 10-stop light reductions.
When it comes to filters, I prefer premium filters to match my premium lenses. Why put cheap glass on your lens that will negatively affect your images? Kenko glass, made in Japan, is world-renowned for it’s premium quality. Kenko REALPRO filters feature a Black satin aluminum frame with black rimmed glass and their Anti-Reflection multi-coating to prevent internal reflections that will degrade your images. These coatings also reduce ghosting and flaring in your images.
My favourite thing about Kenko filters is their colour neutrality. Cheap filters usually have colour shifts – often causing images to appear worse than unnatural. I’ve most often seen green, purple and magenta shifts over the entire image. Kenko uses “ND Vacuum Deposition Technology” – a new way to coat glass to ensure even distribution of ND materials to the glass. They also use superior ND coatings to prevent those colour shifts.
One important note to make about photographing with ND filters – the longer your exposure time, the warmer your image will be. This is normal, especially in bright sunny weather, as you are allowing more Infrared light to enter your sensor. Kenko filters are designed to neutralize this.
I’m often asked when to use certain filters. When making portraits in bright sun, I’ll often use the 3-stop ND8 so I can keep my aperture wide open – I want to keep the background blurred and out of focus. I’ll often leave the ND8 on my 85mm f/1.8 for this reason. If I need to use fill flash, the ND8 is vital to ensure a proper exposure as I need a fast shutter speed. This outdoor portrait required HSS for the flash and meant I needed an ND8 for a balanced exposure.
I primarily use the ND64 and ND1,000 for landscape images – especially when blurring moving water or moving leaves. There’s a magical quality to images created with long exposures and this is only possible with ND filters.
Kenko ND filters are available individually or in a handy three filter kit. Look for them at your local photography retailer or online at www.kenkoglobal.ca
JULY SPECIALS – Save up to 23% OFF
Kit consists of 3 ND filters – ND8, ND64 and ND1000
While quantities last | Sale valid until July 31, 2024
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Author: Will Prentice
A portrait, fine art and commercial photographer for 30 plus years, Will Prentice is not just a contributor to PHOTONews magazine, but also host of PHOTONewsTV, owner of Captura Photography+Imaging and Technical Support/Brand Manager for Amplis Foto, Canada’s largest distributor of photographic equipment.
Will teaches photographers of all skill levels how to improve their craft – from creative photo projects to picking the right gear for their needs to flattering lighting to getting the best expressions to creating final images for screen and print. His unique style of highly detailed images with perfect tonality, wide dynamic range and stunning colour is instantly recognizable. Commercial clients rely on Will’s creative eye and mastery of lighting.
When he’s not behind the camera or in front of a class, you’ll find Will outdoors in any weather – usually on one of his bikes or enjoying time with his grandchildren.
