A few weeks ago, I received at my door one of the filters I had been waiting for a long time, a filter that would allow me to take long exposure photos by adding stops of light and also letting me get the double frame rate that is needed to record video, and all this without having to carry too much weight in my camera bag; the best thing about this filter is the opportunity to change the amount of light steps by simply turning the guide that is added to the rotating part of the filter.

Do you know what filter I am talking about?

Features of this filter:

• Variable Neutral Density Filter Offering Greater Control Over Exposure Settings, Allows Reduce Shutter Speeds and Wider Apertures

• True Color that avoids color shift seen in other Variable filters

• Reduces Exposure by 1 to 5 Stops

• Exposure Range-Control Filter Ring 

• No “X” Effect

• High Definition optical glass

• Nano Coating, Waterproof and Anti-Reflective Coating

• An optional rotating lever that can be removed

• Larger front thread to avoid vignetting on wider lenses

But enough of technicalities, let's get down to business.

As a landscape and cityscape photographer, it is always important for me to have ND filters on hand to help me reduce the amount of light entering the sensor, allowing me to show visually softer scenes to the people viewing my photographs.

The following photograph was taken using the NiSi True Color ND-VARIO Pro Nano 1-5 stops Variable ND Filter.

I know you're probably wondering at this point, but isn't 1-5 stops too short to achieve this kind of long exposure?

And the answer is, yes.

Yes, if you are taking this type of photo when there is too much light in the environment, but at the beginning of sunrise and at the end of sunset, the amount of light available in the environment is not strong enough to use filters of 6 to 10 stops; if you were to use this amount of stops what you will end up with, is a very underexposed photograph. In these moments is when a filter of 1-5 stops is perfect.

Conclusion:

As you know the time one has to record a video or take a photo during the sunrise and the sunset is not much, so every second counts and this is one of many reasons, that if looking for versatile filters that are quick to install in front of the lens, have good glass quality and do not generate the annoying "X" in the middle of your photos and videos, then the new NiSi True Color ND-VARIO Pro Nano 1-5 stops Variable ND Filter is the one to go.

Where to buy this filter here in switzerland: