ND filter better than High Speed Sync on a very bright day?

[MazV-L]

Hello, I'd like some opinion as to what is better when using fill-flash for portraits (people or animal/bird) at midday on a very bright day. My D-slrs are limited to flash sync speed of 1/250sec and 1/200 and I like to use a wide aperture (for shallow depth of field), so closing down the aperture is not an option to improve exposure (of course iso is at it's lowest), I'm reluctant to sacrifice too much flash power with high-speed sync but that depends abit on distance from subject too, I'd never considered ND filters before (dismissed them as a landscape photographers tool) but heard that they can work well in this scenerio anyone used them before for this? Do they work well, and if so, which are best? Thanks.

 

[Z]

ND filters are definitely an option, David Hobby from strobist.com has a good article here: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/06/using-nd-filters-to-kill-depth-of-field.html, explaining it better than I'll be able to.

Personally I like HSS because I have 3 580 EX speedlites; power is rarely an issue for me. Plus I don't like putting more glass in front of my lens if I can help it. ND filters are an equally effective tool for fill-flash, as far as I understand - but I have never used it in practice.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Yes, you can use an ND filter instead of HSS. I use B+W 3-stop (72mm for my 'holy trinity' of primes - 35L, 85L II, 135L), and 77mm for f/2.8 zooms (not as necessary there).

But...you still have the same problem - an ND filter blocks flash as well as ambient, so you can still have too little flash power. Still, for fill flash it works ok, better than HSS, I think. If you really want to overcome the sun and control the light, you need an ND filter and even more flash power - monolights, or lots of Speedlites.

 

[shermanstank]

The best ND filter for portraits on a very bright sunny day is the SINGH-RAY VARI-ND filter (screw-in). BAR NONE. Depending on your lens, you would need an adapter ring. This will set you back around $400 but I think it is worth it.

Karl Taylor is a UK professional photographer and in his videos he has been stacking ND filters to kill ambient light while using Elinchrom Ranger strobes w/ a power pack to light up the subject.

A great source for off camera flash/lighting would be http://www.strobist.blogspot.com. There you will find a plethora of information.

I plan on using the SINGH_RAY VARI-ND with SPEEDLITES (rather than with studio strobes for now) Just remember than we can always stack two speedlites together for more power.

Cheers!

Sherwin

 

[briansquibb]

If the subject is in the shade in the foreground and the background is in full sun then there is little option but to use flash.

You are not going to use mush flash power unless the subject is some distance away.

You may need an ND as well - depends on the brightness of the ambient wanted and the power of the speedlights.

Personally I carry enough flash power to overcome the ambient (3x 580EX) and my bodies go to iso50. Like Z I prefer to not to use NDs if possible

 

[smirkypants]

The main problem with ND filters is that it darkens your viewfinder and sometimes it's a little hard to see what you're doing. I haven't found that my B+W ND filters diminish IQ in any way. It doesn't chew through batteries as much either. I have 2 580/IIs and 2 430/IIs and I usually set them at between 1/16 and 1/32 power in manual in the shade. I really try to avoid shooting in direct sunlight or at least have an assistant hold a large diffuser over the subject. In that case we're talking 1/4 to 1/8 power.

The main problem with HSS is getting the expensive triggers, if you're using off-camera flash. I wouldn't recommend using Canon's line-of-sight triggering method because 1. Canon's HSS is inefficient and really burns through batteries, and 2. misfires galore.

The Pocketwizards are much more efficient in HSS and the batteries last better, but not as well as with an ND filter.

I have both cheap and expensive triggers. I do a lot of shoots here in Buenos Aires and I really try to take my crappy gear out when I can... that includes second hand Minolta flashes and junk triggers. Honestly, the results are really good. When I get invited to a secure location like a polo ranch, I'll take the good stuff because ETTL is less hit and miss and I can do ratios. But I still put on a 3 stop ND because I've found it lengthens battery life... at least I've convinced myself that it does.

 

[briansquibb]

The Pocketwizards are much more efficient in HSS and the batteries last better,

I use PW miniTT1 and flexTT5 all the time. I am using 2900 bateries in the 580s and I rarely have to change them

 

[MazV-L]

Thanks, everyone for your great advice, So I'll purchase a couple of different ND filters and give it a whirl