6 Bountiful Benefits for Photographers Using the Tiffen 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter
1. Fortunately for photographers, Tiffen, the #1 U.S. filter manufacturer, knew how to re-design the neutral density (ND) filter for the digital photography age. The original purpose of an ND filter was so the film plane received less of the light entering the lens/camera. Film photographers could lower the ISO sensitivity of fast film (ISO 400 or more), so they could shoot with it on a bright day. They avoided the complications of replacing a partially used roll of fast film with a slower one or carrying two cameras loaded with films of different speeds.
Read real customer reviews of the Tiffen Variable ND Filter here.
2. Tiffen re-applied its decades of filter technology to create the 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter, which serves the need of digital photographers who also want to control the amount of light striking the sensor. Tiffen manufactures this filter by sandwiching two polarizing filters that deliver accurate color neutrality (although the Variable ND Filter does not provide the functionality of a standard polarizing filter). They are placed in one filter frame with a front ring that is turned to select any of 7 stops to manage the light penetrating the lens. The fixed ring on the Tiffen Variable ND Filter has a white mark that is aligned within the range, from 2 stops (ND 0.6) to 8 stops (ND 2.4). Thousands of photographers have discovered and proven that this Tiffen filter is precisely designed and manufactured for years of dependable and optimal performance.
3. With the Tiffen Variable ND Filter, photographers are able to use depth of field creatively that would otherwise be impossible. For example, portrait photographers shooting outdoors will want to control the bokeh, or the quality of the background blur. This gives a portrait photo more three-dimensionality, so there appears to be much more separation between the subject and the background. To create this bokeh effect, the photographer must set the lens aperture at a very wide opening, for example, f/2.8 on a 70–200mm lens (preferred by many portrait photographers). The challenge is that on a bright sunny day, shooting at a low ISO setting of 100, the fastest shutter speed (depending on the camera model) and f/2.8 would cause so much overexposure that no reasonable portrait image could be captured.
Creating that beautiful bokeh at an f/2.8 aperture is now possible with the Tiffen Variable ND Filter. The fix is quite easy. First, select aperture-priority mode, an aperture of f/2.8 and your preferred, slower shutter speed. Then, rotate the front ring of the filter. As it blocks more light, watch the shutter speed data in the viewfinder until it matches the slower shutter speed you selected. The same solution occurs when you select shutter-priority mode and a slower shutter speed. Then, as the filter ring is turned, the amount of light will decrease until you see the desirable f/2.8 aperture setting on the viewfinder.
4. The Tiffen Variable ND Filter also benefits photographers in a similar manner whenever they want to use blurred motion to create better action photos. Again, a bright, sunny day will not allow the shutter speed to be slow enough to cause blur purposely. Even at f/22 or a smaller opening and a low ISO 100, your preferred, slow shutter speed (1/8 of a second, for example) will only produce another overexposure. With the Tiffen filter attached to the front of your lens, select aperture priority mode and a small aperture (f/16, for example). Then, turn the front ring until the camera reaches your targeted shutter speed that is slow enough to create an exciting, blurred-action image.
5. The benefits of the Tiffen Variable ND Filter even extend to vignetting control because of its slim design and broad outer ring.
6. B&H Photo Video offers the Tiffen 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter for 189.00, at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Tiffen+77mm+variable+neutral+density+filter&N=0&InitialSearch=yes.
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