After capturing the perfect landscape shot becomes a challenge due to high contrast between the sky and the ground, the 58mm Basic 702M 0.6 2-Stop MRC Graduated Neutral Density Filter comes to the rescue. This advanced filter is designed to reduce light intensity by two f-stops in its darkest zone, ensuring a 25% transparency. This feature allows photographers to capture landscape scenes with high contrast without compromising on the details.
The gradient zone of this B+W graduated neutral density filter offers flexibility, but for a seamless transition, it's best to keep the horizon line close to the center. These filters are a popular choice among landscape photographers, as they effectively prevent overexposure of the sky while maintaining correct exposure of the ground.
The filter features a neutral gray color on one half, smoothly transitioning into the clear filter half. The rotatable mount on threaded filters enables precise horizontal alignment, adding to the ease of use.
Crafted from high-quality glass substrate, the B+W ND filters 702 are plano-parallel and finely polished, ensuring long-lasting high optical quality. This makes them a superior choice over easily scratchable plastic substrates.
A B+W graduated ND filter is primarily used to balance out a sky that's too bright in comparison to the dark foreground. For accurate exposure metering, aim the camera or hand-held exposure meter towards the ground that needs correct exposure without the graduated filter. This technique usually yields the desired effect automatically.
The gray gradient is applied using thin-layer technology, which requires special masking. This process may result in slight manufacturing tolerances, causing the graduation boundary to be not exactly parallel. However, as this transition lies outside the focus range, the effect is not visible and doesn't affect the static transition.
In summary, the 58mm Basic 702M 0.6 2-Stop MRC Graduated Neutral Density Filter is a valuable tool for photographers aiming to capture stunning landscape images with balanced exposure and high contrast.