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ND Filters Buyers Guide for Beginners Tutorial
ChannelMichael The MavenDescription from the creator
Big lighting doesn't need big gear. Meet Talon — a studio-quality light that fits in your pocket. Patented, and already a Kickstarter “Projects We Love” pick.
🗓️ Launching on Kickstarter October 13, 2026
👉 Get notified + lock in early-backer pricing: kickstarter.com/projects/michaelthemaven/maven-…
So, you are in the market for an ND filter? You have come to the right place! ND filters, also know as neutral density filters are designed to reduce the exposure of light.
Why would you want to do this? There are many applications, however the most common is when you are shooting in daylight conditions and you want to use a longer exposure or a wider aperture. Landscape photographers will often use many second exposures, or sometimes videographers want to use wide apertures to get a shallow depth of field, but they cannot because the image would over expose. Of course there are many other times to use ND filters, but whats with all this terminology? What does it mean?
You have come to the right place, let me break it down for you!
ND Filter Buyers Guide Table of Contents:
0:27 What is an ND Filter?
0:52 Why should you know about ND Filters before buying?
1:25 What are 4 example applications of ND Filters?
2:38 What are the ND Ratings? How many stops?
5:09 Kinds of ND Filters - Full ND, vs Grad Filters (or GND)
5:50 Square vs Round - Which to get first
6:04 Determining your Filter Thread Size
6:47 Why Beginners should get the Square Ones First
7:48 P Cokin Filter Holder
8:54 P vs Z Filter mm Sizes
12:23 Filter Quality - Plastic vs Glass vs Nano Coated
14:20 How to test True Nano filters
15:28 Filter Properties - Color Cast
16:45 How to test for Color Cast
17:34 Why Variable ND filters are not as good as plain ND filters
18:33 Summary & Conclusion
19:02 Final Recommendations for begginners
Basic P Cokin Kit (See bottom of this page)
Michael’s Nano Coated ND 100x100mm Cokin Size Z:
tinyurl.com/yyq5jxly
Michael’s Nano Coated ND 84x84mm Cokin Size P:
tinyurl.com/y2xb35vl
Maven ND64 Size 84x84mm Filter on Amazon: amazon.com/Multiple-Coated-Neutral-Density-84x8…
Michael's Training Videos:
canontrainingvideo.com
Michael approved, Affordable Travel Tripod:
tinyurl.com/yyn6wbze
Michael's Maven Paracord Camera Straps:
SKINNY
Black
amazon.com/dp/B0756V2KP1?ref=myi_title_dp
Purple
amazon.com/dp/B07MLXY3ZB?ref=myi_title_dp
Blue:
amazon.com/dp/B07M7G7X5B?ref=myi_title_dp
WIDE
Black:
amazon.com/dp/B0756T8LRS?ref=myi_title_dp
Blue:
amazon.com/dp/B07D72VLZ7?ref=myi_title_dp
Army Green:
amazon.com/dp/B07HM2TCJ9?ref=myi_title_dp
Orange:
amazon.com/dp/B07HLX9K1C?ref=myi_title_dp
Purple
amazon.com/dp/B07MVXKCHW?ref=myi_title_dp
Desert Camo:
amazon.com/dp/B07HM294R2?ref=myi_title_dp
#NDFilter #NeutralDensityFilter #NDfilters
PRIVACY and DISCLOSURE:
* Michael The Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
* Michael The Maven is a participant in the B&H Photo Video affiliate program that provides an advertising commission if you purchase through our links.
* If you purchase something from my affiliate links, I will get a small commission with no extra cost to you.
* Everything stated here is my opinion, and I sometimes make mistakes. I will never recommend a product I do not either use, truly love or think would be the best fit for the situation (often determined by budget).
Generic Cokin P Filter Kit: amzn.to/31wjmBM
🗓️ Launching on Kickstarter October 13, 2026
👉 Get notified + lock in early-backer pricing: kickstarter.com/projects/michaelthemaven/maven-…
So, you are in the market for an ND filter? You have come to the right place! ND filters, also know as neutral density filters are designed to reduce the exposure of light.
Why would you want to do this? There are many applications, however the most common is when you are shooting in daylight conditions and you want to use a longer exposure or a wider aperture. Landscape photographers will often use many second exposures, or sometimes videographers want to use wide apertures to get a shallow depth of field, but they cannot because the image would over expose. Of course there are many other times to use ND filters, but whats with all this terminology? What does it mean?
You have come to the right place, let me break it down for you!
ND Filter Buyers Guide Table of Contents:
0:27 What is an ND Filter?
0:52 Why should you know about ND Filters before buying?
1:25 What are 4 example applications of ND Filters?
2:38 What are the ND Ratings? How many stops?
5:09 Kinds of ND Filters - Full ND, vs Grad Filters (or GND)
5:50 Square vs Round - Which to get first
6:04 Determining your Filter Thread Size
6:47 Why Beginners should get the Square Ones First
7:48 P Cokin Filter Holder
8:54 P vs Z Filter mm Sizes
12:23 Filter Quality - Plastic vs Glass vs Nano Coated
14:20 How to test True Nano filters
15:28 Filter Properties - Color Cast
16:45 How to test for Color Cast
17:34 Why Variable ND filters are not as good as plain ND filters
18:33 Summary & Conclusion
19:02 Final Recommendations for begginners
Basic P Cokin Kit (See bottom of this page)
Michael’s Nano Coated ND 100x100mm Cokin Size Z:
tinyurl.com/yyq5jxly
Michael’s Nano Coated ND 84x84mm Cokin Size P:
tinyurl.com/y2xb35vl
Maven ND64 Size 84x84mm Filter on Amazon: amazon.com/Multiple-Coated-Neutral-Density-84x8…
Michael's Training Videos:
canontrainingvideo.com
Michael approved, Affordable Travel Tripod:
tinyurl.com/yyn6wbze
Michael's Maven Paracord Camera Straps:
SKINNY
Black
amazon.com/dp/B0756V2KP1?ref=myi_title_dp
Purple
amazon.com/dp/B07MLXY3ZB?ref=myi_title_dp
Blue:
amazon.com/dp/B07M7G7X5B?ref=myi_title_dp
WIDE
Black:
amazon.com/dp/B0756T8LRS?ref=myi_title_dp
Blue:
amazon.com/dp/B07D72VLZ7?ref=myi_title_dp
Army Green:
amazon.com/dp/B07HM2TCJ9?ref=myi_title_dp
Orange:
amazon.com/dp/B07HLX9K1C?ref=myi_title_dp
Purple
amazon.com/dp/B07MVXKCHW?ref=myi_title_dp
Desert Camo:
amazon.com/dp/B07HM294R2?ref=myi_title_dp
#NDFilter #NeutralDensityFilter #NDfilters
PRIVACY and DISCLOSURE:
* Michael The Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
* Michael The Maven is a participant in the B&H Photo Video affiliate program that provides an advertising commission if you purchase through our links.
* If you purchase something from my affiliate links, I will get a small commission with no extra cost to you.
* Everything stated here is my opinion, and I sometimes make mistakes. I will never recommend a product I do not either use, truly love or think would be the best fit for the situation (often determined by budget).
Generic Cokin P Filter Kit: amzn.to/31wjmBM
About this tutorial
Michael The Maven published this 21:03 video tutorial on November 7, 2019. It has been watched 23,923 times on YouTube.
- Channel
- Michael The Maven
- Category
- Education
- Duration
- 21:03
- Published
- November 7, 2019
- Views
- 23,923
- Likes
- 646
Tags
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