The first part of a series of things I carry in my bag.
ND filters are staple in my bag especially for capturing drifting. They help achieve the lower shutter speeds in bright conditions. There is only so much you can do before a ND filter is needed. ISO can only go so low and lenses can stop down so far. This is where the ND filter comes into play, it limits the amount of light hits the sensor. Think of it like window tint on a car, the darker the tint the less light can be transmitted in.
For drifting application, I recommend 3 to 6 stop ND filters as the initial purchases. While I had a variable ND filter, I would recommend against them. They were more of headache than a convenience for me. I had a higher end variable that still suffered from the “X” pattern and shift positioning. While not the biggest issue at the end of the day. It just inconveniences that I didn’t want to fool with. But things may have changed as glass techniques advances.
To save money, don’t buy a filter for every lens. I recommend just buying the filter for your most used lens and step up rings for the rest of the other lens. Don’t put cheaper glass in front your expensive lens. Invest in high quality filters that has minimal negative impact on the image quality. Because you can only do so much in post.
While ND filters have a practical use, I have a few specialized filters like the star filter above. I like having these to change things up and keep things fun while photographing. I try to mix these in to have something different. It’s a nice change of pace and can add a little extra wow factor. It’s something I try to sprinkle in when and where I can but not to over do it.
What I use