Photography News Issue 52

Photography News | Issue 52 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Lee Filters Reverse ND From£98

Specs

Few photographers can resist a good sunrise or sunset, but there’s always the issue of contrast. The bright sun, just hovering above the horizon, and the immediate area around it is a great deal brighter than the sky above and of course both are much brighter than the foreground. Graduate filters help control high contrast, but with a standard ND graduate – where the greatest density is towards the top of the filter – the best you can do is to hold back the bright sky to give you some chance with the foreground. What it can’t do is solve the intensely bright horizon, and that can still burn out because the grad filter’s density is weakest here. Sunrises and sunsets are precisely the situations that Lee’s newest filter, the Reverse ND, is designed for. Like a normal grad, the bottom half is clear but the area immediately above the halfway point is the densest and it gets lighter towards the top. Available for all three Lee filter systems – Seven5, 100mmand SW150 – the Reverse ND is offered in three strengths, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2, giving light absorption of 2EV, 3EV and 4EV respectively. These figures refer to the densest dyed area. Build quality is typical of Lee’s resin filters, using its own optically correct polycarbonate that has low reflectance qualities – so no need for any extra coatings. Lee’s grad filters are hand-dipped in dye and this applies to the Reverse NDs, too. Look closely and you’ll see three well-defined areas of tone with smooth transitions between them. You may think this would give banding but in practice there’s no evidence of this in pictures, just a smooth tonal change. The filter is designed for wide- angle lens use, from 24mm and wider in the full-frame format. Going any longer than 24mm and the narrower

Price Seven5 system £98, 100mm system £137.21, SW150 system £150.67 Availability 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2 (2EV, 3EV and 4EV) in Seven5, 100mm and SW150 sizes Material Optically correct polycarbonate resin, with very low reflectance Contact leefilters.com

Left A side-by-side comparison of Lee’s 0.9 Reverse ND (left) with a traditional medium0.9ND graduate. You can see the filter’s densest area in the centre of the Reverse ND and how smooth the tonal changes are.

clearly, while placing the horizon on the top third means only the densest section of the filter comes into play. The important thing, whatever the composition, is positioning the densest section of the filter to cover the very bright sun and adjacent area just above the horizon. Using the Reverse ND grad is just as with other Lee grads. Use manual exposure mode and meter to give foreground tone. Then slide the filter into position with the filter’s densest area sitting on the horizon. Using the camera’s depth-of-field preview can help with precise positioning. Now, with the same settings, take the shot. It is worth stressing the importance of eye safety. With a wide lens and the sun just off the horizon, using (with

care) an optical viewfinder might be okay but as the sun gains strength, switch to live view – or just use live view regardless. The filter’s performance is very good. First consideration – given the situations the Reverse ND is designed for – is flare, but I had no issues there. I mostly used it on its own although I did the odd shot with a Little Stopper and a hazy sun offset to one side, and shots were flare-free. You may need to be wary when doubling up and aiming straight into the sun. Image quality was on the level you’d expect with the lens on its own and there was no discernible eroding of sharpness or detail rendition. Colour balance was also good and no obvious colour cast was seen. WC

angle of viewmeans you’re not getting the most from the reverse grad effect, simply because you are looking through a smaller section of the filter. You just get a solid grad effect. The filter’s design also means its effect is influenced by the composition and the filter’s position in the holder. For example, shooting upright format means you are using more of the filter’s dyed area and the reverse grad effect is going to be more evident. Similarly, composing with, say, the horizon running across the bottom third will show the Reverse ND more

Verdict

Yes, it is true that the traditional dark at the top grad filter is the one most scenic photographers will turn to, but the Reverse ND is really useful in certain situations, so it definitely deserves its place in the camera bag. Pros High optical quality, neutral, it works Cons Best suited to wide-angle use

Images Shot inmanual

No filter

Lee Reverse ND 0.9

Lee NDmediumgrad 0.9

exposuremode with settings of 1/30sec at f/11 and ISO 100, with a tripod mountedNikon D850 fittedwith a 24-120mm zoomat 24mm. its jobwell and the area around the sun shows good detail. All the shots here are fromRaws processedwith default settings. Working the Rawharder and using the highlight slider The Reverse ND has done

will reveal an even greater benefit of the Reverse ND.