# 10 Stop ND Filter - Metering



## Malte_P (May 3, 2013)

i got my 10 stop ND filter today. 

now i wonder why the metering is completely off.
i knew it would maybe not be 100% accurate, but my 550D shows me 1/100s or 1/200s when a correct exposure is around 10 seconds.

but when i use live view the metering is correct.

why is that?


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## neuroanatomist (May 3, 2013)

Because the 10-stop ND does not allow sufficient light for the metering sensor to work, whereas Live View is using the more sensitive CMOS image sensor for metering data. 

FWIW, I usually compose, meter and focus before putting the 10-stop on, then just adjust the exposure by 10 stops.


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## Malte_P (May 3, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> Because the 10-stop ND does not allow sufficient light for the metering sensor to work, whereas Live View is using the more sensitive CMOS image sensor for metering data.
> 
> FWIW, I usually compose, meter and focus before putting the 10-stop on, then just adjust the exposure by 10 stops.



oh i did not know live view uses the sensor for metering too. 
thx for the info.

but i guess it makes sense.. for the metering sensor to receive light you need the mirror to be down too i guess? same as for the AF sensor.


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## jointdoc (May 3, 2013)

If you are like me and have trouble calculating 10 stops there are iPhone apps like NDTimer and Long Time that will do the hard work then use your histogram to fine tune.


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## Malte_P (May 3, 2013)

jointdoc said:


> If you are like me and have trouble calculating 10 stops there are iPhone apps like NDTimer and Long Time that will do the hard work then use your histogram to fine tune.



no that´s not a problem 

and the live view actually works pretty good. 
it was always in the ballbark with my testshots.

i only wondered why the normal metering is so completely wrong.


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## Dylan777 (May 3, 2013)

+1.....As Neuro mentioned Metering with Live View

I bought a cheap 10stops ND on Ebay and I'm not quite happy with it yet. B&W will be my next try. Here are some shots with cheap 10stop ND;
http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/M1nm8hSw/1/5775527


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## neuroanatomist (May 3, 2013)

Yes, the metering sensor is above/behind the pentaprism, when the mirror is up it gets no light. Incidentally, that's also why the red AF point illumination for the 5DIII/1D X causes a problem in AI Servo - that red light in the VF affects the metering sensor (the fix in the 1D X was to make the AF point illumination 'blink' and the metering is done when the red light blinks off).

I have B+W/Schneider 10-stop NDs, they're good but not true neutral, they have a warm tone.


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## Malte_P (May 3, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> I have B+W/Schneider 10-stop NDs, they're good but not true neutral, they have a warm tone.



mine is a cheaper Haida 10 Stop Pro II MC (Schott glass).
he has a light blue tone. at least the non pro version has, as reported. 
i have not noticed that yet with my few testshots out in the garden.

after some reading i decided to safe myself 70 bucks and go for the haida.
no matter if warm or blue tone you have to adjust in post anyway.
and those who have both filters wrote they don´t see any other difference between a B+W and the haida.

small test (not mine):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8401550855/#


i will have to do more testshots today but im pretty satisfied so far.


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## neuroanatomist (May 3, 2013)

As Mt. Spokane pointed out in another thread, there's more to a filter than the glass. B+W use brass mount rings which are less likely to bind up than the aluminum rings most other brands use - since I often stack a CPL on an ND, not getting my filters stuck together is an important consideration for me.


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## Canon-F1 (May 3, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> As Mt. Spokane pointed out in another thread, there's more to a filter than the glass. B+W use brass mount rings which are less likely to bind up than the aluminum rings most other brands use - since I often stack a CPL on an ND, not getting my filters stuck together is an important consideration for me.



i must be a lucky guy.. maybe i should play lotto.

in all the years (20+) i never had a stuck filter.
i have no problems with aluminium filters.

be carefull when you screw them on, don´t use force, unscrew when you don´t use them.


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## kd2pm2 (Jul 2, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> Because the 10-stop ND does not allow sufficient light for the metering sensor to work, whereas Live View is using the more sensitive CMOS image sensor for metering data.
> 
> FWIW, I usually compose, meter and focus before putting the 10-stop on, then just adjust the exposure by 10 stops.



Well I'll be a monkeys uncle! I was looking around for this answer for days. I just took a long exposure class and stacked some ND filters onto my 5D3 and it was off by 3-4 stops in normal view and about 2-3 stops or so with Liveview. When I compensated and adjusted the shutter manually outside of what the meter was telling me it should be I got good shots. I got an email tonight from Canon with the usual blah blah blah dont use stacked filters and dont use 3rd party lenses etc..but I think that even if I had a Lee 10stop on a canon 24-70 L glass it would still have metering problems...

Thanks for answering my question I have been trying to answer now for days....


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## CanonCurious (Aug 13, 2013)

Anybody try metering one of these 10 stop monsters through a quality hand held spot meter? 

Accurate?


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