Question About Using Filters for a Night Time Shoot

[Hendricks]

Hi,

I have a shoot coming up tomorrow night.
About 25 minutes after sunset, I'll be flying close to a church steeple which features a lit clock.
I thought getting a shot of the lit clock on the steeple against a dark background could produce a very interesting image.

Question:
I'll be flying my P4P+V2 and hadn't planned on using a lens filter for this flight.
Should I consider using one?

And, if I do, which specific filter should I use for this night time shoot?

Much thanks!

Jim.......

 

[WV. Rootman]

Any filter will lower the light level even more. I'd stay away from filters unless you are looking for a special effect, like a starburst effect etc.

 

[goinup]

Just keep the ND filter on that came w/your bird. Any desired lighting corrections can be accomplished via manual camera settings and your photo/video software.

 

[David_Cambridge]

I wouldn’t use any ND filter. It reduces the light getting to the sensor, and depending on the amount of light reaching the sensor, will force a higher ISO, which increases image noise and degrades color.

 

[D Greg]

How about a quick flight with filter, take it off, and go up again?

 

[David_Cambridge]

Shouldn't be a problem.

 

[JimD.]

Hi,

I have a shoot coming up tomorrow night.
About 25 minutes after sunset, I'll be flying close to a church steeple which features a lit clock.
I thought getting a shot of the lit clock on the steeple against a dark background could produce a very interesting image.

Question:
I'll be flying my P4P+V2 and hadn't planned on using a lens filter for this flight.
Should I consider using one?

And, if I do, which specific filter should I use for this night time shoot?

Much thanks!

Jim.......

Or better yet do it lightroom using a mask.

 

[jfj17]

You should be considering another issue. Two actually. First, you're not flying based on time. You're flying when the light level of the clock matches that of the evening sky. Otherwise you could end up with either an overly bright clock and a nice sky, or a nice exposure on the clock and a black sky. And I'm not understanding why you want to add a filter. Remember the filter affects the whole image, not just a segment like the clock. So it's a matter of experimenting, assuming you're not metering both the clock and the sky to get the same numbers, but shooting a few times until the lights match. Second, you can only legally fly during "Civil Twighlight" unless you've received a waiver. But that should work because it allows you to fly up to 30 minutes after sunset.