NiSi gray gradient filters for bridging excessive contrasts.

Digital camera sensors have a defined dynamic range of about 12 stops. That means that they can only bridge a limited part of the differences between the light and dark areas in your photos.

Circumstances in nature are often such that the dynamic range of your sensor is too small. Depending on the choice you make as a photographer, there will be overexposed or too dark parts in your photo. The details in these parts are often lost and cannot be retrieved properly in post-processing.

Proper use of one NiSi gray gradient filter reduces this contrast and in this way you ensure that the large dynamic range between a light sky and a shaded foreground becomes manageable and can be processed by the camera.

NiSi GND Filters.

The NiSi gray gradient filters are plates of optical glass of the highest quality. The NiSi IR GND filters offer the ideal graduation for every situation. Graduated Neutral Density (GND) filters are usually distinguished by the type of transition that exists between the transparent and dark areas of the filter. For this reason we can distinguish four families of GNDs within the NiSi range.

DIFFERENT GRADES: HARD, MEDIUM, SOFT and REVERSE

NiSi Hard GND Filter.

The NiSi Hard GND filter is characterized by a clear boundary (it is very evident where one begins and the other ends) between the transparent and dark areas. This filter is therefore used when the separation between the bright and dark parts of a scene is very clear, such as the horizon at sea.

NiSi Medium GND Filter.

The NiSi Medium GND filter is a rectangular filter that helps darken specific areas of an image, such as a clear sky, while allowing for normal, unadjusted exposure in other areas of the shot. It is especially useful for shots of buildings, mountains, and other small features visible in the skyline.

NiSi Soft GND Filter.

The NiSi Soft GND Filter are characterized by a soft transition (it changes more gradually from light to dark) and are therefore used when the transition between light and dark areas is not so clear. A classic example is a shot in a mountainous area.

NiSi Reverse GND Filter.

The NiSi Reverse GND Filter, which is really nothing more than a Hard-edge GND filter where the dark area fades the farther you go from the dividing line to the top edge of the filter. In short, this filter was devised to better control sunrises and sunsets, for example, where the light is more intense on the horizon line (center).

STRENGTHS
NiSi gray gradient filters are available in different strengths, usually in a range of 1 stop to 5 stops. The strength of the filter is thus combined with the degree of drift. For example, you have a 3-stop hard reduction gray filter, but also a 3-stop medium reduction gray filter.