Absolutely the best chicken satay in the eastern hemisphere. And the locals loved the RedRock rig.
Archive | 30. Jan, 2010
ND filters
Before this current trip to Asia, I tested a number of ND filters with my Minolta Color Meter. I have 2,3,6,10 stop glass multi coated B+W neutral density filters in 58 and 78 mm sizes. I have step up/ down rings to 72, 67 and 55mm, which covers most of my lenses. For my beloved Zeiss 21 2.8, which is a 82mm front, I have a Hoya 3 stop ND and a Vari ND filter. My tests show that there is essentially no color shift with the B+W multicoated glass. I tested each of the BW filters, and the max color deflection was 100k, with most of them having no deflection at all. The Hoya was 400k and +2 green. The Fader ND was a shocking 1000k and +5 green. My 77mm SingRay showed 500k and +2 green. Bob at Singray explained that the 500k shift was intentional to offset the inherent blue cast in polarizers, which is something I had not heard of before.
The meter I use when shooting motion is the color meter, not an exposure meter. I check the exposure in the viewfinder, and only if I am unsure, do we pull out the light meter. The color however gets checked for each and every shot. I have found that color correction with h.264 is not something that is forgiving. We try as best we can to nail the look in camera. When I use the Singray, I have to compensate for the color shift by reading 500k up from where I want to be which adds an unnecessary layer of confusion that I would rather not have.
When shooting the Vari ND vs no filter, the color shift is strongly apparent. Ugly. The SingRay is not as bad, but the shift is still apparent. This says nothing of the flare that I get when shooting backlit, which completely obviates the Zeiss ability to hold shadow detail. Practically speaking, I find myself using the Singray on my 24-70 zoom only when I am in a situation of fast changing light conditions. After all, a yellowish green cast is better than not getting any shot at all. But, this is only when I have to work very fast, like today hand held on the back of a motorcycle racing down rice paddies. I think out of all the shots we did in 3 weeks, the SingRay was used maybe twice.
About
David Harry Stewart is a photographer and director. He comes from a small town in western New York. He started taking pictures at the age of 8, first with a plastic Kodak 126, then a Polaroid Swinger. He did his first national ad campaign at age 23, then moved on to Paris to work for fashion magazines. Returning to New York he has a successful and award winning career, working for magazines like Interview, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, New York Magazine, Time and The New York Times Magazine. Agency work includes Saatchi, Deutsch, BBDO, Leo Burnett, and Ogilivy, for clients such as American Express, Nike, Coke, Corona and Bank of America. Awards include Communication Arts, The Art Directors Club, Photo District News, The Living Photograph Motion Awards, and American Photography. He splits his time between Los Angeles and New York.
