ND filters have been around since the beginning of time, but they could and should be the future of next-gen cameras focusing on video or even photography. The other day, baking under the worryingly intense mid-summer sun, I had the idea to set out and take a bunch of panning shots of the many dozens of beautiful murals in my area. It was a great time, but it also powerfully reminded me of two uncomfortable facts: One, my LUMIX S1H has some serious rolling shutter in full-frame mode and, two, that in direct-enough sunlight it can be legitimately difficult to avoid clipping without using an ND filter. Part of it was my stubborn adherence to the 180-degree rule, but even with a slightly faster shutter, the lens at f/22, and a below-base ISO, I was often only barely escaping clipping on these highly reflective, intensely sun-lit walls. I could have used a screw-on variable ND filter, but the wide-angle zoom I wanted to use lacks the necessary filter threads! With multiple companies now elevating sensor performance to incredible heights, I think it will increasingly be the usability and versatility features that differentiate the most popular cameras. With that said, the next big thing for mirrorless cameras, especially video-centric mirrorless cameras, needs to be integrated NDs. PolarPro Quartzline ND Filter Image credit: PolarPro Little future for pure tech upgrades The camera industry is quickly approaching an event horizon, past which nobody quite knows where cameras will go. The resolution, bit-depth, frame-rate,...
Published By: CineD - Friday, 3 September, 2021