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After doing a lot of research and never being able to locate a Lee Big Stopper, I came across the Light Craft Workshop ND500.
If you’re looking to shoot long-exposure photography mid-day, this filter is all you need. It’s crazy affordable, and the quality is fantastic.
Best ND 500 For Your Buck
Reason Why I Like The Light Craft Workshop ND 500
1. It’s Not Too Dark
This is a bonus. It cuts out nine stops, not ten like the Big Stopper. This gives you all the benefits of shooting very long exposures in mid-day, but it also lets you see through it slightly, so you don’t have to constantly take the filter off to frame your shot.
I’ve heard of some people switching their camera to Live Mode and then cranking the ISO. This works as well.
The screw-on filter threads are nice because you can get them in the 82mm thread size, which means they will work for most lenses. I bought one for my Canon 16-35mm lens and have since adapted it to all my other lenses.
Another reason this is great over the Lee Big Stopper is you don’t have all this extra gear you need to carry around. Just a single filter case, and you’re good to go.
ISO Shutter and Aperture in Mid-Day
When shooting mid-day at ISO 100, I can usually get a 30-second shutter with an f-stop of 19 or 22. I don’t recommend shooting that high of an aperture because of diffraction, but if you want that 30-second exposure, you’ll need to.
I could see ten stops from the Lee Big Stopper being slightly better if you needed a longer shutter. With that extra stop of ND, you could lower your f-stop a little bit while still maintaining a 30-second shutter. You could always go down to 15, but I like 30.
I guess you could always screw on another three stop ND if you needed more. This would, of course, add a color shift.
Color Shifts
I haven’t noticed any bad color shifts. It makes the scene slightly bluer, which is good and easy to correct.
The biggest thing is the extra little vignetting. It’s not ugly and is feathered nicely, which has a decent effect.
I’ll post more sample photos and continue to update the Light Craft Workshop ND 500 Review as I go.
Light Craft Workshop ND 500 Sample Photos
