dave lackey
Veteran
Something like a 3 stop ND filter seems the ticket for what you want. Have one myself for just this purpose, a hoya I think, although bought it after I stopped shooting, so don't have any pics with with. You figure if you're exposing your TriX at 250, a 3 stop ND filter gets you down to f2.8 @ 1/1000 in bright sunlight, f2.0 in hazy sun, and f1.4 in overcast weather.
Here in Ireland, where its pretty much only ever overcast or hazy sunlight, 3 stops is ideal. If you need an extra stop on top of the 3, maybe consider stacking the ND with something like a medium yellow, as not sure how easy it is to get hold of something like a 4 or 5 stop ND or even if anyone makes anything aside from 1, 2 & 3 stop ND's, 10 stoppers or expensive variable ND's.
I shoot in all kinds of available light (when I do shoots), and find it very handy to be able to shoot everything from outdoors to indoors, and even night shots, all with one 400 speed film, a fast lens, and an ND filter when I need to shoot at wider apertures in daylight.
Fascinating.
I follow the stop numbers you have above and agree with those...and if I have the R8, I could shoot in bright sunlight at f2.0@2000, or f1.4@4000 shutter speed...hopefully without problems.
This will be important as I hope to use this lens in Florida soon.:angel: