Formatt Graduated Neutral Density HD filters allow the photographer to adjust exposure without affecting colour balance. The exposure can be increased by 1, 2, 3 or 4 stops depending on the situation.

It is often necessary or desirable to balance the light intensity between different parts of a scene. This is particularly true in situations where you do not have complete control over the lighting, such as in highly contrasted landscapes. An exposure for the foreground will produce a washed-out and overexposed sky, whilst an exposure for the sky will leave the foreground dark and underexposed. This filter allows you to correctly preserve the exposure of cloud detail in the image.

Soft/hard indicates the degree of transition.

- A standard set of ND filters includes 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2. This represents a light reduction of 1 to 4 stops


Neutral density filters have four main uses

- To enable the use of slow shutter speeds, particularly with fast films, to record movement in subjects such as waterfalls, clouds or cars
- To decrease depth of field by allowing wider apertures to be used, which helps separate subjects from their background
- To decrease the effective ISO of high-speed films (above 400 ISO) and allow their use outdoors in bright situations
- To allow cine and video cameras (which have fixed shutter speeds) to film subjects such as snow, sand or other bright scenes that could cause overexposure


Neutral density factors

- ND.3 (exposure adjustment = 1 stop, reduces ISO by 1/2)
- ND.6 (exposure adjustment = 2 stops, reduces ISO by 1/4)
- ND.9 (exposure adjustment = 3 stops, reduces ISO by 1/8)
- ND1.2 (exposure adjustment = 4 stops, reduces ISO by 1/16)


Formatt graduated filters are available in four types

- Soft Edge - Half clear, half coloured with a soft transition to maximum density. Generally used with wide-angle to medium focal length lenses
- Hard Edge - Half clear, half coloured with a sharper and less subtle transition. For use with long focal length lenses
- Razor Edge - Like Hard Edge but with a solid transition line for photographing building corners, sharp horizons or when a very distinct transition is required
- Blender - The graduation line is located on one edge of the filter, so that the colour change occurs from top to bottom. Perfect for irregular objects and horizons