The 6-stop has the greatest versatility of the various densities, and it can be maximized further by stacking a 3-stop with a 6-stop for a total of 9-stops.

Diamond, on the other hand, has all four electrons forming molecular bonds with other carbon atoms.  These carbon atoms form a three-dimensional tetrahedral shape via sp3 bonding.  The carbon atoms pack together tightly inside the diamond crystal, and the bonds are quite strong.  The result is the hard, clear crystal we are familiar with, formed deep within the earth or in a laboratory under extremely high pressures.

If you shoot weddings, portraits, video or any other type of shooting where you need the lowest F-number for shallow DOF combined with the lowest ISO for best sharpness and saturation, the 3-stop ND is the best performer.

Shooting with one single 10-stop over a 3-stop stacked with a 6-stop means you have no vignetting down to 16mm on a full-frame setup, where as stacking two X4 NDs adds a small bit of light falloff down to 18mm and wider.

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Even without moving subjects in a landscape image, an often overlooked use case for a 6-stop ND is to capture a wider range of colors within a long exposure. Here in the above Grand Teton Sunrise photograph the peaks were changing colors from dark red to light yellow, and this 120 second exposure captured the color change as light pink.

A 6-stop ND can also more than double exposure time when you drop from ISO 100 to 50, thereby increasing it’s versatility quite a bit.

If at ISO 100 between F11 – F18 with a 6-stop ND puts you in the 2-4 minute range, a 10-stop ND would push the exposure past 8 minutes, which doesn’t work for two important reasons: sensor noise after 4 minutes makes an image essentially useless, and the sunset sometimes doesn’t last that long.

Towards the end of sunset the 6-stop ND exposure times will hit 4 minutes, which is the maximum I recommend shooting as anything more than 4 minutes will result in lots of sensor noise in shadow details. But there’s so much golden light left!

Remove the 6-stop, put on a 3-stop and you immediately go back down to 2 minutes with the same parameters, adding 15 seconds in-between each exposure to account for light loss.

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Carbon (atomic symbol C) has some exciting and valuable properties. In one form, it makes up graphite, a very soft, black, conductive material made of layers that slide easily relative to one another. Pencil ‘leads’ are made of graphite because it glides easily and is soft enough to leave behind residue on paper.

The 3-stop and 6-stop are by far the best performers and at the same time allow for the greatest versatility. If you’re shooting golden light (sunset, sunrise, twilight etc.) the 6-stop will always be your go-to ND for 2-4 minute exposures, with the 3-stop coming into play after you’ve hit the 4 minute mark at ISO 100.

If you shoot abstract B&W, urban environments and midday long exposures get the 10-stop, however also consider shooting a 6-stop at ISO 50 or stacking a 3-stop + 6-stop for greater versatility.

Carbon is tetravalent, meaning it has four electrons available for molecular bonds with other atoms.  In graphite, only three electrons form bonds with other carbon atoms, forming a two-dimensional plane of hexagonal shapes via sp2 bonding.  These individual layers are called graphene.  The bonds within these layers are strong, but when additional layers are added, the bonding between the layers is weak, so the sheets can easily slide past one another.  That makes graphite soft and gives it some of its other properties.

If you’re a landscape photographer who wants to shoot long exposure sunsets, sunrises, waterfalls and moving water, the 6-stop ND is without question the best performing and the most versatile ND filter. I use the 6-stop ND 90% of the time when shooting long exposure landscape photography, and if I had to carry just one into the field this would be the one.

Yes! The 10-stop ND is perfect for pushing exposure times out very far in bright or normal light conditions, especially where there’s movement.

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Some compositions and subjects simply don’t call for 2 minute or longer exposure times, such as the one above. Without cloud definition the above Banff National Park Sunset photograph may not have been as impactful, and no meaningful change occurred in the water with the increased exposure.

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X4 ND 6-stop ND. And by dropping your ISO down to 50 the you can easily double exposure time, but just make sure to add +15 to +20 seconds in-between exposures to account for light loss.

Like graphite and diamond, DLC is made of carbon, but it has a combination of sp2 and sp3 bonds. As a result, a DLC coating has a combination of the properties of both diamond and graphite. For example, it can be very hard but also have very low friction. In the coating process, we tune the properties by changing process conditions and energy to change the bonding. As sp3 bonding increases, the coating becomes harder and more like a diamond, or “diamond-like.” Pure carbon with mostly sp3 bonding is called tetragonal amorphous carbon (t-aC).

A 10-stop is completely useless for sunsets, sunrises, or any shooting during the golden hour because it goes way past the ideal exposure range, usually leading to exposure times that exceed the sunset or sunrise itself.

Unfortunately, the 10-stop ND cannot be used for sunsets or sunrises, and it is for this reason the 10-stop should be avoided completely when shooting golden hour light.

If you’re a wedding or portrait photographer shooting human subjects at low F-numbers at low ISOs, or if you’re a landscape photographer who wants to maximize golden hour light get the 3-stop.

The 3-stop is the preferred ND filter for 90% of wedding and portrait photographers. This will allow you to control shutter speed below the cameras maximum 1/4000 or 1/8000 and lower your shutter speed to control flash sync more effectively.

With a multitude of ND filters how is the photographer to know which one to confidently buy? In this ND Buying Guide you’ll discover which density is right for you depending on what you shoot, and which to avoid.

The 10-stop ND filter excels for pushing exposure times out very far for abstract and urban subjects, especially in harsh, direct light.

By stacking the 3 + 6 you get an effective 9-stops in those rare instances that you need to go that high. This increases versatility while at the same time may introduce a small amount of vignetting between 16mm and 18mm on a full-frame setup, but the tradeoff is in my opinion definitely worth it if you shoot landscape photography 80% of the time or more.

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What you primarily shoot will ultimately determine which of the ND densities are most important to you. Here are my recommendations to a few of our most frequently asked questions:

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In materials and finishes, Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC), also called amorphous carbon (a-C), isn't one coating but an entire category of coating materials. DLC has properties that change depending on the bonding of the carbon atoms and the presence or lack of other materials in the coatings. These materials include hydrogen, silicon, or metals. Generally, DLC is known for:

On the other hand, diamonds are also made of carbon. Diamond is clear, electrically insulating, and extremely hard: the hardest naturally occurring material on earth. We use small diamonds for cutting other hard materials, and large ones are considered precious gems. Diamonds have properties that are nothing like graphite. Both materials are made of the same element, and the only difference between graphite and diamond is the bonding and structure of the carbon atoms in each.

Adding other elements to the diamond-like carbon is called "doping." Just like impurities in diamonds can change properties such as color, adding other materials can adjust the properties of these coatings, making it possible to tune the color, conductivity, hardness, wear resistance, friction, and many other properties.

We can adjust these properties for different applications, optimizing them to specific needs for improving components' appearance, performance, and durability in many industries (if you are interested in using DLC on firearms, visit our Firearms coating page). Let’s back up and talk about what makes the carbon in DLC so unique.

The 10-stop ND does however become very useful between 10AM – 4PM, when the light is directly overhead and flat, or in environments such as Alaska or Iceland where daylight can last a full day.

If you think one of these Diamond-Like Carbon coatings might suit you and your product, contact Vapor Technologies, Inc. We can help you cut through the mystique of all the variations and develop a coating solution specific to your product needs. We often have people ask us, “What is DLC coating?” And we hope we’ve provided the answers you need. You can also access more information about VT-Diamond coatings on our DLC coatings page.

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One often overlooked technique with a 3-stop ND filter is using ISO 50 to double exposure time close to what a 6-stop would be, which further increases the versatility of the 3-stop.

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2-4 minutes is the ideal exposure range when shooting sunset, sunrise, twilight and other golden hour moments, when shooting at ISO 100 between F11 to F18, a 6-stop ND puts you right squarely in the 2-4 minute exposure range for golden hour.

If your camera goes down to ISO 50 then get the 3-stop. If your camera only goes down to ISO 100 you may consider the 6-stop.

Pushing exposure times out very far when shooting otherwise ordinary subject matter can create incredibly dramatic results if the composition is strong and the technique sound.

A 3-stop could be used during sunset and sunrise if shooting at ISO 50, but the 3-stop really shines about 30 minutes after sunset, after the exposure exceeds 4 minutes with the 6-stop.

The chart shows just a few examples of naming conventions. For DLCs, the metal is often specified using its atomic abbreviation in place of the ‘Me’ (e.g., W-DLC or a-C:Ti). The types can also be combined, for example, metal-doped hydrogenated DLC (Me-C:H). Often, a DLC name includes a number that represents the atomic percentage of hydrogen or metal doping. The variations continue, but it doesn’t need to be that complicated. Now, the next time someone mentions DLC, you will know the answer to: “What is diamond-like carbon?”

There are many different acronyms and abbreviations for different types of DLC coatings, and there are often several ways to refer to the same kind of coating. This is where DLC coatings can get confusing, so I’ve broken it down in an easy-to-understand chart.

The 6-stop ND the ideal ND filter for shooting waterfalls, sunsets in the mountains, on the coast or in the desert, and even in urban environments where you want to reduce human subjects from a composition.