Tiffen S/E Grad ND Set (V)

This set is three Tiffen soft-edge graduated ND filters in 4x5.65: 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9. A grad is clear at one end and dark at the other with a soft blend between, used to bring a bright sky down to the exposure of a landscape or interior without darkening the rest of the frame.

The three strengths give one, two and three stops at the dark end. Soft edge is the right choice for most work, because the blend stays invisible on wide lenses and where the horizon is uneven, such as trees, buildings or hills. Rotate the filter in the matte box tray to put the dark section where it is wanted, and keep it away from the lens centre if you want the transition to disappear. A hard edge would show as a line on a short lens, which is why soft edge is the safer set.

The filters are 4x5.65 inch (Panavision size), in the vertical orientation (V), and drop into a standard 4x5.65 matte box tray. They darken the sky without shifting colour.