# Travel photography: ND vs VND

- community: Photography (photography@lemmy.world)
- author: marximilian@feddit.org
- posted: 2026-11-10T06:43:35.835147Z (1d ago)
- score: 10 · 6 replies
- address: https://dboft.com/post/21825/travel-photography-nd-vs-vnd

Hello all, for my upcoming backpacking trip im looking to get my gear ready. I have a sony a7 II and plan to only bring a Tamron 28-200mm lens. During my last trip i had some difficulties taking pictures during the day in respects to over exposure of certain parts (narrow alleys were dark while the sky was overexposed).
Now im thinking about getting myself some ND filters. Are they the right tool for that? Or would a CPL already be enough?

Looking online i found different options in my price range (around 100 Euros), but are VND used in photography? Most reviews are only about videography, since you can adjust the ND setting on the fly. But this feature seems also usefull for photography.

Here are some examples of what im looking at currently:
[K&F VND](https://www.kentfaith.com/KF01.3070_37mm-true-color-variable-nd2-32-1-5-stops-and-cpl-circular-polarizing-lens-filter-2-in-1-for-camer)
or
 [ND filter kit](https://hoyafilter.com/product/digital_filter_kit_ii/)


thank you for any tips or recommendations

## Replies

- **hildegarde@lemmy.blahaj.zone** · 2 pts · 19h: ND filters darken the image uniformly. They don't increase contrast. Unless you're doing something that requires reducing light beyond what you can get with camera settings, there is little use for ND filters on digital.
  
  If you want wide aperture bokeh, motion blur, or both in conditions that are too bright for it, get an ND. If you're shooting on the lowest ISO and wanting it even lower, then get a ND. Otherwise probably not. Beyond a polarizer, I personally see little use for filters on a digital camera. Those things are achievable through an option in a menu these days.
  
  I would suggest exposure bracketing, trying the camera's HDR settings to get increased contrast, or adding light to dark areas. Or compose around that limitation. The sky doesn't need to be correctly exposed if the goal is to draw the eye to contents of the alleyway.
- **Ciryamo@feddit.org** · 4 pts · 1d: A ND filter will only reduce the overall light entering your lens. It won't help you with high contrast scenes.
  In your example the sky might be darker  but the alley would be darker as well.
  
  A CPL might cut some light from the sky but has other effects as well.
  
  What you might wanna do is either bracket your shots (take multiple at different exposures) or lift the shadows in post. Or just blow out the skies. 
- **KevinFRK@lemmy.world** · 3 pts · 1d: RAW format and post-processing playing with luminance curves can work wonders with dark subjects on a bright background (for me, birds against the sky). 
- **scallisto@retrofed.com** · 1 pts · 1d: ND filters are used to make a scene darker, so it won't fix underexposed stuff, but it is nice to have e.g. in harsh sunlight, especially if you want to shoot at a longer exposure. I use a VND myself for its versatility, but either are fine. K&F Concept ones are awesome and highly recommended online, I have one of their tripods + some camera batteries that work well :D
  
  I barely use an ND filter though, usually I just set my ISO lower, shutter speed higher, and aperture narrower (most of this done on the fly with one of the semiautomatic modes)
- **datendefekt@feddit.org** · 0 pts · 23h: I don’t have experience with VND filters but it looks like it’s two stacked polarizing filters that to turn to let less light though. That means it won’t only darken the image but specifically filter out reflections, which may not be what you want.
- **phonics@lemmy.world** · 0 pts · 1d: Vnd is fine 👍