How much does an ND filter slow down a landscape exposure?

Each stop of filtration doubles the exposure time needed — a 10-stop filter turns a 1/125s exposure into roughly 8 seconds, which is why the math is worth calculating rather than guessing.

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ND Filter Calculator for Landscape Photography

Smoothing a waterfall or streaking clouds in daylight needs a shutter speed far slower than daylight alone allows — an ND filter's job, and this calculator's job to work out exactly how slow.

ND Filter Calculator for Landscape Photography

Open the ND Filter Calculator

Recommended settings

Waterfall silk effect: a 6-10 stop ND filter typically pushes a daylight exposure into the 0.5-4 second range.
Streaking clouds: a 10-15 stop filter can extend exposure to 30 seconds or more even in bright daylight.

Tips for this niche

Meter the base exposure without the filter first, then let the calculator handle the math rather than guessing the adjusted time.
For exposures beyond about a second, plan for Bulb mode and a stopwatch or intervalometer rather than the camera's standard shutter dial.

Got your Landscape settings dialed in?

Turn your landscape shoot into ready-to-post captions, hashtags and matching audio — free to try, no signup.

Want the full lesson?

This topic is covered in depth in Lesson 8: Landscape & Travel Photography.

Example scenario

A waterfall meters at 1/125s without a filter. Adding a 10-stop ND and running it through the calculator gives an adjusted exposure of roughly 8 seconds — long enough to smooth the water into a silky blur without guessing and blowing several test frames.

Common mistakes

Guessing the adjusted exposure time instead of calculating it. each stop of ND filtration doubles the required exposure — a rough guess compounds error quickly at strong filter strengths like ND1000.
Not accounting for changing light during a long exposure. a passing cloud partway through a 2-minute exposure changes the actual result — recalculate if conditions shift mid-shoot.

FAQ

How much does an ND filter slow down a landscape exposure?: Each stop of filtration doubles the exposure time needed — a 10-stop filter turns a 1/125s exposure into roughly 8 seconds, which is why the math is worth calculating rather than guessing.

Guides for this tool, by niche

ND Filter Calculator for Travel Photography ND Filter Calculator for Architecture Photography

Troubleshooting

Why Is My Long Exposure Overexposed in Daylight?Why Are My Water Long Exposures Not Smooth Enough?