Think 10 stops of ND is a lot? How about 17 hour exposures with Lee Filters’ new 15 stop Super Stopper

Announced today via Lee Filters UK distributor, Linhof Studio, a new member joins the Stopper family, adding to the 10 stop Big Stopper and 6 stop Little Stopper.

That new member, the Super Stopper, blocks a massive 15 stops of light, reducing the incoming light hitting your sensor to 1/32,000th of its original intensity!

The Super Stopper is designed for use in very bright conditions, during the middle of the day, when it’s often difficult to shoot due to the harsh and contrasty nature of the light.

Available for 100mm, SW150, and Sev5n sizes, the filter is made from the same high quality optical glass as the rest of the Stopper family, and supplied in a metal case for protection.

A handy exposure guide has been provided to give you an idea of the kind of light crushing power that 15 stops of neutral density has.

There’s no mention of them on the main Lee Filters website, and no word on an actual release date, yet, but hopefully more information will be coming soon.

Being an owner of a 10 stop ND, I know how extremely useful they can be when it comes to blurring subjects on bright and sunny days, but I have occasionally found myself stacking on an extra couple of stops to reduce the light even further.

Linhof Studio do state that it has “a minimal colour cast that is easily corrected in postproduction”, but your mileage will almost definitely vary depending on the duration of the exposure, and the camera you shoot.

In my experience, some bodies are more prone to this shift than others when used with ND, and longer exposures will generally have a stronger cast.

I typically take a second shot of the same duration with my ColorChecker Passport while at the scene in order to account for any color issues, but I’m not sure I’d want to turn a 17hr exposure into a 34hr exposure just to be able to fix the color.  Oh, and make sure to turn off your long exposure noise reduction.

Long exposures are a big drain on your battery, even without having to take a second shot to account for long exposure noise reduction, but perhaps this just means it’s time to satisfy your gear lust a little more with Tether Tools’ new Case Relay hot swappable power supply?

I’ll definitely be looking forward to trying this one out once they become more readily available, although you can preorder a  Super Stopper now.

[via DPReview]