Over the past several years, slow shutter photography has become an extremely popular genre because it provides ample opportunities to express the world around us in an artistic and unusual way. For this purpose, an ND filter is a necessary tool.

But which ND filter is best to start with? This question may arise in the minds of many amateur photographers who have decided to challenge themselves with slow shutter photography. Keeping this question in mind, we have created an essential ND kit to help photographers quickly embark on this challenge.

The HOYA PROND EX FILTER KIT is an essential filter set designed for amateur or professional photographers and video content creators. The kit consists of 3 ND filters - PROND EX 8, PROND EX 64, and PROND EX 1000 - which allow photographers to capture the world in different ways.

The choice of ND filters depends on the photographer's intention to control shutter speed or aperture. The contents of the HOYA PROND EX FILTER KIT are based on our sales data and the experience of selling millions of ND filters all over the world. PROND EX 8, PROND EX 64, and PROND EX 1000 are the most essential ND filters that will help realize three expressions we consider commonly used among photographers.

The HOYA PROND EX FILTER is a high-tech product designed for still and HDSLR videography. PROND EX filters use HOYA's exclusive clear optical glass, which incorporates a metallic coating on the front and back sides to equally reduce almost the entire light spectrum, even in the IR range. The ACCU-ND technology used in the coating process yields a truly neutral color balance that will not add any noticeable color cast to your images. HOYA PROND EX filters incorporate a precisely developed thick aluminum frame to prevent light leakage, thus ensuring correct exposure and color balance.

PROND EX 8 (3-stops)
The HOYA PROND EX 8 is essential for shooting with fast lenses at wide-open apertures during the daytime, which is perfect for portraiture with a shallow depth of field. The subject appears crisp and clear against a softly blurred background. Other recommended scenes include night trails, fireworks, and lightning.

PROND EX 64 (6-stops)
The HOYA PROND EX 64 is essential for expressing objects in blurred motion during the daytime, which cannot be achieved with camera settings alone. Recommended for landscapes, city snapshots, video, and other photographic genres.

PROND EX 1000 (10-stops)
The HOYA PROND EX 1000 is essential for expressing an unreal, fantasy world thanks to its 10-stop reduction in light. It is widely used in seascapes to blur waves, in street photography to capture cloud motion, and in architecture to erase moving people.

PROND EX filters in video production
ND filters are also an irreplaceable tool in video shooting. For example, when shooting with a Sony camera in Slog mode, the ISO cannot be set below 800. To obtain natural motion, the shutter speed should be adjusted to the frame rate setting. During the daytime, the PROND EX 8, PROND EX 64, PROND EX 1000, or a combination of them (like PROND EX 8 + PROND EX 64) would be necessary to achieve cinematic quality.

Combinations of PROND filters
The choice of ND filters depends on the photographer's intention to achieve the desired effect in the image. In case the effect achieved by using a single ND filter does not satisfy the photographer's vision, combinations of PROND EX filters can also be useful. For example, the combination of PROND EX 8 + PROND EX 64 will provide an effect equal to an ND500 filter, which can be used to express an unreal, fantasy world. The combination of PROND EX 8 + PROND EX 1000 will provide an effect equal to an ND8000 filter, which will allow you to capture the surface of the Sun without overexposure, maintaining solid color and the visibility of black spots.