For photographers, ND filters are generally useful, but rarely a necessity. However, for video shooters, ND filters are absolutely crucial pieces of equipment, especially if you want to shoot at wide apertures in daylight. This great video shows you just why ND filters are so crucial and what they allow you to do.
Coming to you from Michael The Maven, this excellent video details why ND filters are so useful to videographers. The crucial difference is that in photography, if you want to shoot in an environment with a lot of light at a wide aperture, you can compensate both by using a low ISO and a fast shutter speed. On the other hand, when you're shooting video, you can lower the ISO, but your shutter speed is determined by the 180-degree rule, which states that your shutter speed should be set to double your frame rate, as this ensures that the motion blur looks natural. This means that if you want to shoot at wide apertures, you need to cut down on the amount of light coming into the lens by using ND filters. Check out the video above for more. And if you really want to dive into the art and technique of shooting video, check out: "Introduction to Video: A Photographer's Guide to Filmmaking!"
