By greatly extending exposure times the Big Stopper has the effect of allowing anything that is moving in your image to become blurred or ghost like, for example clouds, waterfalls, rivers, and the sea.
The filter can also be used on cityscapes to blur people or on roads and motorways to blur traffic.
The Big Stopper
The LEE Big Stopper increases the exposure by ten stops, this allows the slight motion of the sea and sky to be captured.
Exposure: 2 minutes at f11
The Big Stopper can be used in conjunction with other filters such as Neutral Density Graduated Filters. Other filters should be set up and positioned in the filter holder as normal before using the Big Stopper, remembering to keep the slot in the filter holder nearest the lens free for the BIG Stopper.
| Normal Shutter Speed |
with Big Stopper |
|---|---|
| 1,000th | 1 second |
| 500th | 2 seconds |
| 250th | 4 seconds |
| 125th | 8 seconds |
| 60th | 15 seconds |
| 30th | 30 seconds |
| 15th | 1 minute |
| 8th | 2 minutes |
| ¼ | 4 minutes |
| ½ | 8 minutes |
| 1 second | 16 minutes |
| 2 seconds | 32 minutes |

Use of the Big Stopper may result in a slight colour cast. It's worth conducting some tests to learn either which colour-correction filters to use in conjunction with the Big Stopper, or which white balance settings to apply. If shooting Raw, any colour cast can be corrected easily at the postproduction stage.
When making long exposures, film users need to take reciprocity failure into account. Different brands and speeds of film respond differently to long exposures, so always refer to the manufacturers' recommendations first. To be completely sure, carry out tests with your chosen emulsions and bracket your exposures.
Get up to speed fast with our videos that explain the LEE Filter System and how to use it
The Big Stopper is a very dense neutral density filter (10 stops). Other ND filters are also available from 0.3 ND (1 stop) to 0.9 ND (3 stops).
ND Filters can be stacked together, or used with other filters, so you can respond to almost any lighting situation.
When shooting digitally, light at the infrared and ultraviolet ends of the spectrum can be problematic. The ProGlass range of filters has been designed with this in mind. These glass neutral density filters are optimised for use with digital cameras, as they absorb more infrared and ultraviolet light than traditional ND filters. The result is a punchier image, with less discolouration in adverse lighting conditions.


Polarising filters are used primarily to reduce reflections. This can be useful when photographing skies, water, glass etc.
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screws onto camera lens
attaches to the adaptor ring
slides into the filter holder