Obviously it was a thing for film cameras, but now that everything is digital, something like “just make the picture darker” seems extremely easy to do with software
quick edit, I know what ND filters are for and how to use them, no need to explain. it just seems to me that it could be engineered in a way that doesn’t require them, which is what I’m asking about
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Sensors at their core are not digital, they are analog devices. Their analog signal is turned into a digital one by a converter. This means that before the conversion, their signal is subject to physical constraints, and not just pure maths. If they get too much light, they will simply not provide any useful signal, and no amount of software “darkening” will help. The converter will just see the same exact maximum value for every pixel.
There are two things in the sensor that control how much light it is exposed to: ISO and exposure time. That’s it. If you have too much light, your sensor will read “pure white” and there is nothing in software that can bring back your image. That’s why we use the aperture to control light, but that has the side effect of changing the depth of field. Hence ND filters are a great way to control light without affecting depth of field.
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