Hi,
having just received a new B+W neutral grey ND1000 I thought I would try it out to see things like exposures etc.So I put the filter on and had a shock when I saw the image...about a million pixel holes.
Does this mean my camera is...well knackered or is it that it doesnt like this filter.I tried the shot with noise reduction on but not any difference.  

have you tried another memmory card?

is it like it without the filter ?

I don't know the settings or the exposure time you used... but I believe you had the pleasure to experience the 'hot pixel' effect: with long exposures (anything over 4 secs I think), your image will have these strange multi-coloured pixels (also called 'static noise') all over, especially in the dark areas (at least that's where they are most visible).
That's normal for digital cameras; there's nothing wrong so far with your cam or filter.
I think most cameras can compensate for this by adding 'static noise reduction' by means of a second, equally long exposure, completely black this time, and by somehow calculating the difference between the two, thus eliminating these hot pixels. For example, if you have eight seconds of exposure time, your camera will be 'locked up' for an additional eight seconds to allow for the pixel reduction process. I don't know how your cam deals with this... I just know my camera does provide this kind of noise reduction... check your manual to see if and how your camera can do this...
Anyone who ever took night shots with long exposure times must have experienced this... and can probably give a more exact response ;o)

Hi girsempa
Thanks for the reply..it may explain things but I have seen shots with this filter at 30s and they are good.
inshaala has just got one and he seems to be getting on OK with it.
I will try your suggestions and see how it goes.
Thanks agian for your reply
Eddie

Hi girsempa
Doing what you said and applying the camera noise reduction thingy does work.I have also found out that my camera doesnt like working out long exposures with a cable release attached.
To over come that I have used the mirror lock up facility,not quite that but it does the same thing,then depress the shutter carefully.
I also have to give the exposure +2 to get a decent looking image,otherwise the image is far too dark even for RAW.
I still get a couple of holes showing but can deal with that OK.
So for slow water rocks shots I need to do all the above.Bad news is if I see some one with a 44 inch bust topless on the beach by the time I have reset the camera she will be gone.But that saves having to explain that shot to the wife.:-)
On a serious note it does mean having to reseet the camera after these shots to go onto something like landscapes.
Well a long explanation but on the plus side it has added to your already considerable knowledge.
Thanks for your help,maybe this will help some one else one day.
Eddie

Geert is spot on  
(sorry)
and Danny has said also about using the long exposure noise reduction. 

I suspect many people have it set, and don't even know about it as it only comes into play on long exposures (over 60secs with Canon). It is probably best to leave it on all the time as it won't have any affect on shorter exposures. Usually only people who are doing specialist night photography need to switch it off as they will do the process manually and in PS.  

If you don't like this idea you could always use the custom settings and set one up specifically for using this filter with all the ideal settings you will need.

hth
  

I noticed that ejn mentioned,

that my camera doesnt like working out long exposures with a cable release
attached.  To overcome that I have used the mirror lock up facility, not quite
that but it does the same thing,then depress the shutter carefully.

One old technique is to us an 'external' shutter -- that is to say, a black card
held in front of the lens to block the light before releasing the shutter. 

Sequence of events would be ... compose; cover the lens without touching it;
release the shutter; move the card; ... time ... move the card back; close the
shutter. 

Bad news is if I see someone with a 44 inch bust topless on the beach, by
the time I have reset the camera she will be gone.  But that saves having
to explain that shot to the wife.:-)

Yes ... that shot would need a different kind of noise reduction in post-processing. 

--
Martin