Suggest you try 1/15th and see what it comes out like. Moving water will still have quite a lot of blur at this speed.

Wait until it gets darker, dawn or dusk, you'll get much slower speeds then. 1 or 2 seconds will be easily achievable in darker conditions.

... but if you have two polarisers you have complete control and the ability to shut it down to almost complete darkness.

Here's how it works:
Light travels in waves like ~~~~ A polarising filter works like a grid and only lets waves through that are the right way round like = or ||. So, if you have two turned at 90 degree angles you stop light no matter which way round it is.

This means you have variable control in all light conditions, just turn one of the polarisers to get from a minimum of 4 stops to pitch black.

Polarisers have other effects as well which you may or may not want, especially when shooting water. Their effect is not uniform across the frame either which especially shows up with wide angles. Best to use the correct tools for the job.

Yes this is true, polarisers are often used for removing unwanted reflections and glare from glass or water so it will have an effect on the image (good or bad is subjective) but the versatility of it is incredible so a handy technique to know.

The other downside to this of course is cost, a decent circular polariser for a 77mm lens is around £150 so not the cheapest option either - then again each ND is £70-£80 for comparable quality.

I've been doing some tests and it turns out that 1/15th or 1/8th give me the perfect amount of blurring, so I guess I don't need a polariser or ND filter, just a tripod =)

Excellent, look forward to seeing some shots then. :)

The event was last Sunday - went down with my OM-1 and tripod and got some good frames at 1/8 and 1/4 of a second. Weather was typical British cloudiness which worked in my favour. I don't know when the roll will be finished and developed but once it is I'll get it onto the forum!

As promised the best photo is now in the gallery http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...hp?photo=49437

Alex

Looks like you got what you wanted exposure wise. The 'still group' a bit small in the frame to make the contrast between them and the moving people stand out? Nit picking I know as you would have had limited or no real control.