Which filters?

Lostkat · 16 Apr 2006 at 22:49

I want some ND/ND grad and perhaps some coloured filters. I already have an own-brand filter adapter/kit from a well-known photo store, but it's not big enough for my wide angle, so I'm going to get a pro-range one.

However, I'm not sure which to get. I've seen Lee Filters & Cokin and I know these are pretty good makes. Are these probably the best ones to look at? I can't afford a hugely expensive set, but the filter holders seem to be about a tenner, and ND filters are another tenner (for Cokin), which isn't too bad.

Also, are there any good website that sell them? (No competitors please)

Any advise would be highly appreciated. Ta

PaulStat · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:03

I'm curious, how come you don't ask your dad these questions?

Lostkat · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:14

PaulStat said:
I'm curious, how come you don't ask your dad these questions?

He's gone to bed

Also, he's only one person. I'm more interested to hear from a selection of people who have filter systems of their own and can recommend a particular make.

Sleepyd · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:55

Are there any that you could otherwise mimick using photoshop?

I would have thought CIR/PL, IR and ND Grad were the only one's you'd need these days. Having said that I've got a fog and cross one which are quite fun. But I'd rarely ever use them.

I plan to get the screw on pro grade kind from Hoya - £25 for a 77mm CIR/PL

Lostkat · 17 Apr 2006 at 00:09

Sleepyd said:
Are there any that you could otherwise mimick using photoshop?

I would have thought CIR/PL, IR and ND Grad were the only one's you'd need these days. Having said that I've got a fog and cross one which are quite fun. But I'd rarely ever use them.

I plan to get the screw on pro grade kind from Hoya - £25 for a 77mm CIR/PL

Well yeah there are, but I really want some ND grad filters (which you can't replicate in PS), maybe an IR, and would still like to try some colours etc. just to see how they looked. It's just more fun than sticking everything through photoshop. I don't like overprocessing images. I guess I'm a bit oldschool. I'd rather they came out of the camera pretty much how I wanted them.

Also rather than buy 4 separate screw filters, I thought a kit would be a cheaper option for the ND too as it won't be on the camera that much.

SCM · 17 Apr 2006 at 10:34

I got a Cokin 5 ND Grad filter set a month or so back on offer from somewhere and it was well worth the cash. It cost me about £60 ish including postage and that was with the holder and book, 5 filters and 2 adaptor rings as decided to cover my 2 main Canon lens.

Example

I might have overdone a few bits in PS but the cloud detail is a lot more detailed compared to not using the Grad ND filter on that day.

SCM

Lostkat · 17 Apr 2006 at 12:05

Hiya,

Thanks for your reply. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Do you have an item code for the kit or can you remember what it was called?

I have found an ND kit with 3 grad filters plus holder for around £40, but would be interested to know what the 5 filters were.

SCM · 17 Apr 2006 at 12:11

Check your email as will email you info etc on the set. Sent to the roguesgallery email in your sig.

SCM

Lostkat · 17 Apr 2006 at 12:37

Fantastic. Replied, thank you

milou · 17 Apr 2006 at 12:42

I read that Cokin have a slight colourcast which after I've used HiTech ones for a while has proved to be true. HiTech do the 100mm ones to for the Lee system (a Lee system for a wide angle including 3 ND grads will costs around £200+) or the 85mm to fit the Cokin P system. They work out about 40 quid for a set of three i.e. 0.3, 0.6 & 0.9. [I would link but I think the site also sells some equipment which ocuk also sells].

JBuk · 20 Apr 2006 at 19:31

i`ve been looking into getting some filters and i could really do with an ND grad kit & a circular polarizer

i dont have any experience with filters so if anyone can explain a few things to me i`d be very gratefull

what would be the most useful nd grads to buy? ie grad grey light, grad grey medium, grad grey soft (i take it the light, medium, dark mean the density and the soft/hard is actual gradient? )

is it just a case of slipping the filter into the attachment or do you position the filter so the gradient is in the best place ?

is it possible to use a screw in filter and attach the cokin system at the same time? (so i can have some kind of dust/muck protection)

will the cokin P system be ok on a 17-40L ?

thanks in advance

glitch · 20 Apr 2006 at 20:15

JBuk said:
what would be the most useful nd grads to buy? ie grad grey light, grad grey medium, grad grey soft (i take it the light, medium, dark mean the density and the soft/hard is actual gradient? )

Probably a ND grad medium (ND4 in Cokin). Here's a rather useful PDF to explain the different filter types.

JBuk said:
is it just a case of slipping the filter into the attachment or do you position the filter so the gradient is in the best place ?

You attach the Cokin holder, slide the filter into that and then adjust the height of the filter (if using a grad) to correspond to the subject you are shooting. You can also rotate the whole filter holder if need be.

JBuk said:
iis it possible to use a screw in filter and attach the cokin system at the same time? (so i can have some kind of dust/muck protection)

As long as the screw-in filter itself has a female thread on the front - this is where the Cokin filter holder attachment will screw in. You'll have to be careful of vignetting if you stack too many, but just using one UV filter should be fine.

JBuk said:
will the cokin P system be ok on a 17-40L ?

Yes and no.

You definitely need the P system, but you might find that you get vignetting from the normal P holder. Look out for the wide-angle holder. The downside is that it only holds one filter at a time.

JBuk · 20 Apr 2006 at 22:30

thanks for the help

Ive looked at a few websites and ive seen a P series grad kit for around £45

but ive just seen a Z pro ND grad kit for £115 which seems to be quite cheap for those , not sure if its worth me splashing out

Matt Harper · 20 Apr 2006 at 22:42

I've been reading up about the kind of stuff people like Joe Cornish, Colin Prior, David Norton use. They tent to use things like Neutral Density hard grad set (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9), warm-up filters, graduated warm-up filter and polarizer.

of course abit of Fuji Velvia does help too

glitch · 20 Apr 2006 at 22:46

No worries. I've got a set of the Cokin P NDs myself and never use the things. Well, I did once upon a time but not for the type of stuff I do now.

The Z Pro's are really expensive when you start to buy new filters, and I've never seen a reasonably priced circular polariser to fit them - you could use the screw-in type, but it's easier and cheaper all round to use one with your Cokin filter system.

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 20 Apr 2006 at 23:15

I only have 2 ND grads but they have proven to be quite a worthwhile purchase. I would recomend Cokin as they supliment you with a good sized brouchure of the entire system which makes future buying very informative. I wouldnt use the coloured filters as you can easily achieve this in processing. Its mainly a filter for film users. but if you want to take a more professional lead to you work and you can afford them, by all means do so.

rG-tom · 21 Apr 2006 at 05:55

Fstop11 said:
I only have 2 ND grads but they have proven to be quite a worthwhile purchase. I would recomend Cokin as they supliment you with a good sized brouchure of the entire system which makes future buying very informative. I wouldnt use the coloured filters as you can easily achieve this in processing. Its mainly a filter for film users. but if you want to take a more professional lead to you work and you can afford them, by all means do so.

i also don't understand the usage of coloured filters on digital, surely it's just playing against the white balance?

Tom.