Nikon D750 & D780

siblingchris said:
I've done so much reading on this you wouldn't believe!
First of all none of the filters are perfect from any manufacturer, some will give minimal colourcast some will be awful or you might think give you an effect you like (stacking some Cokin filters gives a strong magenta cast for instance). Some are more durable than others and there are massive price differences. Glass will give better quality and likely be more durable than resin, but as a starter resin filters will likely do the job.

Everyone says Lee are the best but that doesn't mean there are no other options. For me I couldn't justify their cost (or Formatt Hitech for that matter) not knowing if I would get full use from them, especially after I've only recently bought my d750 and new lens.

First I would say consider what size filters you need for the lens your use them with. I considered 100mm filters but in the end figured I didn't currently need them. Cokin P series seemed the way to go, but I didn't care for the colour cast.

In the end I went to SRB Photograhic. I got an 82mm adapter, elite filter holder with CPL and ND1000 screw-in filters (to prevent light leakage) plus a full ND 0.9 and an ND GRAD 0.9 square filter for approx £115 total. They seem to get decent reviews and for me the price point seemed a good one for what I was getting. I'd like to get a 6 stop ND too but need to work out what isn't going to cause light leakage before I pull the trigger. SRB glass p size filters are ~£30 and the resin ones ~£15

No results to show yet unfortunately. All my days off since I got them have been boring grey flat skies and miserable!

HTH
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Thanks for that, Chris, it does help! Seems like you went through the exact same thought process I am/was going through!

I've picked up the ND Grads (Cokin P series) filters @Paulie-W was selling for a respectable price as I didn't want to spend a wedge on something I may not even get on with. If I do, and get some results that I'm happy with, then I might look in to the 100mm filters, but at the moment, I'll see what all the crack is. :D
 
siblingchris said:
I've done so much reading on this you wouldn't believe!
First of all none of the filters are perfect from any manufacturer, some will give minimal colourcast some will be awful or you might think give you an effect you like (stacking some Cokin filters gives a strong magenta cast for instance). Some are more durable than others and there are massive price differences. Glass will give better quality and likely be more durable than resin, but as a starter resin filters will likely do the job.

Everyone says Lee are the best but that doesn't mean there are no other options. For me I couldn't justify their cost (or Formatt Hitech for that matter) not knowing if I would get full use from them, especially after I've only recently bought my d750 and new lens.

First I would say consider what size filters you need for the lens your use them with. I considered 100mm filters but in the end figured I didn't currently need them. Cokin P series seemed the way to go, but I didn't care for the colour cast.

In the end I went to SRB Photograhic. I got an 82mm adapter, elite filter holder with CPL and ND1000 screw-in filters (to prevent light leakage) plus a full ND 0.9 and an ND GRAD 0.9 square filter for approx £115 total. They seem to get decent reviews and for me the price point seemed a good one for what I was getting. I'd like to get a 6 stop ND too but need to work out what isn't going to cause light leakage before I pull the trigger. SRB glass p size filters are ~£30 and the resin ones ~£15

No results to show yet unfortunately. All my days off since I got them have been boring grey flat skies and miserable!

HTH
Click to expand...
I just upgraded from the SRB filters and holder. SRB are OK, but with the stronger grads (3 stop) there is noticeable cast. The main reason for my swap though was that you can see the edges of the filter holder when using an 18mm lens, and that's with the wide angle holder.

One thing I've noticed with all filters though which I don't see mentioned is not only can you get colour cast they also 'dull' the image a touch like when you reduce highlights in pp.
 
siblingchris said:
I've done so much reading on this you wouldn't believe!
First of all none of the filters are perfect from any manufacturer, some will give minimal colourcast some will be awful or you might think give you an effect you like (stacking some Cokin filters gives a strong magenta cast for instance). Some are more durable than others and there are massive price differences. Glass will give better quality and likely be more durable than resin, but as a starter resin filters will likely do the job.

Everyone says Lee are the best but that doesn't mean there are no other options. For me I couldn't justify their cost (or Formatt Hitech for that matter) not knowing if I would get full use from them, especially after I've only recently bought my d750 and new lens.

First I would say consider what size filters you need for the lens your use them with. I considered 100mm filters but in the end figured I didn't currently need them. Cokin P series seemed the way to go, but I didn't care for the colour cast.

In the end I went to SRB Photograhic. I got an 82mm adapter, elite filter holder with CPL and ND1000 screw-in filters (to prevent light leakage) plus a full ND 0.9 and an ND GRAD 0.9 square filter for approx £115 total. They seem to get decent reviews and for me the price point seemed a good one for what I was getting. I'd like to get a 6 stop ND too but need to work out what isn't going to cause light leakage before I pull the trigger. SRB glass p size filters are ~£30 and the resin ones ~£15

No results to show yet unfortunately. All my days off since I got them have been boring grey flat skies and miserable!

HTH
Click to expand...

Been doing a lot of research myself, thought maybe I should change to 100mm from Cokin P, BUT, Lee very expensive, Cokin Z Pro not far behind on price, so now its down to can I manage with Cokin P 85mm, or sell my 5 or 6 filters, holder and thee adapters, and start a Lee or Cokin Z pro collection, reckon initially I can manage with two or three filters. I do like the way Lee filter holder can be unclipped in a flash, rather than the sliding effort of Cokin. And yes two or especially three Cokinn do give that terrible colour cast. My widest filter is 18mm, 77m thread so you can see the filter holder when wide open.
 
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snerkler said:
I just upgraded from the SRB filters and holder. SRB are OK, but with the stronger grads (3 stop) there is noticeable cast. The main reason for my swap though was that you can see the edges of the filter holder when using an 18mm lens, and that's with the wide angle holder.

One thing I've noticed with all filters though which I don't see mentioned is not only can you get colour cast they also 'dull' the image a touch like when you reduce highlights in pp.
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The only casts I've seen that really aren't fixable are from multistacking of filters tbf. I did watch (albeit I felt a little patronising) a YouTube video of someone shooting and doing custom WB before all shots with a white card.....didn't look too difficult if you'd prefer that over PP. interested to know what method you guys go with?

My widest lens is 24mm and at the mo I don't intend on going wider, so I don't have to worry about filter holders obstructing the view :)
 
siblingchris said:
The only casts I've seen that really aren't fixable are from multistacking of filters tbf. I did watch (albeit I felt a little patronising) a YouTube video of someone shooting and doing custom WB before all shots with a white card.....didn't look too difficult if you'd prefer that over PP. interested to know what method you guys go with?

My widest lens is 24mm and at the mo I don't intend on going wider, so I don't have to worry about filter holders obstructing the view :)
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It's difficult to do a custom WB with grads as the colour cast is obviously only over part of the image.
 
snerkler said:
I just upgraded from the SRB filters and holder. SRB are OK, but with the stronger grads (3 stop) there is noticeable cast. The main reason for my swap though was that you can see the edges of the filter holder when using an 18mm lens, and that's with the wide angle holder.

One thing I've noticed with all filters though which I don't see mentioned is not only can you get colour cast they also 'dull' the image a touch like when you reduce highlights in pp.
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What did you upgrade to?
 
lightshipman said:
What did you upgrade to?
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Hitech resin 100x150mm. Got the hitech format filter holder with integral (but removeable) polariser. The holder's an impressive bit of kit, but it should be for the price :eek:
 
snerkler said:
Hitech resin 100x150mm. Got the hitech format filter holder with integral (but removeable) polariser. The holder's an impressive bit of kit, but it should be for the price :eek:
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Just watched the video on formatt web site, impressive bit of kit, but loads of fiddly bits to lose out in the open on a cold windy day! Can see where the cost comes from. I do like the way the polariser fits. It does look bulky though fitted on lens.
 
ND filters are helpful for effects you can't achieve digitally but I don't see a need for graduated filters these days. Just more hassle when you are on location. If you get your head around luminosity masks (see Jimmy McIntyre tutorials) you're good to go. Unless of course you have a romantic, retro outlook on these things.

I sold all of mine a good time ago now but then I don't do much landscape now either. Kept a polariser and 4 stop ND. For the record, the Lee filters are the best but there's not much in it against the hi tech filters which are better value for money.
 
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minnnt said:
Ahhh I think I remember you saying now. You should pencil in another visit mate. (y)
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Yeah I should, I need a break from the day job tbh, I'm so stressed at the minute. Photography is my release, but I've had no chance at all to shoot either because some t*** thought buying an old house that needed loads of work was a good idea, so we've been ripping down ceilings and replastering rooms since the start of Jan!
 
lightshipman said:
Just watched the video on formatt web site, impressive bit of kit, but loads of fiddly bits to lose out in the open on a cold windy day! Can see where the cost comes from. I do like the way the polariser fits. It does look bulky though fitted on lens.
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You only need the fiddly bits if you want to mess about all the time with the slotted and unslotted end caps. I don't see the point and so just clips on and off with no fuss (y)

Livin The Dream said:
ND filters are helpful for effects you can't achieve digitally but I don't see a need for graduated filters these days. Just more hassle when you are on location. If you get your head around luminosity masks (see Jimmy McIntyre tutorials) you're good to go. Unless of course you have a romantic, retro outlook on these things.

I sold all of mine a good time ago now but then I don't do much landscape now either. Kept a polariser and 4 stop ND. For the record, the Lee filters are the best but there's not much in it against the hi tech filters which are better value for money.
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It depends, you can't recover totally blown areas and I'd rather use filters than bracket. Each to their own and all that ;)
 
KitsuneAndy said:
Yeah I should, I need a break from the day job tbh, I'm so stressed at the minute. Photography is my release, but I've had no chance at all to shoot either because some t*** thought buying an old house that needed loads of work was a good idea, so we've been ripping down ceilings and replastering rooms since the start of Jan!
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I feel your pain. I was climbing the walls before Christmas, needed the break!

snerkler said:
It depends, you can't recover totally blown areas and I'd rather use filters than bracket. Each to their own and all that ;)
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Agree, you can't recover blown detail, and so that's why you bracket and blend it all together with luminosity masks :)
 
Just had a shot in Flickr Explore for the first time in about 3 years. Taken with my D750 a couple of summers ago I had a play with Silver Efex Pro

Venice - San Giorgio by Chris Mitchell, on Flickr
 
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TBH I used to feel the same about grads, what a load of s***, bracketing is fine. In reality using filters in my opinion at least gives far better results and I am a total convert. Don't get me wrong, in extreme conditions I will still bracket but usually the grad is adequate. Slipping a filter on the front is a lot less of a faff for me than blending luminosity masks in PS.
 
If you have a look on ebay for "Mens canvas shoulder bags" there is a shed load of bags available that may well suit you.
 
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Are you a gamekeeper Toby?

Only said to SWMBO at the weekend that we should take the little one to the zoo soon.
 
Livin The Dream said:
I feel your pain. I was climbing the walls before Christmas, needed the break!



Agree, you can't recover blown detail, and so that's why you bracket and blend it all together with luminosity masks :)
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I would rather use a filter, I find that sort of photo editing a chore, can use Nikon NX2, but anything more advanced does my head in, always seem to make a mess of layers and masks.
 
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