A filter comparison

Thanks for that Helen, at the moment I've only got a couple of filters and they're both Kood ones, I know I'll never be able to justify the money on Lee filters but it's nice to know the Kood ones aren't too bad (and by the look of your article to avoid the Hitech ones!)
 
You're very welcome Rudders - anyone know why the Hi tech filters word in my original post is now linking to another site? Wasn't me guv!
 
Did exactly the same experiment two years ago and got exactly the same results. I now recommend Kood ahead of Hi-tech and Cokin. They need looking after because they're a bit fragile but they produce comparatively good results. One thing that you don't mention that is also worth bearing in mind is that the Koods produce less aberration than the other two as well and the images can therefore withstand a degree of enlargment.
 
Great thanks for that fact Chris, didn't even think about testing for aberration!

I don't suppose you know if you can get darker grades and if so where from? Am keen to push the comparison further...
 
Thanks Chris :)

Jacob - that's really interesting - are you layering up the filters like i did?
 
A very interesting comparison Helen.. can I just confirm that the white balance is set to daylight for each of these images? I've seen Hitech 100s recommended by several landscape film photographers (e.g. Ian Cameron), so I'm intrigued by the cast you're getting (and looking atm for a set of grads for film shooting).
 
Alastair said:
A very interesting comparison Helen.. can I just confirm that the white balance is set to daylight for each of these images? I've seen Hitech 100s recommended by several landscape film photographers (e.g. Ian Cameron), so I'm intrigued by the cast you're getting (and looking atm for a set of grads for film shooting).
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Hi Alistair, I had my wb set to auto, I played around with a couple if other settings (cloudy and sunlight) and in my opinion auto was the truest reflection of what I was seeing in the sky.

Also, my Hitechs are not the 100s style they're the ones that fit into the Cokin same as the Koods


I also would like to reiterate the point, this wasn't done to make any particular filter manufacturer look bad, I just wanted to do a direct comparison of the filters that were accessible to me to see if there was a more cost effective solution to the Lee filters. I have had many people on my workshops using all kinds of filters and could say generally that the smaller Hitecs are not as neutral as many make out but wanted to share some accurate results sompeople can make up their own minds when the question comes up again (as it will!!)
 
The problem with auto white balance is that unless you're resetting the white balance to a standard fixed white balance (e.g. daylight) before comparing them, the comparison is not valid.
 
Tazzie said:
Hi Alistair, I had my wb set to auto, I played around with a couple if other settings (cloudy and sunlight) and in my opinion auto was the truest reflection of what I was seeing in the sky.
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Tazzie said:
I just wanted to do a direct comparison of the filters that were accessible to me to see if there was a more cost effective solution to the Lee filters. I have had many people on my workshops using all kinds of filters and could say generally that the smaller Hitecs are not as neutral as many make out but wanted to share some accurate results sompeople can make up their own minds when the question comes up again (as it will!!)
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Stop me if I'm wrong but won't auto ISO try and compensate for whatever light is coming in? Therefore it might actually accentuate a colour cast if it gets it wrong?

Wouldn't a comparison with a fixed white balance set in the camera provide a more accurate comparison?
 
Tazzie said:
Hi Alistair, I had my wb set to auto, I played around with a couple if other settings (cloudy and sunlight) and in my opinion auto was the truest reflection of what I was seeing in the sky.

Also, my Hitechs are not the 100s style they're the ones that fit into the Cokin same as the Koods


I also would like to reiterate the point, this wasn't done to make any particular filter manufacturer look bad, I just wanted to do a direct comparison of the filters that were accessible to me to see if there was a more cost effective solution to the Lee filters. I have had many people on my workshops using all kinds of filters and could say generally that the smaller Hitecs are not as neutral as many make out but wanted to share some accurate results sompeople can make up their own minds when the question comes up again (as it will!!)
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Thats the reason, I am using the 100s which I believe may be of their 'pro' range
 
markmullen said:
Stop me if I'm wrong but won't auto ISO try and compensate for whatever light is coming in? Therefore it might actually accentuate a colour cast if it gets it wrong?

Wouldn't a comparison with a fixed white balance set in the camera provide a more accurate comparison?
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I think you mean auto WB, but I believe you're right. If you're going to compare products then you need a static testbed, and I'm sure a set WB would have given different results.
 
markmullen said:
Stop me if I'm wrong but won't auto ISO try and compensate for whatever light is coming in? Therefore it might actually accentuate a colour cast if it gets it wrong?

Wouldn't a comparison with a fixed white balance set in the camera provide a more accurate comparison?
Click to expand...

I think you may be getting a little confused, ISO was set to 100, auto white balance.


I don't think it has affected the results at all but am more than happy to redo the test setting the WB to a constant even if it isn't a true reflection on the scene after all it is about comparison and not about pretty pictures... Will post as soon as I've done the retest
 
redddraggon said:
My hitech pro stopper certainly doesn't have a pink cast, it's more of a blue cast.
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I believe the Hitech Pro Stopper is similar to Lee's Big Stopper (ie 10 stops)? If so then it wasn't included in these results - having said that I use a Lee Big stopper and mine colour casts blue as well but like I said in the write up I believe Lee have now corrected this colour cast on their later Big stoppers.
 
jacob12_1993 said:
Thats the reason, I am using the 100s which I believe may be of their 'pro' range
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Hi Jacob, I do know of one person who is using Hitech's pro range of filters and his definitely colour cast when layering them up but as with Hitech's Pro stopper I don't have Hitech Pro's so couldn't include them in the comparison

The colour cast isn't necessarily a bad thing either, I had someone on a recent course who loved the extra magenta in their images, all I was trying to do was give some information that I have experience of so people can make a more informed choice (y)
 
Surely WB needs to be set to 'suit' the different filters - that's why you're getting the colour casts ?
 
If you shot raw, just fix the white balance as daylight in Lightroom and repost..

You can't see the colour cast of the filter if it's masked by changes in the white balance between shots.

If you wanted to get complicated.. you'd take an unfiltered shot using AWB, and then use this value to set the WB for thr filtered shots. But all shots (unfiltered and filtered) need to be set to the same WB for comparison.
 
I have seen colour cast when stacking Hitechs, but nothing on the scale that the first review shows, as a result its fairly easy to get rid of in PP.

What I would say from those shots is I think I'd rather fix the relatively minor colour cast from the hitechs than stack loads of Koods to try and get a long enough shutter to get the right look to the water.
 
It's very much each to their own Craft, I try and do as much in camera as I can so reducing processing as it's the way I learnt, I just wanted to show a comparison for people who might be looking to purchase filters and who may want to shoot in thus same way as me.

Good news, I have now found a x8 Koods, as soon as it comes back into stock I'll get it and re run the test with WB set to a specific temp.
 
Yes, white balance must be fixed or you don't know what the camera is doing.

Another thing to look for is flare, say into a bright sunset with and without filters. You will get some, especially if you stack them. Stacking will also affect sharpness.

Another interesting comparison is the strength of the grad line. They're all a bit different, despite apparently similar labels.
 
maninsuitcase said:
Can I ask where you got the filters? Premier Ink? Also are they the P or Z-pro sized ones?
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To be honest I cannot remember I'm afraid, I bought them years ago and upgraded to lee about 3 years ago:thinking:. I have the P Series...
 
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