Alternative to Lee Filters.

TheNissanMan

TheNissanMan

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Ryan
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HEEEeeeellllppp....

I'm trying to buy a Lee DSLR Starter kit but nobody has them ni stock and after speaking to Lee who state their delivery time is approx 20 weeks am giving up hope.

Lee can't be the only people who make an ND system that's any good so who else would you guys recommend?

I've read bad things about Cokin so ruled that one out, who else makes a reputable system for ND filters?

I'm looking for somethign to fit a canon fit Sigma 10-20mm so 77mm or kit that would fit to it.
 
Have a look at Hitec ND filters www.formatt.co.uk
They do 85mm and 100mm filters in various strengths for both ND and ND grads (hard & soft).

On a 10-20mm lens you will need the wide angle adaptor to prevent vignetting. I think this means you will have to use a 100mm filter.

Slot in filters are more versatile than screw ins as they can be used with other lenses that have varying lens diameters (save extra expense)

Other folk will come along shortly and offer more help and advice
 
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Thanks Stuart, have given them a call and it looks like only a week for delivery and cheaper than Lee which is always good if the quality is there, my only concern is they don't make a pouch to store the filters in they are kept individually wrapped.

Are there any other alternatives or has anyone got any user reports for the formatt hitech nd filters.
 
I use the hitec nd filters and don't have a bad thing to say about them.
The filters come in individual clear pockets with a cardboard insert. Fiddle but not really an issue
 
I use hitech filters myself the 150mm versions, pretty good stuff and I am happy with them, interms of pouches what I have done is bought the Lee soft cotton wrap for the grads, and then looked on ebay for a portable floppy disk drive pouch, which does the job :)


Andy
 
I bought a set of Hitech 85mm nd filters from Teamwork Photo, got bad colour cast from them so I sent them back asking for replacements, they refunded my money instead.

I'm now using a Kood nd with better results
 
Sorry to de-rail a bit...but has anyone got one of the Lighting Gel swatch books from Formatt?

I'd like to give them a try now that Lee have stopped doing their swatches!!

Might be good enough to fit in front of a speedlite for gel-lit flashes...
 
Another (y) for HiTech / Formatt; they're really good, with the exception of the 10 stop ND which does give a colour cast (mind, I am not too sure if the colour cast was due to the filter or me not closing the viewfinder / light leak).

For 10 stops I opted for the B+W screw-on type.
 
Another vote for the Hitech filters. I use the 100mm versions and store them in a lined CD wallet. Perfect. ;)
 
Another Hitech user, again bought mine from Teamwork via their ebay shop.

I use these in conjunction with the Lee foundation kit, and store them in a multi-slot Lee pouch I also picked up on ebay.
 
I should have said I use the Lee holder and Lee Wide Angle Adaptor in conjunction with mine...
 
jamesb84 said:
Sorry to de-rail a bit...but has anyone got one of the Lighting Gel swatch books from Formatt?

I'd like to give them a try now that Lee have stopped doing their swatches!!

Might be good enough to fit in front of a speedlite for gel-lit flashes...
Click to expand...

Having myself been looking for these I found these which I expect to more than cover my needs at a relatively good price (probably slightly cheaper elsewhere).

Apologies for derailing further, but having searched for the info on the Lee NDs and found this thread I thought it was only fair to leave something in return :)
 
Similar to the OP I decided a few months ago to give the Lee Filter system a go and have gradually managed to accumulate the holder, adaptor and some filters by setting up a 'Lee filters' search on ebay and responding quickly in terms of buying any equipment going at not too much of a 'low supply' premium. Am now nicely set up and the filters really are top quality. Nice and sturdy build and zero colour cast imo.
 
No colour cast with my hi-tech grads. Great stuff really and I carried mine around Prague with my 40D and 18-50 in the slip cases they came in and they survived very nicely and stopped me blowing out my skies. Look in my flickr for some examples.
 
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