Big stopper

woody12

woody12

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paul
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Hi, loving using my camera and taking landscapes with my Nikon 3100 but what I really need is a big stopper. At the moment having fun with welding glass as a cheap alternative but would like the real thing. I've been told there is a waiting list for these especially the lee version. Is this true or can I buy a cheaper version? Quite happy to pay and save for the right thing. Has anybody had an advice or experience of these? Thanks in advance for any help.
 
woody12 said:
Hi, loving using my camera and taking landscapes with my Nikon 3100 but what I really need is a big stopper. At the moment having fun with welding glass as a cheap alternative but would like the real thing. I've been told there is a waiting list for these especially the lee version. Is this true or can I buy a cheaper version? Quite happy to pay and save for the right thing. Has anybody had an advice or experience of these? Thanks in advance for any help.
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Supply of the Lee Big Stopper has got a lot better recently. Down to weeks rather than months, Lee told me some retailers might even have stock, though that may be wishful thinking ;)

The only alternative to the Lee is the HiTech Pro Stop, but it's not a patch on the Lee and has fundamental infrared pollution issues. (And I mean the new version, not the old one that was even worse.)

But if you go for a screw-in rather than a square system filter, there are several options, all good. B+W MC (best), Hoya, LightCraftWorkshop, Heliopan, Haida (only £40, works well). BTW, the variable ND filters are useless, IMHO.
 
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The hitech pro stop is not far off the lee and quite a bit cheaper (around £70).
I believe there is a waiting list for those too.

Don't forget you'll need a holder and adapter ring too.

Cross posted. I wasn't aware of any issues with the new pro stop. Got any links to examples of that? I know the old one wasnt great but thought they had sorted it out.
 
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For the Lee Big Stopper you're looking at a 6 month wait. The next best option (some say a better option) is the B+W ND110 screw on filter. I use the B+W as I find it stronger and gives a warmer colour cast than the Lee.

I don't know what size you need but if it helps there is a B+W ND110 (67mm filter thread) in the Misc classifieds.

Regards
 
TCR4x4 said:
The hitech pro stop is not far off the lee and quite a bit cheaper (around £70).
I believe there is a waiting list for those too.

Don't forget you'll need a holder and adapter ring too.

Cross posted. I wasn't aware of any issues with the new pro stop. Got any links to examples of that? I know the old one wasnt great but thought they had sorted it out.
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Yes, I've got lots of examples. And with all the other filters I mentioned. Long story that I won't go into, but put it like this: if the world's leading manufacturer of resin filters, ie Lee, can't make a decent extreme ND out of resin (and they have tried very hard) then nobody can.
 
I have used B+W,Hitech & Lee Big Stopper

The Lee Big Stopper is the Best in my opinion but it can be difficult to get hold of, certainly you may need to wait a bit but i found www.teamworkphoto.com the best with least waiting time to get one.

2nd Best option is the Hitech Pro Stop 10 this gives very similar results to the lee although its a resin filter and not glass, and like the lee gives a cool blue cast which can be corrected with photoshop ACR.

The B+W 110 on the other hand gives a reddish cast and with it being a screw in i found it a bit more fiddley to use with other filters and making sure focus was correct before screwing in the filter.
 
Hotshots said:
The B+W 110 on the other hand gives a reddish cast
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It can give a cast, it depends. All my long exposures are with the B+W. The red cast is less extreme than the blue cast given by the Lee. Any cast is easily fixed and sometimes it's not even there. This had no red cast at all that I felt needed fixing, pretty much SOOC...

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All extreme NDs have a cast of some sort, so they all need a bit of correction with either custom white balance or in post. But so long as it's reasonable, they're fine to work with.

The only problem you can't correct is infrared interference, in IR-rich situations like bright sun. Blacks go dark brown, there's a reddish haze over the image, and you can't get green grass without the rest of the colours going AWOL.
 
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