Filters

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Naphta

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128
Name
Jake
Edit My Images
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I currently have:

Jacobs ND4 77mm x2
Jacobs UV 77mm x2
Hoya Pro-1 CPL 52mm

I was thinking I might buy into one of the slide/square based filters like Lee or Colkin as I keep reading everywhere that they are the best. I'm just wondering for an amateur photographer is it really worth it performance wise. I like to shoot moving water and the 9-10 stop filters really interest me and I can imagine color casting would be incredibly annoying even if its easy enough to fix in PP.

But is the difference between these and screw in Hoya filters really worth it? I guess one bonus would be that I don't need to buy different sized step down rings and that I can buy a lens hood for the filters rather than moan about a bit of glare I can't do anything about.

Basically I want to know if these filters truly are worth the premium and why.
 
It's not the quality that you're buying into when you get square filters, but versatility. It's mainly for landscapes, where you need repositionable ND grads to subdue bright skies. You can also stack square filters without vignetting. If you're shooting seascapes and lakes etc, then ND grads are incredibly useful - you can get screw in ones, but the transition is at a fixed level.

Hoya quality is fine - in fact, you'll probably be disappointed in Cokin quality if that's what you're looking for. Lee are probably the best square filters you can buy, but have high prices, and high lead times on the Big Stopper. Hitech are a decent compromise.

I still think square filters have their place, and would recommend investing in a system if you think that's the way you're wanting to go. Know the reasons you're buying them for though.

Naphta said:
I currently have:

Jacobs ND4 77mm x2
Jacobs UV 77mm x2
Hoya Pro-1 CPL 52mm

I was thinking I might buy into one of the slide/square based filters like Lee or Colkin as I keep reading everywhere that they are the best. I'm just wondering for an amateur photographer is it really worth it performance wise. I like to shoot moving water and the 9-10 stop filters really interest me and I can imagine color casting would be incredibly annoying even if its easy enough to fix in PP.

But is the difference between these and screw in Hoya filters really worth it? I guess one bonus would be that I don't need to buy different sized step down rings and that I can buy a lens hood for the filters rather than moan about a bit of glare I can't do anything about.

Basically I want to know if these filters truly are worth the premium and why.
Click to expand...
 
I most definitely enjoy taking landscapes and have been considering an ND grad, at the present I'm just using bracketing and the grad tool in lightroom.

Screw in filters look fantastic for just one, but even now I find using multiple ones quite tedious. Lee filters do tempt me, but the mounting costs so much - was just curious as to if they were really worth it.

Also, do the square filters come with a good way to store them? As the plastic cases for my current ones are a godsend.
 
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