Grad Filters

Dexter247

Dexter247

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Chris
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Im going to the Lake District in the summer and have been advised that taking grad filters with me would be a good idea, Am I right in thinking that soft grads would be better than hard grads for landscape photography.
Also as much as I would like a set of Lee Filter Grads but they are currently out of my price range can anyone advise on a good quality set that would be suitable for my lens with a filter thread size 0f 77mm ( Sigma 10-20mm) my budget is around £80-100
 
If I were starting out on the grad filter road I would do now what I did then....start with a 2 stop hard filter and see how I get on with it. I don't have a holder and hold the filter against the rim of the lens when using it.

I also use a 1 stop hard and find I use it probably more than the 2 stop. But I suspect others may differ.

I've toyed with the idea of getting a soft grad as well but if so would go for at least a 2 stop as the gradation is much more subtle and hardly noticeable close to the horizon.
 
Do you shoot FX or DX? A soft grad on a DX camera may just be too soft. Conversely, a 2-3 stop hard grad on FX can be a bit too obvious if photographing mountains etc. unless you're very careful. So it really depends what you'll be shooting...
 
Same here as Dave. I can't fault them or the holders.
 
Same as others, if you don't want to spent too much the SRB's are great value.

Maybe a soft and hard grad, 2-3 stops, would be a good starting point. Not sure if SRB do them, but reverse grads are great for sunsets as well.

EDIT - assume you already have a polariser?
 
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If you are buying one just buy a 0.6 soft. I photograph in the Lake District on a daily basis and the 0.6 soft has been the most useful, although to be fair I rarely use them at all these days.
 
Or learn to blend in post. The basic trick is to process 2-3 exposures identically, make exposures same then layer them and pick the very best bits of each. You can also play with focus and what not. For just a few really good images of the day it is preferable.
 
As ever, we are all different with different tastes but I would go for a 0.6 hard if I could only have one grad.

Why not look at buying your 77mm filter adaptor and grad holder from http://www.thefilterdude.com/ which make Lee clones in the US. Currently $40 (£27) for a 77mm ring and holder. You might be able to stretch to a proper Lee grad then (even if 2nd hand from here).

Or a 100mm Hitech grad is £45 from Wex
 
Stu, I've bought his (TFD's) WA adaptor for the Lee holder and it's perfect. I think it was £17 inc postage so £27 for the whole thing is great value.

I've been buying Kood filters recently and I have to say they're excellent VFM. They work out at less than £20 per filter. I posted a review of a couple of them (a 2 stop soft grad and a 2 stop ND grey).
 
pjm1 said:
Stu, I've bought his (TFD's) WA adaptor for the Lee holder and it's perfect. I think it was £17 inc postage so £27 for the whole thing is great value.

I've been buying Kood filters recently and I have to say they're excellent VFM. They work out at less than £20 per filter. I posted a review of a couple of them (a 2 stop soft grad and a 2 stop ND grey).
Click to expand...

Certainly not excellent due to blueish-green cast (10% + 10%) but more than usable and easy to correct in post, unless the horizon sharply deviates from a straight line... which is usually the case.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Certainly not excellent due to blueish-green cast (10% + 10%) but more than usable and easy to correct in post, unless the horizon sharply deviates from a straight line... which is usually the case.
Click to expand...

Would you mind talking me through your process of correcting in post please? I'm getting a blue cast from my cokin P series filters, and although I'm getting around it, I don't seem to have any consistency to what method is going to work the best. I'm using lightroom CC but have access to photoshop CC too.
Thanks in advance.
 
Pads1980 said:
Would you mind talking me through your process of correcting in post please? I'm getting a blue cast from my cokin P series filters, and although I'm getting around it, I don't seem to have any consistency to what method is going to work the best. I'm using lightroom CC but have access to photoshop CC too.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

You work out exactly how the filter affects the colour presumably in the darkened area. Just shoot something pure white with it. And play about in the software until you can neutralise the cast. This is the recipe for that filter correction.

The correction process is as simple as dropping a "grad" with lightroom that has white balance adjustments to neutralise the cast.

Or perhaps you want the cast to exaggerate the sky, etc. It is all about creative choices.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
You work out exactly how the filter affects the colour presumably in the darkened area. Just shoot something pure white with it. And play about in the software until you can neutralise the cast. This is the recipe for that filter correction.

The correction process is as simple as dropping a "grad" with lightroom that has white balance adjustments to neutralise the cast.

Or perhaps you want the cast to exaggerate the sky, etc. It is all about creative choices.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time, sounds fairly straight forward, but I'm quite new to using filters, so its a big help.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Certainly not excellent due to blueish-green cast (10% + 10%) but more than usable and easy to correct in post, unless the horizon sharply deviates from a straight line... which is usually the case.
Click to expand...
Which is why I said excellent VFM not an unqualified "excellent" - you missed those last three letters in your emboldening ;). They're not without flaws but for £17 each I'm struggling to justify pricier alternatives for me right now.
 
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