Beginner Lee filters

Applemuncher

Applemuncher

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Justine
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They're really expensive - is the general consensus that they're worth it or are there other filters that can give them a run for their money?
 
Lee are the best! Hitech are good! Cokin[emoji90]
 
I dare say you'll find the new hitech firecrest range gets better reviews than any of the lee filters.
 
Another vote for Lee here. The standard hitech leave a slight colour cast and the lesser brands can leave some nasty colour casts.

Note seen the Hitech Firecrest filter first hand but have heard great things as mentioned before. think they come at even more of a premium than the Lee filters though and you can often get the Lee filters s/hand on here or ebay to save a bit.
 
Remember that you don't have to buy a full "set", although the manufacturers would love you to!
Start with a 2-stop hard and go from there. With experience you'll know which you need next.

It's also not necessary to use holders. I never have! You can hold the filter against the rim of the lens in most situations.
 
i think by the very fact that you get filters your photography will improve purely because you spend more time "setting up" to get the shot and then you spend less time in photoshop making the pictures look better if that makes sense
 
Reggy said:
i think by the very fact that you get filters your photography will improve purely because you spend more time "setting up" to get the shot and then you spend less time in photoshop making the pictures look better if that makes sense
Click to expand...

Well I don't have photoshop so that isn't a temptation for me. :)
 
Depending on the type of photography you do, have a look at the Lee Medium Grad filters. I got a 0.6 and 0.9 medium grad recently and use these far more than my hard grads. Great for landscapes where the horizon isn't perfectly flat.

Also if you are shooting a crop body don't bother buying soft grad filters. I also wouldn't bother with 0.3 (1 stop) filters as this you can normally pull 1 stop back in lightroom. Again, I wouldn't bother with 1.2 (4 stop) fitlers. Use a 0.9 (3 stop) and if necessary pull back the extra stop in lightroom or you can stack the 0.6 and 0.9 if you need more than 4 stops.
 
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Another one for Lee here, I started with Cokin but quickly realised they aren't that great so picked up some Lee filters on here in the classifieds for a decent price, if you can't afford them all brand new then build up your kit by buying second hand, most of the gear sold in here is sold in a very good condition! Pretty much all of my kit is second hand [emoji106]
 
Hitech Formatt and B+W are just as good as Lee and you won't be paying so much of a premium just for the name. If you went for the screw in type, you also wouldn't need to pay through the nose for a 'system' either. You just buy one of each required filter at the biggest diameter you'd need and use it as well on all other smaller diameter lenses with the aid of cheap step up rings. Screw in filters are a better option for long exposure work due to far less chance of light leakage and the only downside is the non availability of ND grads.
 
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