ND and Grad ND filters

Yardbent

Yardbent

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Name
John
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Yes
^Joe [Joe] asked me for some links to the Cokin filter system i use

cannot do better really than point you to these articles......:thumbs:

talkPhotography's own NickT did a superb 'A noddy guide to filters for landscape photography.......''here''

Ken Rockwell has 'Graduated Neutral-Density Filters (Grads)'
© 2009 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved
.''link''

the DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS website...''link''
has articles on GRADUATED NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTERS

and the Cokin filter system is explained ''here''

there are alternatives to Cokin ... no doubt better, but definitely more ££

HTH.....john
 
yes
yes

however......:D

the Kood is an ND 4 which is a 2-stop filter....i prefer 3-stops for sky-highlights, called an ND8
HiTech 3 stop is labelled 0.9 i think [same as Colin uses]

also your Kood is a ''hard'' grad = ok for seascapes - ''soft'' maybe preferable for landscapes
but at £10 nothing to lose

you could get a ND4 [not a grad] too, for overall slowing down water shots, giving you more variations by using the 2 together

BUT the filter holder is a 3-slot version - if you use it at 18mm the holder may cause vignetting

here's a 1-slot WA holder off eBay.....''link''


many put down Kood and Cokin...fair enough - but just look at the £££s to move up

i plan to experiment cheaply and upgrade if
[1]...i use them enough to justify the replacement costs,
or [2] my Cokins are unacceptable for what i'm doing....so far OK...:cool:

HTH..john
 
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Gregory Hicks said:
Lee filters, just bite the bullet
Click to expand...

it's commonplace on TP to immediately suggest the best, [ for all the right reasons] but people forget a large proportion of our members are

1. starting out
2..students
3..pensioners
4..careful in todays economic climate

I would love a Nikon D300 or the new D7000...but it is out of my reach

so lets not discourage people to start with an economical system of [in this case] filters ... as experience grows they can determine if.....

is the extra benefit of 1st class equipment worth it for me..?

and can i afford it ..?

.........................................................................................

actually within the last hour i have looked at Lee v Hitech v Cokin

Hitech seem to be well recommended...........;)
 
I would opt for the Hitech filters, you can get them cheaper than on auction sites, at some other sites, i got mine from here.
http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-hitech-graduated-neutral-density-1-2-filter-85mm-hard-edge-.htm and they were the cheapest place i could find for the Hitech filters.
They were cheaper than from Formatt who make them :shrug:
I consider them a good starting point for getting in to using Grads and ND grads and at a cheap price, you can then see how you get on with them without breaking the bank for Lee filters.
 
paul - those look like potentially a very good starting point for someone like myself who is hoping to get started with nd grads. However, would that setup vignette on a 16mm full frame lens? (nikon 16-35 f4)

I want to get a holder that will not vignette if possible.

I'm thinking i could sell my 77mm b+w110 10 stop for about £80 and get a hitech set for not much more, even including a 10 stop! But i don't want any vignette problems if at all possible...
 
rampanthamster said:
.....................grads. However, would that setup vignette on a 16mm full frame lens? (nikon 16-35 f4)

I want to get a holder that will not vignette if possible.

....
Click to expand...

hi

i use a Cokin ''P'' series 1 slot wide angle holder at 18mm with Cokin 85mm filters ............ and it's only ''just'' ok

maybe an ''A'' series holder designed for 100mm filters would work...:shrug:

HTH............john

edit....you could ask if anyone has used on the Nikon 16-85
 
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Hitachi filters are alright, i use the 10 stop filter, check out the cokin z range aswell there pretty handy.
 
s162216 said:
Cokin ND and ND grad filters are well known for having a slight magenta colour cast so I would avoid them. ...................]
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it is true that they had a reported 'cast' but i recently read they have changed the filter material and the problem no longer exists

sorry if i cannot point to the ''exact'' discussions - it was found during my web-surfing for Cokin v Hitech v Kood the other night

all i can say is i have a new Cokin P153 ND8 and a new P121 Grad Grey ND8

and neither show a 'colour cast'

admittedly I have never stacked them, but perhaps the Cokin cast is outdated

[i will try to locate the article]

the cost of Hitech does appear to have dropped [Bristol Cameras] and i prob would have bought them initially, but the Cokin are just fine ATM.....:D


can anyone recall a website run by a woman [i think] who specifically did tests on ND Grads recently
sure it saw the link here on TP..?
 
rampanthamster said:
However, would that setup vignette on a 16mm full frame lens? (nikon 16-35 f4)

I want to get a holder that will not vignette if possible..
Click to expand...

I think Yardbent has pointed out some good points here and I wants to just try and add to these.

The only way to get no vignette is to hold the filters up to the end of the lens and not use a holder. This brings around a point that you don't always need an expensive holder to begin with, just like you don't need expensive filters. Buy some thing you can afford, try them out and buy an expensive version of the one you use most.

Cheers

Simon
 
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