ND Filters for Micro 4/3 Cameras

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Russ G

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Russell
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Hi all,

I am the proud owner of a Olympus EM10 Micro 4/3. Whilst I am still very much a beginner, I would like to have a go with both polarising and ND filters. If money was no object (if only!) I would invest in a set of Lee seven 5's. Unfortunately I will have to settle for something cheaper. Could any of you 4/3 users recommend anything? Ideally I would like square filters, in order to use ND grads once I have got to grips with full ND's

Many thanks in advance with any suggestions

Russell
 
Hi Russell

Congrats on the purchase. If you want to go "budget" on the square filters then Cokin are a good place to start - it's what I started with along with many others on here I would imagine. It's a comprehensive system stocked by most camera dealers and will give you a reasonably cheap way to see if you like the reality of using filters. What you will find is that they produce a slight magenta colour cast particularly when using the darker ND's/longer shutter speeds. I'd defo look on ebay for second hand kit to save a few extra quid.

Hitech also offer a similarly priced range which some argue have less of a colour cast.

Although the Seven5 gear is specifically designed for smaller cameras I wouldn't necessarily be put off by using standard 100mm filters. As long as you can get the right adapter for your lens(es) they'll work just fine on your EM10. I've actually used my Lee SW150 kit on my M43 stuff, especially when using the Panny 7-14mm. Looks a bit odd but does the job.

I'd post this question on the dedicated Olympus EM section of this forum. There are some very clued up fellow M43 users on there that may have some alternative suggestions.

Good luck

Cheers

Mark
 
I have an Oly EM10 and some hitech firecrest nd and grad nds in the 67mm size system and some older hitech resin 85mm system.
The firecrest are more expensive but have no colour cast and being glass don't scratch as easily or attract dust as easily (static from the resin)
I find the 67mm size holder vignettes a little at over 14mm on the 12-50 and 12-40 lenses (even without a uv filter fitted) if using more than one filter slot.
The 85mm size doesn't vignette at 12mm on either lens with a cokin holder but the resin filters I have give distinct colour casts.
I don't have wider lens than 12mm with a filter thread to try, sorry!
The hitech firecrest 85 and 100mm are a lot dearer than the 67mm.
If I was going to buy again I'd probably get firecrest 85mm; a 10 stop nd and a 3 stop grad nd first and save for a 6 stop nd.
Haven't tried Lee filters as the glass nd grads are quite expensive although the big and little stopper nd are less so.

Good luck with your search.
 
Hi

For M4/3 i found the Cokin A series to be a much better fit to the system than to larger size filter offered by all the others, to me the Pro size filter system just look wrong and unbalanced on the small m4/3 systems.

Shop around though for the filters as there is a huge price variation from dealer to dealer. I have seen Cokin A ND Grads go from £14.99 all the way upto £44.99 for the same filter.

Colour casts may or may not be an issue as everyone see's them differently but any slight shift is easily fixed PP.
 
When I moved from Nikon to M4/3 I ditched the Cokin P size and got screw-on polariser and ND filters for 46mm which fits a lot of the standard lenses or primes. For most shots requiring ND I bracket the exposure now instead, even for Graduated ND candidates. I blend the results in post-processing if needed. The latest iteration of Photoshop and Lightroom allows you brush away parts of the software Graduated ND filter - eg when you have a tree on the horizon.
I was responding to a desire to travel lighter, but if you feel the right filter is more important than bulk, then Cokin rectangular filters should be fine even on M4/3.
 
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