ND Filters

happygolucky

happygolucky

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Andrew
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I'd like to buy some but not quite sure how they work and what to buy.

I'm not looking a Big lee ten stopper just an ND4 and 8, as I don't have the funds needed at present.

Ok, so I'd like some advice on what I need in regards to what filters and filter holders would I need?

Are Cokin any good also?

Thank you in advance :thumbs:
 
Hi Andrew,

I've very recently bought a Lee adaptor ring, and filter holder.

Once you buy the actual ring & holder you can then look at either using Lee or the likes of Hitech (or other makes) filters in the holder.
 
ND filters work by reducing the amount of light that is allowed to reach the sensor when the aperture is open, therefore allowing for longer exposure times. (i.e. you would need these if you wanted to create blur in an image, such as flowing water, to remove people, or corn blowing in a field)

ND Graduated filters have an ND filter at the top half and then graduate to a clear filter. These tend to be used when the sky is much brighter than the ground and so you can meter for the ground without 'blowing' the sky. Or meter for the sky without silhouetting the ground.

Which strength of filters you will need will depend on what you are shooting.

I have recently bought a Kood ND filter kit from Premier Ink (linky) as i thought this would be a starting point and i would then be able to buy new filters relatively cheaply. Plus, you can stack the filters and adjust the location of any graduation up and down the frame. The Kood ones i've bought is essentially the same as the Cokin ones and take the same filters.

I hope that all makes sense and has helped you a little bit.
 
Buy the lee filters, they are more expensive but also produce far better results than the alternatives...i found this out the expensive way having owned both cokin and hitech before

A 2 & 3 stop hard grad will get you nicely on the way
 
There are a couple of questions to consider when deciding on what (square) filters to buy.

Firstly, what is the widest lens you are going to use with them?
Filters come in a number of sizes, the commonest being the Cokin P (84mm) and Lee (100mm).
Other manufacturers (such as HiTech) make filters to one or both of these sizes.
If you are going to use the filters with wide angle lenses you will need the larger 100mm filters to reduce the risk of vignetting.

Secondly, are you intending to use multiple filters at the same time - stacking ND filters for a greater ND effect, or combining with ND Grads?

Sometimes stacking filters will introduce a colour cast, as the filters are not perfectly 'neutral'.
Lee are generally regarded as the best option if you need to stack and want to avoid colour casts (but some people report happily stacking other manufacturers filters without problems)
 
Should have read this before getting giddy on ebay.

I just bought a set of Cokin on ebay, variable sizes and differing strength and types. I suspect a colour cast wont matter to me, I currently feel that I am awful at landscapes and want to improve and try out new techniques.
 
dannyrich said:
Should have read this before getting giddy on ebay.

I just bought a set of Cokin on ebay, variable sizes and differing strength and types. I suspect a colour cast wont matter to me, I currently feel that I am awful at landscapes and want to improve and try out new techniques.
Click to expand...

Cokin are great, durable, cheap.
Did you get the "p" system? You can get other manufacturers filters to fit this size.
Colour casts are not a major issue so long as the cast ain't too major lol
Setting a custom white balance with the filters in place is a recommend place to start.
 
Simon photo said:
Cokin are great, durable, cheap.
Did you get the "p" system? You can get other manufacturers filters to fit this size.
Colour casts are not a major issue so long as the cast ain't too major lol
Setting a custom white balance with the filters in place is a recommend place to start.
Click to expand...

Yup, I actually went back and re-read. They care cokin P system compatible. But i got 9 different rings, filter holder and a selection of grads and ND. Will get me started. Was only £30 so im not expecting much.
 
dannyrich said:
Yup, I actually went back and re-read. They care cokin P system compatible. But i got 9 different rings, filter holder and a selection of grads and ND. Will get me started. Was only £30 so im not expecting much.
Click to expand...

That would have been enough to buy a single Lee Wide Angle adaptor (second hand) :lol:

For that price you have plenty to try and experiment with, so if you do later decide to get a more expensive set you'll have a good idea of what you will actually use. :thumbs:
 
Faldrax said:
That would have been enough to buy a single Lee Wide Angle adaptor (second hand) :lol:

For that price you have plenty to try and experiment with, so if you do later decide to get a more expensive set you'll have a good idea of what you will actually use. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

That was kind of my thinking. I need to inspire myself and natural progression does that for me. Once I breach the boundaries of a million rings/adaptors and some bits of ND plastic I will upgrade.

If I quit landscapes first its only £30!
 
happygolucky said:
I'd like to buy some but not quite sure how they work and what to buy.

I'm not looking a Big lee ten stopper just an ND4 and 8, as I don't have the funds needed at present.

Ok, so I'd like some advice on what I need in regards to what filters and filter holders would I need?

Are Cokin any good also?

Thank you in advance :thumbs:
Click to expand...

What do you want to do? If it is very long exposures with something like a Lee Big Stopper (ten stops) then ND4 or ND8 will be no use as they're two stops and three stops respectively.

If it's an ND Grad you want, for darkening skies in landscapes, then that's a different question.
 
WOW!
Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. Guess I need A 10 lee stopper as what photo's I'v seen with the effect I'm after are using one. So time to splash out me thinks..

Thanks everyone.

Edit: Yes it's long seascape shot's I'm after.
 
Last edited:
happygolucky said:
WOW!
Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. Guess I need A 10 lee stopper as what photo's I'v seen with the effect I'm after are using one. So time to splash out me thinks..

Thanks everyone.

Edit: Yes it's long seascape shot's I'm after.
Click to expand...

If you don't want to invest in a full filter system like Lee (main advantage being with grads) then just get a screw-in extreme ND. Hoya, LightCraftWorkshop, Haida, B+W, Heliopan. All good.
 
HoppyUK said:
If you don't want to invest in a full filter system like Lee (main advantage being with grads) then just get a screw-in extreme ND. Hoya, LightCraftWorkshop, Haida, B+W, Heliopan. All good.
Click to expand...

I will look into it. Thank you.
 
happygolucky said:
I will look into it. Thank you.
Click to expand...

There's a review of all those ten-stop filters in the next issue of Advanced Photographer magazine. Out in a couple of weeks.
 
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