ND Grad Filters

DaveMartin

DaveMartin

Messages
179
Name
Dave
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all,

I have set myself the challange of concentrating mainly on landscape photography for the coming year. Now I have played around abit in the past with landscapes but not to the extent that I am going to this year so I need to get some ND Grad filters etc, could anyone recommend a good set of filters for an enthusiast, also whats the disadvantages/advantages between the screw in type and the type that need a holder. Also if there is anything you think I may not have thought of please say.

Any input much appreciated as always.

Dave
 
Hi Dave

I can't profess to be any kind of exoert but like you recently set on the quest to get some graduated and solid ND's. I wanted some that worked at a wide angle so after much reading on this forum and others I plumped for the P series Wide angle Holder and 100mm Cokin filters.

The holders and filter rings for Kood are alot cheaper and appear identical to the Cokin kit.

I bought some Cokin 100mm solid ND's and some Kood 100mm grads. I've used the solids but not tried the grads yet. Pictures here:
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=189597

I found Premier Ink to be the cheapest of anyone and it all came next day :)
http://www.premier-ink.co.uk/

Hope that helps.

Barney
 
Not really. If you've overexposed an area (Or worse blown it completely) you've got nothing to work with in terms of detail.
 
Cheers for the link there Barney12 thats a good site to know, I've ordered some filters plus a few other things and also saved them as they seem very reasonable.
 
rob13 said:
Can anyone tell me what advantage is gained using physical ND Grad filters over pp in lightroom if shooting in RAW? I appreciate they are there to balance sky/ground exposure but can it be done PP with the same effect?
Click to expand...

Real filters are theoretically better, but Lightroom can do magic with decent RAW files. There is one recent example:
4204226173_8dd641d560.jpg

It was exposed as long as possible just to avoid blowing highlights (based on histogram). Then the sky was darkened, and the background filled with light. There is also a possibility to add tinted filters, and adjust their strength, and position.
A soft and hard grad set is nice to have, and allow taking better exposures, but even then final touches in Lightroom are still probably needed.
The problem with the real filters is the cost, the need to use the tripod, and limited strength and SHAPE of filters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top