ND Grad Soft and Hard

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As you all know I am looking into investing into Lee Filters. Should I got for ND Grad Soft Or Hard? Is there anywhere I can look to see the difference? Joe Cornish says go for hard if you only want one set.

Any advise

Cheers
 
I think the main reasoning for a hard grad is because of the increased pixel density on a crop sensor meaning a soft grad would be very (maybe too) soft

The problem is both hard and soft have their uses, so you need to decide which you would use more?

If you mainly shoot nice even horizons with no breaks makes sense to go hard, if you often photograph things protruding then maybe a soft would be a better option
 
I just brought a set of lee graduated ND filters, I went for soft on the advise I got as they can be used more creatively and can be used where hard can be used but hard can not be used as easily where soft needs to be used
 
Can you get the soft and then turn it upside down to get a hard? Been wondering if this would work
 
Ted said:
Can you get the soft and then turn it upside down to get a hard? Been wondering if this would work
Click to expand...

Soft would be soft whatever way that you turned it :shrug:

I have just invested in both a soft & hard set. Happy with both at the minute (but skint).

Chris :)
 
Ted said:
Can you get the soft and then turn it upside down to get a hard? Been wondering if this would work
Click to expand...
I do not think this would work as the hard grad is still graduated but over a smaller area. I would think turning the filter like you suggest would be very difficult to control and get an image that it would not be obvious what had been done, plus the grad would still be there but potentially in the wrong place
 
Hard or soft refers to how quickly the darkening of the filter occurs, so turining it upside down wouldnt change how graudated the filter is, just the direection it is graduated!
Hope that makes sense!
 
matt_wright said:
Hard or soft refers to how quickly the darkening of the filter occurs, so turining it upside down wouldnt change how graudated the filter is, just the direection it is graduated!
Hope that makes sense!
Click to expand...

Correct :thumbs:

Chris :)
 
Ted said:
Can you get the soft and then turn it upside down to get a hard? Been wondering if this would work
Click to expand...

I think Ted meant in terms of getting a hard edge against the horizon and the graduation hopefully being out of frame.

You would be left with a rather obvious line where the filter ends though
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
I think Ted meant in terms of getting a hard edge against the horizon and the graduation hopefully being out of frame.

You would be left with a rather obvious line where the filter ends though
Click to expand...

Yep, this is what I meant but probably still a rubbish idea :)
 
Cheers guys for your comments on this. Reason I was asking is I am trying to decide whether to go for the DSLR Start Kit or get foundation kit and buy filter I wants. But the DSLR Starter kit is a good price for what you get in it.

What you all think?
 
Ok guys,

I like to keep all this in this thread there is another question. Cokin use number as ND2 ND 4 what are they as on Lee? .3 or .6 or .9

Cheers
 
cokin and others
ND2> 1 stop
ND4> 2 stop
ND8>3 stop



whilst lee / hitech and others use
0.3> 1 stop
0.6> 2 stop
0.9> 3 stop
 
Thanks. What the most popular to get?
 
Most people get a 1, 2 and 3 stop set. You can get 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 stop filters but I don't know how common they are.

Some people even mix and match so get a 0.6 and 0.9 hard and a 0.6 soft as the 0.3 is the least used
 
Ok guys I guess it be goo for starter to get a 0.6 Soft Grad for starter?
 
Has anyone got an pictures they have taken with a ND Grad Hard using "Land" Landscape with hills.

Cheers
 
Some people like to have two or three grads, and not just to vary the weight of the effect. Sometimes it is just to get the same effect with different lenses at different f/numbers (I'll explain :) ). I tend to go for a two stops reduction for a dull sky, and I try to modify the effect I want with the lens I'm using by varying the f/number. Some times you run out of f/numbers for whatever reason, so it's handy to have lighter/darker and harder/softer filters to hand.

Let me explain it like this; when you take pictures through the wire fence at a zoo with a long lens, if you move close to the fence and use a wide aperture low f/number, the wire fence is so out of focus that it actually disappears. You get the same effect, caused by depth of field, with a grad.

In other words, fit a grad on to a wide angle lens at f/16 and the cut off line will be hard, and the darkening effect maximised. Use the same filter on a long zoom at f/4, and the filter will be virtually invisible - it almost vanishes, like the wire fence.

A good way to see this in practise is to fit the grad and point the camera at a plain white surface. See how the effect changes as you zoom. Click the aperture stop down button and you'll see it change again, getting darker and sharper and you close down the aperture. Shoot a few pictures and watch the effect change as you scroll through the images on the LCD.

Having said all that, the grad I use by far the most is a 2 stops ND soft cut. For the things I shoot, ie landscapes, I can usually get what I want with that, one way or another.
 
HoppyUK said:
Some people like to have two or three grads, and not just to vary the weight of the effect. Sometimes it is just to get the same effect with different lenses at different f/numbers (I'll explain :) ). I tend to go for a two stops reduction for a dull sky, and I try to modify the effect I want with the lens I'm using by varying the f/number. Some times you run out of f/numbers for whatever reason, so it's handy to have lighter/darker and harder/softer filters to hand.

Let me explain it like this; when you take pictures through the wire fence at a zoo with a long lens, if you move close to the fence and use a wide aperture low f/number, the wire fence is so out of focus that it actually disappears. You get the same effect, caused by depth of field, with a grad.

In other words, fit a grad on to a wide angle lens at f/16 and the cut off line will be hard, and the darkening effect maximised. Use the same filter on a long zoom at f/4, and the filter will be virtually invisible - it almost vanishes, like the wire fence.

A good way to see this in practise is to fit the grad and point the camera at a plain white surface. See how the effect changes as you zoom. Click the aperture stop down button and you'll see it change again, getting darker and sharper and you close down the aperture. Shoot a few pictures and watch the effect change as you scroll through the images on the LCD.

Having said all that, the grad I use by far the most is a 2 stops ND soft cut. For the things I shoot, ie landscapes, I can usually get what I want with that, one way or another.
Click to expand...

A very interesting point, Hoppy, which I hadn't really considered.

To summarise what you're saying , the depth of field you get with the combination of focal length and aperture you're using will affect the hardness of the gradation of any ND grad filter...

deep depth of field -> hard gradation
shallow depth of field -> soft gradation

Thanks for pointing that out!

Edit : are you also saying that you get a different darkening effect with different depths of field? I can't imagine why that would be.
 
jerry12953 said:
A very interesting point, Hoppy, which I hadn't really considered.

To summarise what you're saying , the depth of field you get with the combination of focal length and aperture you're using will affect the hardness of the gradation of any ND grad filter...

deep depth of field -> hard gradation
shallow depth of field -> soft gradation

Thanks for pointing that out!

Edit : are you also saying that you get a different darkening effect with different depths of field? I can't imagine why that would be.
Click to expand...

As you say:

"deep depth of field -> hard gradation" and
"shallow depth of field -> soft gradation"

To which you could add:

wide lens -> hard gradation
long lens -> soft gradation

Between the two variables, you can get a lot of different effects out of the same grad.

Although this is a depth of field effect, the filter doesn't change that at all. It's depth of field affecting the filter. Use your normal calculations and they will remain unaltered.

What is happening is that as you close the lens aperture down, or zoom back, depth of field increases and pulls the line of the grad more sharply into focus.
 
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