Starting out with Filters

Messages
48
Edit My Images
No
Hi,

Looking for some advice please. I am contemplating buying a set of filters for my camera and Lee seem to be a good way to go but not entirely sure what I need to buy. I did look at the Lee website and punched in my lenses and it mentioned having to buy a 77mm wide angle adaptor (for my 17-40mm L f4) as well as a standard adaptor for my (70-200 f2.8 L IS). I would guess that I would be using my 17-40mm pre-dominantly so would look to get this first. I am slightly confused as to what else I need to start off. Would someone be kind enough to just list out the components that I would need as well as the actual glass? I will probably plump for a 0.6 Soft Grad. Thanks for any advice.
 
You will need a 77mm adapter(wide angle would be better), a filer holder and the grad. Lots of makes out there. Formatt and Nisi do kits with adaptors and CPLs for reasonable amounts. I ended up going Lee and it is a good system.
 
Thanks for the speedy response. All clear now and will look at the other options provided. I was hoping to buy second hand but not a lot out there. Thanks again
 
I have a Nisi system that I will be selling soon. I used it for a couple of outings before moving to Lee. It is very nice and comes with Polariser but the holder spins a bit too freely for my liking compared to the Lee. Totally secure and no danger of it falling off. I bought it as it was around half the price of a Lee Polariser. I was going to use it when I wanted to Polarise but have bit the bullet and bought the Lee one. It comes with a 77mm adapter and a couple of others 82 and 67 I think. I would be looking for around £50 plus postage. If you are interested I'll stick it on the Classified. I might even have a Hitech 2 stop soft grad that someone gave me to through in if I can find it.
 
Hi,

Looking for some advice please. I am contemplating buying a set of filters for my camera and Lee seem to be a good way to go but not entirely sure what I need to buy. I did look at the Lee website and punched in my lenses and it mentioned having to buy a 77mm wide angle adaptor (for my 17-40mm L f4) as well as a standard adaptor for my (70-200 f2.8 L IS). I would guess that I would be using my 17-40mm pre-dominantly so would look to get this first. I am slightly confused as to what else I need to start off. Would someone be kind enough to just list out the components that I would need as well as the actual glass? I will probably plump for a 0.6 Soft Grad. Thanks for any advice.

One question that hasn't been asked is what are you intending to photograph? Mountainous landscapes are a safe bet on soft grads but if you're doing seascapes and landscapes with a relatively flat horizon are better with hard grads.

Cityscapes are another ball game. Sometimes it's better to blend and sometimes a soft grad.
 
Hi,

Looking for some advice please. I am contemplating buying a set of filters for my camera and Lee seem to be a good way to go but not entirely sure what I need to buy. I did look at the Lee website and punched in my lenses and it mentioned having to buy a 77mm wide angle adaptor (for my 17-40mm L f4) as well as a standard adaptor for my (70-200 f2.8 L IS). I would guess that I would be using my 17-40mm pre-dominantly so would look to get this first. I am slightly confused as to what else I need to start off. Would someone be kind enough to just list out the components that I would need as well as the actual glass? I will probably plump for a 0.6 Soft Grad. Thanks for any advice.
You could use the wide angle 77mm for both your 17-40 and 70-200 which would save you a few quid. I have filter holders for all my lenses for speed of changing, but when you are getting going it's perfectly acceptable to use one for both lenses.

I find a 0.6 hard to be a good 'does it all' filter which I would recommend if you only had 1 filter to start with. Obviously that's based on what I shoot.
 
One question that hasn't been asked is what are you intending to photograph? Mountainous landscapes are a safe bet on soft grads but if you're doing seascapes and landscapes with a relatively flat horizon are better with hard grads.

Cityscapes are another ball game. Sometimes it's better to blend and sometimes a soft grad.

:agree:

It sounds like you're not entirely sure what to buy, and it may well be that you don't need to buy anything. So explain what problems you're looking to solve and someone will point you in the right direction :)

I never use filters btw - well except a full 10-stopper for the slow stuff :)

Dave
 
Thanks for the additional replies. I like shooting mountain landscapes mainly and would use it hold back the skies. I did buy a screw on filter (6 Stop) that I used for slowing down water etc but I found that it was slow to use hence the desire for a different system. A lot of pros and enthusiasts use Lee kit hence I thought this would be a good choice that I can build up over time.
 
Just from reading your words there is some confusion in there.

The 6 stop is part of the overall piece of the puzzle that is used to create images. Used in conjunction with a soft grad for capturing mountain landscapes it can produce effective images. Just be careful not to overuse the 6 stop as the images can look too similar.

What would have been easier is to have the Lee Filters Little Stopper which can be used in the same holder as the grad or grads.
 
Back
Top