what filter system to go with ?

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wildman

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To date I have simply been buying screw in filters for the lenses I owned. I had the Kit lens and a sigma 70-300, so I got ND, CP filters for each lens according to diameter.

My collection of lenses it at last starting to grow but now I am thinking that going out and buying essentially the same filters again but just with a different size is a bit of false economy.

The widest lens i have is 77mm diameter. I was looking at maybe getting something like the cokin filter folder and then geting 1 set of filters that I can use for all lenses ?

WOuld this be the best way to go ? Also I am guessing that the filter holder comes with stepping rigns so you can atttach it to any diamter lens ? or do I need a different holder again for each size lens ?
 
I'm not too sure about the Cokin system, but the Lee system needs you to buy the various adaptor rings.

One thing worth considering is if a Cokin P system will work with your widest lens or if you need 100mm filters.

The other option is to get step up rings to use with your 77mm filters, but a square system would be my suggestion.
 
Don't know much about filters, but thought I would have a try so just bought a set of the Cokin P, my largest lens is also 77mm.

Got the standard holder and the wide angle holder too for my 10-22mm lens along with 3 ND grads and two rings to attach the holders to the lenses I use namely a couple of 77mm's and a 72mm

Haven't tried them out yet although did already have a 77mm CPL and a step up ring so it works on the 67mm threaded lens if required
 
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Lee, all the way. Expensive yes, but the neutral density filters are truly neutral (unlike Cokin, Hitech).

The Lee foundation kit is the best start with the 77mm WA adaptor ring and of course the filters themselves. If you shoot flat horizons a 0.9 (3 stop) hard edged grad filter would be an ideal start, if you shoot broken horizons then the 0.9 soft edged grad would be ideal. Having four grads (0.6h, 0.6s, 0.9h, 0.9s) should cover pretty much anything.

Do note, it will not be wise to place a graduated filter on top of a screw in polarizer, so if you want to use a polarizer you should get (a rather expensive) one that will sit in front of the grad filter. Light needs to pass through the polarizer first before the grad filter.
 
Hitech do Grad filter kits and if you phone them up and ask nice they will swap the filters in the kit to meet your requirements. The kit offers a good saving over individual purchases.
 
As above if your on a budget Hitech is very reasonable system to go with and will give very good results sometimes not much different from lee like there 10 stopper http://blog.robertstrachan.com/archives/1314/hitech-pro-stop-review/


But if you can aford it or can take your time building up your filter collection Lee is probably the best there is.

I myself have a lee filters sytem holder and a mix of lee and hitech 100 series filters.
 
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As I am on a bit of a budget for this I think I will probably go with the Hitech system. I have had a look at what parts I need to get but I am a bit confused.

I know I need to buy a 77mm AR, but when it comes to the actual filter holder it starts to get difficult working out what I should be getting ?

I looked at this one

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-hitech-100mm-mk4-2-slot-holder/p1527659

that can hold 2 filters and also you can use a circular polariser on the front. Is this the sort of thing I should be looking at ?
 
wildman said:
As I am on a bit of a budget for this I think I will probably go with the Hitech system. I have had a look at what parts I need to get but I am a bit confused.

I know I need to buy a 77mm AR, but when it comes to the actual filter holder it starts to get difficult working out what I should be getting ?

I looked at this one

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-hitech-100mm-mk4-2-slot-holder/p1527659

that can hold 2 filters and also you can use a circular polariser on the front. Is this the sort of thing I should be looking at ?
Click to expand...

£66?

I'd consider really not buying this, but it's your choice.

The filter holder isn't really that confusing.The Lee Foundation Kit together with an adaptor ring of the size that fits your lens is all you need (plus the filter itself of course).

Granted it's a little pricier but worth it imo, especially when it comes to filters. You may find in the future that that little extra cost at the beginning will pay dividends if you decide to change in the future.

Whichever choice you make it will be the right one for you I'm sure.

Good luck.
 
Also if you do decide to whack on a (105mm) polarizer on the front, these babies aren't cheap either way.
 
Digifrog said:
Also if you do decide to whack on a (105mm) polarizer on the front, these babies aren't cheap either way.
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Sorry for the thread resurrection........

thanks for the heads up on this, I only just went back to this as its bonus month so I have got some cash ready to sort out my filter system.

Looked again at all options I think the Lee Foundation Kit is going to be the better long term investment. The availability and selection of Lee filters seems to be greater than HiTec.

Also Lee is manufactured in the UK and I want to be seen to support UK manufacturing :D
 
wildman said:
The availability and selection of Lee filters seems to be greater than HiTec.

Also Lee is manufactured in the UK and I want to be seen to support UK manufacturing :D
Click to expand...

You do know that hitech, cokin z, singh-ray, tiffen, and kood filters all fit just fine in a lee 100mm holder, right? You're not 'limited to lee filters' in any sense. I use a mix of Hitech, Kood and Lee in my lee foundation kit, without any issues.

The only real time that your holder choice matters in terms of filter availability, is with hitech's 10-stop filters, which now have a little foam gasket around the edge, and the thickness of the foam is dependant on the brand of holder, hitech sell 2 different thicknesses to cover all 3 of the major holders (lee, hitech and cokin), though.

e: forgot to mention here that the Lee polyester gel frames won't fit in anything but a Lee holder afaik, because they're thicker than the slots on the hitech and cokin holders, so that's another area where the holder choice matters. The gel frames are a cheap way to get access to solid colour filters if you don't use them often enough to justify £20 or so per filter.

Also, re: made in the UK, hitech holders & filters are made in the UK too.
 
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