Which Filter System?

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NukeDukem

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Hi all. So I'm planning on getting a filter system in a few weeks. I've been looking into a few options and want a 10 stop along with a graduated filter. I want something thats pretty good but the Lee prices are crazy. I have heard that the Hitech 10 stop has a blue tint to the photos which is difficult to remove in post processing?

I'm thinking one option could be to get the Lee 10 stop and a cheaper graduated filter? This means spending 120 dollars (In Australia right now) on just the holder system then 40 on the adapter ring.

Anyone had any experience with mixing and matching to get a good solid system with a reasonable budget?

Also I have a 550d using a Sigma 17-70mm

Thanks for any info!
 
Welcome to TP :)

In a word, Lee. The difference is a) quality, and b) consistency. That is, if you have three different ND grads, they will all be the same neutral colour. If you need to replace one, it will be the same colour, and the hard/soft grad line will be the same.

Those things may not always be that important in practise, and most of the time you'll notice very little difference, but no other brand of slot-in filters can match Lee when these things are important. That's what you're paying for - highest quality, a meticulous manufacturing process, and high quality control.
 
Define reasonable budget. It could be £20-£200, everones is different :)

I'm going with Kood, previous filters with them have been spot on, very little colour cast (post edit removes this) and they fell into my budget. Whilst isnt much, it's all I can afford at £50.

Whilst I would love a set on Lee filters, they're just way out of my budget at the moment. Especially when each filter costs around the £100 mark. (Sets are cheaper I think)
 
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I've owned Cokin, Hitech & now Lee systems and I found a distinct difference each time I changed.

Cokin were first but had a quite poor colour cast so quickly moved to Hitech which were definitely better, I still wasn't 100% happy with the colour cast though and bought into Lee which I'm 100% happy with, so I should be though as they do cost significantly more than the others...it's really a case of quality vs budget and only you can decide which is most important

Simon
 
Thanks for the info!

Yes I was afraid of Lee being the one to get. It does seem like a lot of money to me but originally I was going for the Hoya NDx400 which was a screw on filter. Although I like the results from it, the idea of being fixed to the one size and no grad filter seems like its not a good investment at this stage. In 5 years I may want to change lenses, camera etc and if the glass doesn't break then I don't mind investing in something that will last that time.

I like the way Hitech is made of resin and not glass but for me in Australia the price difference is roughly £60.

Would it be better to stick with Lee all the way then with the filters and the grad filters? Maybe have Hitech grad over the Lee big stopper?
 
NukeDukem said:
Thanks for the info!

Yes I was afraid of Lee being the one to get. It does seem like a lot of money to me but originally I was going for the Hoya NDx400 which was a screw on filter. Although I like the results from it, the idea of being fixed to the one size and no grad filter seems like its not a good investment at this stage. In 5 years I may want to change lenses, camera etc and if the glass doesn't break then I don't mind investing in something that will last that time.

I like the way Hitech is made of resin and not glass but for me in Australia the price difference is roughly £60.

Would it be better to stick with Lee all the way then with the filters and the grad filters? Maybe have Hitech grad over the Lee big stopper?
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That's a popular compromise :thumbs: The Hitech Pro-Stop's problem is precisely because it's made of resin. Yes, better than glass if you stick it in your jeans pocket and sit down, but otherwise the dyes used in resin filters are not capable of blocking infrared sufficiently and IR pollution is impossible to correct. Clue: Lee are the world's leading manufacturer of resin filters, and their Big Stopper is made of glass (same as every other decent quality ten-stopper).
 
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