Which ND and Polarizing filters

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Pietrach

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I am currently using threaded 10 stop, 4 stop and polarizing filters. They are cheap quality (apart from 10stop) which is diy from a broken Lee big stopper. What i miss is an nd grad filter, where the position of transition can be adjusted in height. This means i would need square filter system. And here are my concerns:
1-are cokin /lee filter systems reliable with regards to light leaks for long exposures?
2-currently i am looking at cokin z pro system - are these decent in terms of colour cast?
3-polarizing filters compatibile with these systems seem expensive. Can you recommend a good but reasonably priced one?
4-if i was to get a 100mm holder, polarizer, 10stop nd, 4stop nd, and 3stop nd soft grad, what would you recommed?
5-if i stay with threaded filters, i would like to improve tye quality of filters, especially polarizer which is poor (one i have). I looked at Hoya but they make several types which to me are difficult to distinguish. Can you recommend a good reasonably priced threaded polarizer?

Thank you
 
There's been quite a bit of chatter on here about filters over the last few months so worth searching back through some threads. But here's my input:

First thing, do you need a 100mm system? Answer is likely to be yes if you're using full frame or particularly wide APSC lenses but otherwise maybe a smaller system might work. There is far better choice in that area than even just a couple of years ago.

1) Don't know about Cokin but I've not seen any light leakage with Lee. Actually that isn't quite true but the only light leaks I've epereinced have been nothing to do with the holder. One was via viewfinder and another because ND wasn't placed carefully enough so gasket was not sealing in one corner.
2) Don't know the cokin system but worth noting that you can buy any 100mm System and use any filters in them so you can in effect choose the best holder/system for yourself and choose filters separately. In the past I've found colour cast issues are likely when stacking filters. Lee filters have always been good in this regard. Have had the odd problem with Hitechs but everyone seems to have moved their game on in this market so honestly I have no idea now if there are any bad options. I can say the Lee stuff is good but usually more expensive than most. Ffordes and ebay are a good source for used filters though. Tends to be how I buy and usually get as new filters at half price.
3)105mm polarisers are expensive. No getting around this one. £100 for something decent s/h. £150-250 for new. Most/all are good filters but sickening when they get damaged (I dropped mine on some rocks). You could look at Nisi or Hitech systems that incorporate a much smaller polariser at the back of the holder. Pros and cons but it's neater and far more cost effective. Decent quality gear too.
4) Personally, I'm still a fan of Lee but I don't think they have things all their own way in quite the way it's been in the past. My kit is Lee foundation with and PL ring. B&W 105mm CPL, Haida 10 stop filter (quite good actually, look them up, I think it's better than Lee's), Lee 3 stop ND, Lee hard and soft grads, 2 and 3 stops. Can't see the point in 1 stop stuff. Happy with all my kit but have't used many of the alternatives much.
5) Hoya stuff is decent, particularly HD and Pro1 stuff. I've had good experience with Haida too. Price depends on size. It's generally best to buy the biggest you'll need and then step down rings for smaller lenses. Again, you can get some decent used stuff if you want to save a few quid.
 
Thank you @gad-westy for a very in depth reply. I am using 12mm samyang on a cropped sensor sony nex 6. I have been told (forums) that 85mm show vigneting and therefore need to go for 100mm.
Thank you.
 
Pietrach said:
Thank you @gad-westy for a very in depth reply. I am using 12mm samyang on a cropped sensor sony nex 6. I have been told (forums) that 85mm show vigneting and therefore need to go for 100mm.
Thank you.
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100mm is probably the way to go then. I used 100mm system with that lens on Fuji system as it seemed vignetting was likely with a smaller system.
 
I now only use a cheap KOOD 0.6 grad maybe 3 times in a year. The rest is all done digitally by bracketing (where necessary!), and processing / blending stuff which gives far more flexibility and latitude with ZERO disadvantages of the plastic crappy filters - and yes they are all just plastic crappy filters regardless of brand or price tag.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
I now only use a cheap KOOD 0.6 grad maybe 3 times in a year. The rest is all done digitally by bracketing (where necessary!), and processing / blending stuff which gives far more flexibility and latitude with ZERO disadvantages of the plastic crappy filters - and yes they are all just plastic crappy filters regardless of brand or price tag.
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Wow this is a strong opinion. However, some people - me included - much prefer to spend time outdoors playing with these plastic crappy filters than in front of a computer. I jist enjoy the process of taking a picture much more than post processing.
To add to your statement, the upper shelve of filters are all glass, with more and more reasonable price tag.
 
Pietrach said:
Wow this is a strong opinion. However, some people - me included - much prefer to spend time outdoors playing with these plastic crappy filters than in front of a computer. I jist enjoy the process of taking a picture much more than post processing.
To add to your statement, the upper shelve of filters are all glass, with more and more reasonable price tag.
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You see I was still playing on my PC after using the filters, and a lot of times battling various issues caused by filters. Getting rid of them on many occasions made life a lot easier. Seascapes is one of the cases where they just simply work as desired (i.e. straight plain horizon). Strong opinion - yes indeed. I've spent enough time to get there.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
You see I was still playing on my PC after using the filters, and a lot of times battling various issues caused by filters. Getting rid of them on many occasions made life a lot easier. Seascapes is one of the cases where they just simply work as desired (i.e. straight plain horizon). Strong opinion - yes indeed. I've spent enough time to get there.
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Fair enough. I cannot argue with your personal experience, and your images are speaking for themselves. Who knows, maybe one day I will end up the same place as you now.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
I now only use a cheap KOOD 0.6 grad maybe 3 times in a year. The rest is all done digitally by bracketing (where necessary!), and processing / blending stuff which gives far more flexibility and latitude with ZERO disadvantages of the plastic crappy filters - and yes they are all just plastic crappy filters regardless of brand or price tag.
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My 10 stopper and polarizer are definitely not plastic and certainly not crappy either.
I'd rather use my time out in nature photographing than sitting in front of a computer dragging sliders.
 
I'm sort of in between. Yes, I have a nice simple filter kit to match a nice simple camera kit :)

CPL, ND's in 3 & 10 stop, 0.6 SE & HE Grads.

I do like to take some time, enjoy my surroundings, spend time outdoors, set the camera up & I'm more than happy to return from a day out with just a handful of good images. I've witnessed people strolling along a 20 metre length of beach taking about 200 shots of sunset in about 10 minutes......

On the other hand, yes there are times where I will bracket or take separate foreground/sky images & blend in PP. I guess it's knowing when to do what!
 
soeren said:
My 10 stopper and polarizer are definitely not plastic and certainly not crappy either.
I'd rather use my time out in nature photographing than sitting in front of a computer dragging sliders.
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My comment is aimed at slot in filters, mostly grads. Your CPL is certainly worth having and obviously escapes the cheap plastic nature.

I really don't see how a fixed very soft or a very hard 0.6 or 0.9 would fit the description perfectly for every scene. You will get lucky for some - namely seascapes, but more frequently than not 0.6 is not the correct amount, nor is the gradient, nor is horizon flat. I.e. it creates more problems that you have to fix or accept a flawed image. You could obviously pay one of those online companies to do your editing if you genuinely can't stand doing any of it.
 
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