Which Filters

[beaujest4]

Gday people

As the tittle suggest looking at getting myself some filters and was hoping to get some kind words of wisdom from your collective well of knowledge and experience. I have been searching previous posts and found this thread to be interesting and helpfull and part way to answering my question.

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=38885

We currently have a Nikon D300 with an 18-200 and a D40 with the kit lens 18-55 and 55-200 and a 35mm f1.8 While the 18-200 is 72mm dia the other three are 52mm

After talking to our local camera man today it looks like I am getting some Cokin filters. Part of the trade off to buy filters was a Polarizer for the wive's D40 so Circular Polarizer in both 72 and 52. The 52 will be the Standard one and the 72 will be a Pro Series. From there we are getting some drop in ND and GND filters.

We are more into the landscape, seascape nature photography and apart from, I think it was a soft GND8 filter (goes from clear to ND8). my question is, "What other ND or GND or other filter do you people find you can't go without?"

Unfortunately I can't get one of everything and after the other stuff I should be able to get a couple of the other ND filters, so I am asking for your collective expert advise for what to get to start with and to build on as we go. Thanks for your enlighting help and insight into the world of ND and GND filters.

[arthurking83]

So what's the budget?

eg, If your budget was approximately $150, I would be inclined to go with:
Any cheapo, generic, knockoff filter holder with adapter rings for as cheap as you can get it! :th3:
As long as it fits the filter sizes you are going to go for.

Personally, I'd be lost without at least one of my 3stop GND's.. so I have about 4 or 5 of them.. just to be sure.
I'm not a huge fan of ND's but I do have one of them, and it's purpose is specific and dedicated... even though it's an embarrassing and laughable peculiarity I seem to have for this filter. :p

As for the filter holders and adapters, well I think cheaper is more gooder. Technically you don't need them at all, but it can be tedious standing there holding a filter over your lens for 15 or more seconds!
I have all the necessary hardware, but I still prefer to handhold them. It's just easier and quicker and more flexible.

It's more efficient use of resources if you spend more money on the things that matter and less of the things that matter slightly less.

Note that 2 three stop GND's can be reversed against each other to create a 3 stop ND!! :th3:
And with that same combo, you can stack both the 3stop GND's to create a 6 stop GND.. but a 3stop ND is still only a 3 stop ND... and no matter how hard you try you'll never make it work like a 6 stop GND!! ;)

[beaujest4]

Budget after the other stuff gets taken out will be about the $150 mark just for filters only. The holder, I think he said holds three filter if need be so I can see how the two GNDs reversed would work

[arthurking83]

.... The holder, I think he said holds three filter if need be so I can see how the two GNDs reversed would work

If you don't plan on getting an UWA lens like a 10-12mm(at the wide end) the multiple filter holder will be prefect and probably all you need.

On many very wide lenses the Cokin P series multiple filter holder mechanically vignettes, so for example, on a Nikon Dx system, the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 lens(which has 77mm filter threads) you can really only start using the filters at approx 11.5mm and longer ... in landscape orientation! In Portrait orientation there is no vignetting. Other lenses will be more affected by this issue.

SO!!!!
if you ever plan on getting a super wide lens, then do the proper thing NOW!... and start with the 100mm wide Z-Pro system, or the Lee 100mm filter system.
ie. don't do what I did and think that this should be fine for now, and I'll just handhold the filters and deal with it a later date.. etc, etc...

If a super wide angle lens is not something you'd ever consider, then the Cokin P system is good value for money.(that is for approx $150 you will have just about everything you need).

[beaujest4]

been looking at the Cokin website and can see the potential problen in going P and not Z. Will check the difference in price betweent he two and work it out from there. I do see the Z def has a large advantage for any future lenses.

Apart from working which size P or Z, "What other ND or GND or other filter do you people find you can't go without?"

[beaujest4]

What other Filters do you guys recommend

[arthurking83]

generally speaking:

Ps sized GND's retail for approx $40-50, and Z-Pro sized grads retail for about $125(approx).

Z-Pro neutral grads are apparently more professional in their quality(although I've never had any experience with them.

The P series grads do have a slightly brownish cast to them tho... not 100% neutral.

SO! as you stack P series grads you will get a magenta cast(in varying degrees, and in most circumstances) in your images.. sometimes it works(for me) and other times you need to process the colour cast out(to please the masses :p)

other filters?.. other that the ones already mentioned?

You could try some colour correcting types?(you can also do that in your image editor to the same degree tho, so they're redundant.

As for filters like polarisers, they're best kept simple! I'm not a fan of the Coking type polarisers where they also fit into the filter holder system.... unless it's supplementary to an existing normal polariser.

[Xenedis]

What other Filters do you guys recommend

The only filters I use are:


GNDS (three-stop and two-stop);
NDs (three-stop); and
circular polariser.


I rarely use a polariser.

One filter I do want, which Lee now offers, is a ten-stop ND filter.

I'd recommend avoiding gimmicky filters, coloured filters (not needed in the digital age) and UV/skylight filters (not necessary).

[davros]

The only filters I use are:


GNDS (three-stop and two-stop);
NDs (three-stop); and
circular polariser.


I rarely use a polariser.

One filter I do want, which Lee now offers, is a ten-stop ND filter.

I'd recommend avoiding gimmicky filters, coloured filters (not needed in the digital age) and UV/skylight filters (not necessary).

I'm only just getting into filters, but what Xenedis has listed is pretty much what I've been recommended by every shop I've been into. 2 and 3 stop GNDs would be useful, while the 1 stop won't do you much good in the bright Aussie sun. The GNDs would be most useful IMO for your landscape photos -- soft grads for landscape and hard grads for seascapes.

I can't speak for Lee, but ALL cokin filters will produce a magenta cast when stacked beyond 5-6 stops, give or take. It doesn't matter if you have the P or the Z-pro it will happen.

Another thing I've found is that on a DX sensor, the standard P series holder will vignette all the way out to 20-22mm (seen on a tokina 12-24mm using D90). Even the Z-pro holder vignettes a bit at 12mm, but if I took one or two of the stacks off the front then it would be fine.

...the Lee "Big Stopper" 10 stop ND will be my next. Don't get in a hurry for one though, the waiting list is at least 6-8 weeks.

[Xenedis]

the 1 stop won't do you much good in the bright Aussie sun.

Agreed. I was told the same thing, and IME, even three-stops isn't enough much of the time.


I can't speak for Lee, but ALL cokin filters will produce a magenta cast when stacked beyond 5-6 stops, give or take. It doesn't matter if you have the P or the Z-pro it will happen.

The matter is unfortunately not that simple.

See this thread:

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=51791


the Lee "Big Stopper" 10 stop ND will be my next. Don't get in a hurry for one though, the waiting list is at least 6-8 weeks.

Bugger.

[peterb666]

I can't speak for Lee, but ALL cokin filters will produce a magenta cast when stacked beyond 5-6 stops, give or take. It doesn't matter if you have the P or the Z-pro it will happen.

Another thing I've found is that on a DX sensor, the standard P series holder will vignette all the way out to 20-22mm (seen on a tokina 12-24mm using D90). Even the Z-pro holder vignettes a bit at 12mm, but if I took one or two of the stacks off the front then it would be fine.


Cokin filters will give a colour cast if you stack 3 filters. 2 filters are generally not a problem. As Cokin max out at 3-stop ND and GND, you need to look elsewhere.

I have just purchased some HiTech filters from Formatt Filters in the UK. I bought these on recommendation as being fairly neutral yet still reasonably priced. They also go to 10-stop. Note that if you consider trying Formatt Filters, their cusomer service isn't anything to speak about (my parcel was sent without a customs declaration and no return address - I am surprised it was delivered).

I have done a little bit of experimenting and my standard kit is:

3-stop soft transition GND
3-stop hard transition GND
3-stop reverse GND

3-stop ND
4-stop ND
8-stop ND

Circular polariser. Like Xenedis, I rarely use the circular polariser but I have it just in case.

I also has 1-stop and 2-stop NDs but never use the 1-stop - a waste of money. The 2-stop I only used to stack with the 3-stop before getting the 4 and 8-stop filters.

These are all P series Cokin sized filters (85mm wide) but I have a micro four thirds camera and my 9-18mm zoom (18-36mm equivalent) has no problems with these as the filter size is 52mm. You will need Z-pro filters for wide lenses on 1.5x-1.6x crop cameras - there is no question about it and it would be unwise in the long term to try an economise on smaller sized filters.

I only use a maximum of 2 filters. Other than the potential to give a colour cast, the more filters you use, the more flare you are likely to get. I shoot into the sun at sunrise a lot.

[beaujest4]

Thanks for the input guys,

It's good to hear other s experiences, what works what doesn't. The link was good too, informative.

Have been search the net for what ever I can find. Found this site http://www.bythom.com/filters.htm

More feedback is good

[arthurking83]

The real problem for the poor bugga 1stopper is that you can easily get that one stop of difference back with digital if you over expose by just enough. Pulling back exposure by 1stop with a decent DSLR is easy, 2 stops is pushing it, and 3 stops is beyond any DSLR realm.

That's why we kind'a start at the 2 stop end :p

and as Davros said too. The lens in question being used will determine how far a lens will vignette with square/rectangle filters attached.

I can imagine that the Tokina's will vignette at say 14-15mm.. maybe 18mm with the multiple holder in Cokin P format, but at 20mm I can't really see it happening(although I only have very limited experience with only the 11-16/2.8 that MrSamo had and I got to use briefly.. so the 12-24 may be a totally different and weird beast?).

if you got that vignetting effect @ 20mm with the 12-24tokina... did you also have something like a UV protective filter attached to the lens first?

sounds weird to me!

[davros]

if you got that vignetting effect @ 20mm with the 12-24tokina... did you also have something like a UV protective filter attached to the lens first? sounds weird to me!

Sorry maybe I explained incorrectly. With the P series filters on my Tokina lens, I had to push to 20mm to get rid of the vignette. Anything wider than that and I could start to see the filter holder. That's with the filter holder mounted directly to the lens -- no other filters attached.