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ND Filters

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kenthilburn
 
Posts: 8

ND Filters

Post Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:04 am


Is Cokin the only company that makes square ND filters that fit in the holder where you can adjust up or down? I've looked at others and all I see are the circular ones you screw on to your lens.

prinothcat
 
Posts: 662

Re: ND Filters

Post Wed Jun 04, 2008 4:17 am


Cokin are by far the most available/affordable, but square ND's come from all the top manufacturers. A look at B&H should help you out. You will need to know what size you want, I think that the Cokin P's are 85mm but don't quote me on it.... :roll:

kenthilburn
 
Posts: 8

Re: ND Filters

Post Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:03 pm


I looked there. All I saw was the screw on type. I probably just didn't look hard enough. Thanks.

dharden
 
Posts: 104

Re: ND Filters

Post Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:56 pm


Hi Kent,

The best known name in the UK market is probably Lee filters. Top quality but also quite expensive. The ND grads are Cokin 'Z' size - 100mm x 150mm (4 x 6 inches) and come in hard and soft cut versions. Another manufacturer is Formatt Filters, who make the Hitech range, newly available as 150 x 100 (were 125 x 100) and also in the Cokin 'P' sizes if required. Again they come in hard and soft cut - just got myself a set of "hards" and they seem much better than the Cokin ones.

In the US, a very good name is Singh-Ray. they also do a "reverse grad" that is still half clear and half ND but is darkest in the middle, to help on shots where the Sun is on or near the horizon - very often the brightest part of the sky is the bit near to the land! I believe they can be a bit pricey and i'm not sure if you can get the 83mm Cokin 'P size (might be 85mm, can't remember!).

Hope that helps....Google will turn up websites for all the above manufacturers...

cheers

Dave

prinothcat
 
Posts: 662

Re: ND Filters

Post Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:35 pm


kenthilburn wrote:I looked there. All I saw was the screw on type. I probably just didn't look hard enough. Thanks.

hmm that particular link had a selection of them....

kenthilburn
 
Posts: 8

Re: ND Filters

Post Fri Jun 06, 2008 7:02 pm


Your right. I didn't see the extra pages at the bottom. I also should have been more specific with brands. I was kind of looking for Lee filters. Thanks again.

kenthilburn
 
Posts: 8

Re: ND Filters

Post Fri Jun 06, 2008 7:05 pm


dharden wrote:Hi Kent,

The best known name in the UK market is probably Lee filters. Top quality but also quite expensive. The ND grads are Cokin 'Z' size - 100mm x 150mm (4 x 6 inches) and come in hard and soft cut versions. Another manufacturer is Formatt Filters, who make the Hitech range, newly available as 150 x 100 (were 125 x 100) and also in the Cokin 'P' sizes if required. Again they come in hard and soft cut - just got myself a set of "hards" and they seem much better than the Cokin ones.

In the US, a very good name is Singh-Ray. they also do a "reverse grad" that is still half clear and half ND but is darkest in the middle, to help on shots where the Sun is on or near the horizon - very often the brightest part of the sky is the bit near to the land! I believe they can be a bit pricey and i'm not sure if you can get the 83mm Cokin 'P size (might be 85mm, can't remember!).

Hope that helps....Google will turn up websites for all the above manufacturers...

cheers

Dave


Thanks Dave. Any idea on what size would work best for a 72mm and 77mm size lenses. Is 4X4 big enough for the Canon 10-22 which has the 77mm size threads? Doesn't look like it would be.

prinothcat
 
Posts: 662

Re: ND Filters

Post Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:08 pm


kenthilburn wrote:Thanks Dave. Any idea on what size would work best for a 72mm and 77mm size lenses. Is 4X4 big enough for the Canon 10-22 which has the 77mm size threads? Doesn't look like it would be.

I have a Cokin (cause I'm cheap..) P size in front of me. Measures 3 1/4 x 4 (83 x100 mm) and covers a 77mm Nikkor lens. On a 77mm threaded wide angle the holder might cause some vignetting.

kenthilburn
 
Posts: 8

Re: ND Filters

Post Sat Jun 07, 2008 10:18 pm


That's kind of what I'm afraid of. Does the X-pro series have a bigger holder with bigger filters to combat this problem? That's what it looks like.

dharden
 
Posts: 104

Re: ND Filters

Post Sat Jun 07, 2008 11:50 pm


With my 77mm threaded 17-40 on the 5D I use the "Z" size filters (albeit Hitech ones now) but tend to hand hold them rather than use the holder, as the corners show! I also used to use a Sigma 10-20 on my 20D body and I think I wound up hand-holding the filters with that too! I only really use them with the camera on a tripod so for me it's OK. Your needs may of course be different. I have heard of some pros using blu-tack (is it called that in the US? http://www.blutack.com/BLU_TACK.htm) as a makeshift holder!

The X-pro range at 130mm wide would work fine but i doubt the effectiveness of the grads. The Cokin filters are a "soft" grad and if the "fade" is in a ratio with the size of the filter, which it seems to be, comparing 'P' and 'Z' size (i have an older set of 'P' size that my stepson uses), then it's just not going to be effective. They're also expensive!

You can turn a Z pro filter holder round to just use one grad and that should be OK on a 10mm (16mm equivalent on a Canon "crop" body) I think, unless anyone knows otherwise? The Lee holder can also be configured to just use one filter. It also mounts Lee's own polariser in front of the holder, rather than a conventional screw in type stacked behind it (which of course increases the chance of the filter holder showing). I just think Lee are a bit pricier than they should be for what you get, personally. Not doubting the quality, mind! Having said that, Cokin's polarisers aren't cheap either! And they do of course mount in the holder.


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