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Technical Questions

Cokin Filter sytems

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chestersgallery
 
Posts: 184

Cokin Filter sytems

Post Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:10 pm


Some time ago I owned some Cokin Filters for my old film SLR. Im now thinking of buying some for my Canon 30D. Does anyone one have any experiences good or Bad with the newer cokin Range. I now notice I have a choice of ZPro or P series. And I also noticed ebay is a wash with them, but many are advertised as " fits cokin sytems" are these coking filters or cheap copies that fit into the cokin system? and if so are they any good . Any help would be appreciated. Im thinking of buying some ND grads and a poloriser to start off.

prinothcat
 
Posts: 662

Re: Cokin Filter sytems

Post Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:29 pm


I use the P series on my nikon. Holder and a couple of adaptor rings to fit my various lens diameters. The difference between the two series you mention is size, off the top of my head the P's are 3x3 and the Zpros are larger. I have had good luck with them, with the following stipulations. They scratch easily since they are plastic. The trade off is they are affordable, and you can buy an entire range of ND's then replace the ones you use the most as they become scratched up. There are a number of filter makers who have upgrade filters that fit the Cokin holders. Someone noticed that if you stack two of them they interfere with each other and give a funky red caste to an images made with the two stacked.
I would guess anything on Ebay that does not specifically say it's a Cokin is a knockoff. You might check B&H and Adorama out of New York for what are likely that best prices to compare with on line. The ND's, especially the grads, seem to sell out regularly, and have to be reordered from France, so availability can be sporadic.
As for a polarizer I prefer a good quality glass multi coated filter. I buy the one that fits the largest diameter lens I plan to use and then by step up rings to fit it to smaller diameter lenses. I currently have a 77mm Hoya and a 67 to 77 step ring. Also remember that most modern metering systems react oddly to old style linear polarizers, so you want a circular polarizer.

timothyhughes
 
Posts: 4
Location: Madison, WI

Re: Cokin Filter sytems

Post Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:58 pm


prinothcat wrote: As for a polarizer I prefer a good quality glass multi coated filter. I buy the one that fits the largest diameter lens I plan to use and then by step up rings to fit it to smaller diameter lenses. I currently have a 77mm Hoya and a 67 to 77 step ring. Also remember that most modern metering systems react oddly to old style linear polarizers, so you want a circular polarizer.


Ditto that. Also may want to look into the B+W slim, multi-coated circular polarizing filter. I bought the Hoya like prinothcat, but wish I'd have picked up the B+W.

I have Hitech HIG81BND.6CP 85mm Combination Graduated 81B / ND 0.6 Resin Filter - for Cokin P from B&H. I rarely use it and instead go with the polarizing filter and darken skies in post.

careysb
 
Posts: 169

Re: Cokin Filter sytems

Post Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:56 pm


I bought a "slim" filter and sent it back. You can't snap your lens cap on to a slim filter. A bit of a pain.

smit10pics
 
Posts: 315

Re: Cokin Filter sytems

Post Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:35 pm


Kevin, you might like to consider Hitech filters from Formatt Filters ( www.formatt.co.uk ) who do a range of filters Hard and soft ND grads and ND filters. They do different sizes, 100mm wide and 85mm wide which fit in the Cokin holders. They sell Hitech holders too. I started (in my film days!) with the Cokin P-series which are ok but only come in soft grad form. The 85mm Hitech filters fit in the Cokin P-series holders which is handy since I already had a few and the mounting rings too. My largest filter ring size is 82mm (on a 24-70 zoom) and the 85mm works fine on this lens. The main difference I have noticed is that the Hitec have no discernable colour cast...ie are truly ND, compared to the Cokin, which can produce odd casts, especially if you double them up. Formatt sell them in kits of three and individually, a set of HD Grads (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9) cost about £30 for the 85mm and £60 for the 100mm. If I were starting from scratch I'd go for the larger size. I do get some vignetting at 10mm on my Sigma 10-20, but it is ok at 11.5mm. If I need to use them at 10mm, I ditch the holder and hold the filter in front of the lens...it works fine! I have found also that the most useful grad is actually a 0.45 (a stop and a half) which gives a perfect balance for the majority of situations. They sell this as a special and will include it in the kits for a small extra charge. Formatt, I found very good to deal with....after chatting on the phone I placed an order on a Thursday afternoon, and the filters were delivered by post the next morning! Hope this helps.
Cheers
Stewart


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