Help with filter purchase

kgiller

Hey all. Planning on getting some filters soon before going on holiday and was wondering what peoples opinions were on which to get. I thought of getting a polarising filter and then also a neutral density graduated filter (grey grad). Wondering what level of ND grad to get (1, 2, or 3 stop) and which works well for what. And also, if anyone knows if the 7dayshop.com filters are good enough, i dont want to pay much for these.

Cheers


For the record using Canon 400D with 18-55mm kit and 50mm 1.8.

amcinroy

kgiller,

Some people get a lot of use out of a polariser but I have to say I rarely use mine. Its best application is reflection control although I think sometimes it gets misused as what I would call a "postcard filter". You know the bahama skies/puffy clouds shots I am referring to !!!

I would personally suggest that you start with 2 good quality ND grad filters (2 stop and 3 stop hard). I find that the 2 stop is used 80% of the time and I only pull out the 3 stop where the foreground is in shade at sunset. Very, very ocassionally I'll stack a 1 stop to a 3 stop together where the contrast is very extreme. If you only need the two then perhaps you can afford good quality ones? Lee are my preference followed by Hi-Tech followed by Cokin. The 100mm systems of Lee and Hi-Tech are versatile.

The other one you might want to think about is a straight neutral density. A 3 stop is very useful in slowing down exposures although if you like super long exposures then B+W make screw in 6 stop and even 10 stop, although these are hard to compose through.

In summary then

- Get a 2 stop and 3 stop ND hard grad of the best quality you can afford
- Add a 1 stop and polariser later

Hope that help

Andy

kgiller

Cheers for the advice andy. The reason i thought the polarising filter would be handy is because im heading over to turkey for a holiday and thought it would cut down all the glare from the water for seascape shots. I was looking on 7dayshop.com for filters and found a polarising filter and neutral density filters for £5 each. A Hoya circ. Polarising filter would be £15. IS there such a difference?

amcinroy

Indeed, a polarising filter can be used to cut through stillwater reflections (say from rockpools) to reveal the pebbles underneath. I wouldn't say they necessarily cut through glare. In fact an extra piece of glass may actually increase glare in the form of lens flare.

That neutral density filter (ND2 = 1 stop) is a bit weak for extending exposure times. Be careful with the notation. A 3 stop is a more versatile strength.

1 stop = 0.3 = NDx2 (sometimes just called ND2)
2 stop = 0.6 = NDx4 (sometimes just called ND4)
3 stop = 0.9 = NDx8 (sometimes just called ND8)
6 stop = 1.8 = NDx64 (sometimes just called ND64)
10 stop = 3.0 = NDx1024 (sometimes just called ND1024 or ND1000)

The quality of the filters in the links you show perhaps aren't the best but would be a cheap way to get started. Be prepared for some colour shifts away from neutrality when using cheaper filters.

paddylonglegs

Hi,

sorry fo bringing up old thread but looking got advice on what filters to use when shooting a city-scape at night.I don't want to have a huge amount of glare coming from the street light with a long exposure.This might also apply for a sunset?

I think he's achieved it here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/taivasalla/2530804810/


Thanks

jackdaw

amcinroy wrote: »

kgiller,

Some people get a lot of use out of a polariser but I have to say I rarely use mine. Its best application is reflection control although I think sometimes it gets misused as what I would call a "postcard filter". You know the bahama skies/puffy clouds shots I am referring to !!!

I would personally suggest that you start with 2 good quality ND grad filters (2 stop and 3 stop hard). I find that the 2 stop is used 80% of the time and I only pull out the 3 stop where the foreground is in shade at sunset. Very, very ocassionally I'll stack a 1 stop to a 3 stop together where the contrast is very extreme. If you only need the two then perhaps you can afford good quality ones? Lee are my preference followed by Hi-Tech followed by Cokin. The 100mm systems of Lee and Hi-Tech are versatile.

The other one you might want to think about is a straight neutral density. A 3 stop is very useful in slowing down exposures although if you like super long exposures then B+W make screw in 6 stop and even 10 stop, although these are hard to compose through.

In summary then

- Get a 2 stop and 3 stop ND hard grad of the best quality you can afford
- Add a 1 stop and polariser later

Hope that help

Andy

Would a 3 stop ND filter be enough to create long exposure shots during the
day that will create nice "water flowing" effects ?

I was thinking of getting an ND 10 stop filter for this ..

Shiny

Pity I didn't know about this before I went and purchased a cokin
ND Grad.:(


Dirty Purple colour cast.

Roen

I'd consider the cast to be a free velvia effect plugin in for PS. It colour shifts towards magenta when exposed for anything over a few seconds

Thoie

So, yesterday me and my D40 went to the zoo. While there, buzz_lightyear lent me his lens - 70-300? Buzz, maybe you could fill in the details...

Anyway we noticed something weird. His lens had a VR on/off button on the side. With that turned on, after any photo I took, there was a slight "kick" to the image - if you were looking through the viewfinder you could see the entire image shift position a fraction after the picture was taken.

This didn't happen if the VR was off.

Anyone have any idea if this is a problem with my camera, or if it's a flaw with the D40s in general, or if it was just that the lens wasn't really compatible or something? At some stage (when I'm older) I want to buy a longer zoom, so if this is going to be an issue for all longer lenses it would be good to know about it now

Edit: Argh, computer went weird - this was supposed to be a new thread of its own - could a nice mod move it please?

Roen

That's supposed to happen Thoie. The VR element is floating and moves constantly to stabilize the image. When you don't notice anything then it's time to start worrying.

hussey

I am off on holiday and plan to take a lot of shots near the beach or very bright areas.

Would a polarizer filter do the job to darken the sky?

wasper

kgiller wrote: »

Hey all. Planning on getting some filters soon before going on holiday and was wondering what peoples opinions were on which to get. I thought of getting a polarising filter and then also a neutral density graduated filter (grey grad). Wondering what level of ND grad to get (1, 2, or 3 stop) and which works well for what. And also, if anyone knows if the 7dayshop.com filters are good enough, i dont want to pay much for these.

Cheers


For the record using Canon 400D with 18-55mm kit and 50mm 1.8.

I bought the Cokin Z Pro kit U960. It's 3 ND Grad & holder. It will cost around €143 from UK including shipping. Contact www.speedgraphic.co.uk.
Very fast delivery. This is the cheapest around.

DaireQuinlan

wasper wrote: »

I bought the Cokin Z Pro kit U960. It's 3 ND Grad & holder. It will cost around €143 from UK including shipping. Contact www.speedgraphic.co.uk.
Very fast delivery. This is the cheapest around.

Although from the POV of using the 50mm and the kit (what sort of filter size do they take ? 52/55mm ?? ) then the OP is better off with a cokin P or even A system. the Z system is overkill imo.

Personally I loathe cokin filters with a passion. I have that Ilford SFX IR filter and a P system holder, the variously sized fixing rings, and the hood. There's so much wrong with it that its not even funny. I had to dremel bits off the holder so that the hood would actually go on with a filter in the holder, its impossible to take the filter in and out with the hood on (despite there being ALMOST enough space), with the holder attachments screwed onto the lens its impossible to use the original sized lens caps for the lens (I mean how hard would THAT have been for them ?? !? ??) ... I could go on ...

wasper

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Although from the POV of using the 50mm and the kit (what sort of filter size do they take ? 52/55mm ?? ) then the OP is better off with a cokin P or even A system. the Z system is overkill imo.

Personally I loathe cokin filters with a passion. I have that Ilford SFX IR filter and a P system holder, the variously sized fixing rings, and the hood. There's so much wrong with it that its not even funny. I had to dremel bits off the holder so that the hood would actually go on with a filter in the holder, its impossible to take the filter in and out with the hood on (despite there being ALMOST enough space), with the holder attachments screwed onto the lens its impossible to use the original sized lens caps for the lens (I mean how hard would THAT have been for them ?? !? ??) ... I could go on ...

Yes it would be an over kill. But I use it with 67mm & 77mm. I hold the filters by hand in front of the lens & it works fine. You develope a knack for it.
Someone presented an example of Singh filters but they are far more expensive than Cokin. And for a an amateur its costs is unjustifiable.

Shiny

I ordered a basic Cokin P system there last week and
a Grad Filter.

Will see for myself how it performs but I have never heard
any complaints other than the colour cast and maybe some
flare/lens hood problems.

Arciphel

If you know anything about lightroom or photoshop you can remove the colour cast very easily, I wouldn't sweat too much bout it.

Shiny

Thanks Arciphel,

The only reason I am moaning about it is mainly due to the fact
that I got the filters so I would have to spend less time in
Photoshop.

It was starting to get really annoying constantly bracketing with
the aim of combining the exposure later in photoshop.

I suppose I can just make an action to do it quickly. :pac:

Shiny

My cokin kit arrived today and as I was playing around with it
I was wondering if anyone has tried reversing an ND grad.

Say you had a situation where you needed a hard ND filter,
would it be madness to simply turn a normal ND filter upside
down and leave the edge of it half way down in front of the
lens.

In this way the dark part of the filter and the edge is effectively
performing the same action as a hard filter.

Would this work or is it just foolish?

wasper

Shiny wrote: »

My cokin kit arrived today and as I was playing around with it
I was wondering if anyone has tried reversing an ND grad.

Say you had a situation where you needed a hard ND filter,
would it be madness to simply turn a normal ND filter upside
down and leave the edge of it half way down in front of the
lens.

In this way the dark part of the filter and the edge is effectively
performing the same action as a hard filter.

Would this work or is it just foolish?

Don't wonder about it just do it. There is nothing like first hand experience. That is the joy of photography.

amcinroy

Yes, just try it. However I would say that you will almost certainly get a noticeable transition at the filter edge which even the horizon won't disguise. There will be reflections and shadows across this out of focus edge. It won't be pretty is my guess.

Another thing for people to consider is the "hard" versus "soft" decision.

Even the hard transition ND grads are not that hard when you use them with APS sensors. With medium and large format they will be much harder. When considering which set to buy you need to be careful with recommendations from users of other systems. A hard on APS is like a soft on large format. It also depends on what focal length of lens you are using.

My advice is to always go "hard" on Full Format and smaller sensors, particularly when using moderate wideangles rather than extra wideangles.

Ballyman

hussey wrote: »

I am off on holiday and plan to take a lot of shots near the beach or very bright areas.

Would a polarizer filter do the job to darken the sky?

Yes