ND Grad ..which do I need ?

[LMP]

Hi all,

I'm about to order a Cokin P holder & adaptor ring for my 17-40mm. I'm after an ND Grad to use with this and by doing some research here it seems the 'Lee' filters are the ones to go for. Seeing as they are so expensive I need to know what filter suits my needs best.

0.6, 0.9 ? And should I go for the 'hard' or 'soft'

The 1st proper use of this set will be in a few weeks when I go off to Portugal..I'll be looking to do some lanscapes & seascapes when I get a chance.

Any tips on the above welcome as well as suggestions on other filters I may find useful for the trip.

Cheers!

[overlunge]

Cokin's P series should hold up well for your need of taking landscape on the trip. My suggestion is to get a couple of them. P121M (ND6 - 2 stops) and P121S (ND8, soft - 3 stops) should be enough. Get a 121L if your bank allows.. You can stack them if you want, but beware a slight colour cast.

P121 is the hard ND8... which I find harder to use.

If your composition mainly done using the wide end of the lens (17-20) you might want to get a wide angle holder while you are at it. The downside is you can only get one filter on the holder at a time.

Take good care of them so they don't scratch. Ultimately, you can also go with Lee's Graduated ND set with either the P holder sized (84x120mm) or the Lee holder sized (100x150mm) which suppose to have higher optical quality. But again, it would cause some financial damage to your plastic.

There are also some other ND Grad out there... do a search.

[kidrebel]

OK,Mark I'll try to help the best I can.I'm a little new to using ND grads myself but I'll give it a shot.I also have the Cokin P filter system.I have both the wide angle holder,which holds 1 filter, and the regular 3 filter holder.Setup is very easy.I've only used the wide angle holder on my 17-40 so far.I haven't stacked any filters yet,especially on a wide angle lens.I started out with a few of the cheap Cokin ND filters,which are not true ND grads.The color rendition is not true or something like that.I'm a strong believer that you get what you pay for,but I bought the cheap Cokin's for now.I'll upgrade to the Singh-Ray's ND grads once I get better at using filters.I've heard nothing but good things about them.Most people seem to like the 2 stop soft edge and hard edge.The hard edge works better with a defined horizon.You can always buy a few different grads and stack them with the regular holder to get the stop range you need.Be careful at the wider end of the 17-40.Look for vigging when stacking.The most helpful tip I've read is to use the DOF button to check exactly where the graduation in the filter is placed in the image.I've also used some of Cokin's colored grads with some cool effects.Got the light blue,light pink,and light mauve.They are cool to try at sunrise and sunset.They give the sky a "neater" look sometimes IMO.They are cheap,don't take alot of room in my bag,and are just plain fun to experiment with!Cokin filters are all I have tryed so far so I can't speak for the other brands.The bottom line seems to be get yourself a few good ND grads such as the Lee and Singh-Ray's.Maybe a 2 stop soft edge,a 3 stop soft edge and a 2 stop hard edge sounds like a decent trio to take with you.Well that is about all I can say for ND grads.I'm sure more knowledgeable people will chime in on ths subject for you.I hope something I've said was helpful for you and have a good time in Portugal!!

[LMP]

Hi Guys and thanks for the thoughts.

I was under the impression that the Cokin filters were not quiet as they seemed hence the reason I mention the Lee brand. However after reading this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=129112&highlight=sunset+shot+in+2+hours) I'll go with the Cokin for now until I'm more familiar with their uses.

If you check the notes in that thread that accompany each shot you'll see mention of a 'Cokin 0.6 ND' & a 'Cokin 0.9 ND' Having checked the Cokin website (http://www.cokin.co.uk/pages/filters3.htm) I cant see either of these 2 listed. I may be just blind to it but can anyone tell me if these 2 may go under a different guise on that site (http://www.cokin.co.uk/pages/filters3.htm) ?

Thanks again :)

[kidrebel]

OK,Mark here is what I found out for you. 0.6 is the same as 2 stops and 0.9 is the same as three stops.I have 3 Cokin ND filters.Remember,the Cokins are not true Nd's.They are "graduated grey".Here are some Cokin filter numbers for you:The 121L (ND-2) is one stop.The 121M (ND-4) is two stops.The 121F (ND-8) is three stops.The 121 is more of a hard edge filter with a loss of about two stops,maybe more.Hope this helps ya'!

[kidrebel]

Where did that smiley face come from? It is ND-8!

[LMP]

Nice one Kidrebel, that helps me out alot. With reference to the Cokins not being true ND's...what will I be missing out on ? I'm assuming the Singh Ray & Lee brands are true ND ?

How much difference will I notice ?

[Jon]

The Cokins are reported to have a slight colour cast to them. I've never tried them; people whose opinion I respect have said this, so I went with Singh Rays. How much you'll notice, I suspect, depends on how critical you are.

[Tsmith]

The HiTech brand comes highly rated and affordable too.