Grad ND on Ultra Wide

[Richard_Miami]

I am beginning to assemble some filters for my rig. I have a 5D and will be buying the Cokin P series holder and adapter.. and most likely some HiTech ND Grads for it, and a good quality Circ Polarizer

HOWEVER- what do I do for landscape shots on the 17-40? All threads here tell me I will get vignetting if I try using the Cokin with an ND Grad on that lens. OK.. I understand the problem.. anyone have a solution? I could not find the answer myself.there are soooo many filter threads!

Thanks for your advice! I love these forums!!!

[michael_]

buy Lee 4x6' filters and holder ;)

[Richard_Miami]

buy Lee 4x6' filters and holder ;)


Michael - thanks for the feedback. I just looked at the prices for those.. WOW... :shock:

Anyone have any other options?

[Tsmith]

Buy the Cokin P wide angle adapter for around $10 and should do fine for single filters.

edit: after doing a little research on FF its recommend down to 24mm yet on my cropped 30D sensor it works to 11m without an issue. Your best bet very well might be a Cokin Z-Pro setup. More money but its designed to go down to 16mm on Full Frame.

[Richard_Miami]

Buy the Cokin P wide angle adapter for around $10 and should do fine for single filters.

edit: after doing a little research on FF its recommend down to 24mm yet on my cropped 30D sensor it works to 11m without an issue. Your best bet very well might be a Cokin Z-Pro setup. More money but its designed to go down to 16mm on Full Frame.


Thanks Bluedog. I called the folks at 2filters.com. They were extremely courteous and helpful. They will get my business when I pull the trigger on this..in the next few days probably.

They recommended the Cokin Z Pro as well. The holder can reverse - moving the frame of the holder out of the way of my 17mm lens on my FF body - no vignetting at all. The holder will take the HiTech 4x5s.. they recommend a .6 soft and a .9 hard for starters. So my starter kit would be a Z Pro holder, a few adapter rings and the two HiTech filters - all told at a reasonable price.

They also recommend a Cokin Z164 CP for that holder. The price of the CP is more than the price of the starter kit I just described, so I will think about the CP for a another week or two (gotta let the plastic cool down..).

Any thoughts on the above kit?

[Blue S2]

I use a 5D with the P series wide kit. It only holds one filter. It still vignettes at anything wider than 28mm. Not by much, but its there.

You would have to go larger if you wanted to vignetting. So, not too many options besides what you have already looked into. Or at least non that I came across. The problem is the same with multiple threaded filters. A 5D with wide angles really needs a lot of space near the front of the lens.

[SYS]

Thanks Bluedog. I called the folks at 2filters.com. They were extremely courteous and helpful. They will get my business when I pull the trigger on this..in the next few days probably.

They recommended the Cokin Z Pro as well. The holder can reverse - moving the frame of the holder out of the way of my 17mm lens on my FF body - no vignetting at all. The holder will take the HiTech 4x5s.. they recommend a .6 soft and a .9 hard for starters. So my starter kit would be a Z Pro holder, a few adapter rings and the two HiTech filters - all told at a reasonable price.

They also recommend a Cokin Z164 CP for that holder. The price of the CP is more than the price of the starter kit I just described, so I will think about the CP for a another week or two (gotta let the plastic cool down..).

Any thoughts on the above kit?

No comment on the CP, but you're on the right track with regard to the Cokin Z Pro set up. That's exactly what I should have done instead of going with all Lee set up.

[inthedeck]

I ordered a kit not too long ago, from www.2filter.com, for the Cokin Z Pro holder, and two ND Grads, from Hi-Tech. Cost about 180 bucks, shipped. Pay for the priority shipping, as the free shipping took over 2 weeks, from CT to NY -- I could have picked them up faster...hehe...as they are 100 miles from my house. Really ticked me off, because I was SURE that I would have them before taking my vacation to Cali. Oh well...at least I had a CPL on the 17-40L. If you would like the model numbers/sku/etc. I can provide them when I get home.

[SYS]

I ordered a kit not too long ago, from www.2filter.com (http://www.2filter.com), for the Cokin Z Pro holder, and two ND Grads, from Hi-Tech. Cost about 180 bucks, shipped. Pay for the priority shipping, as the free shipping took over 2 weeks, from CT to NY -- I could have picked them up faster...hehe...as they are 100 miles from my house. Really ticked me off, because I was SURE that I would have them before taking my vacation to Cali. Oh well...at least I had a CPL on the 17-40L. If you would like the model numbers/sku/etc. I can provide them when I get home.

Perhaps they had to backorder like they did with mine? After I had waited for about two weeks for my order, I sent 2filter.com an email inquiring about my order only to find out that they had shipped a couple days before the inquiry. It'd be have been nice if they had notify me of the shipping... :rolleyes:

[inthedeck]

Tell me about it. I kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting. While I was in Cali. I received a call from my brother, 2 days before I got back...stating that the filters finally arrived. Had I come home, and there was nothing, I would have ordered them elsewhere...but, when I called them, the woman was like...oh, these should go out today, as we have them in stock. Well...lesson learned...pay for priority shipping...and if they ain't here in 2-4 days (100 miles away), then call and complain.

[SYS]

Since there are some forum members who had good experiences dealing with the 2filters.com, I don't want to come off as whining, but when I first contacted them to order Lee filter set up from them, the person actually tried to persuaded me to get the Cokin filters with the Cokin P set up, stating that the Cokin filters are as good as the Lee's.... But that's not what I read as a general consensus on this forum. I figured out why she was trying to have me buy the all Cokin set up when I learned that Lee items had to be backordered.... When I insisted on getting the Lee products, that's when their friendliness seemed to have evaporated. When I finally got the stuff, it turned out that they backordered from the leefiltersusa.com in Hollywood, Ca!! I could have gone straight to them and ordered all of my stuff without having to wait for two weeks...

[inthedeck]

Good to know. Wish I had them for some of the shots...but, oh well...next vacation is in Nashville, TN. I am sure I can use them there...even for a day or two.

[Richard_Miami]

Inthe deck
I am very interested in the SKUs -- I am about to order the setup from 2Fitlers. I will also take your advice on the shipping issue.

Both of you - or anyone
What are you guys going to do for CPs? 2Filters quoted me $285 for the Cokin Z164, and $222 for the Tiffen 4x4 CP.. any thoughts?

[inthedeck]

Well, I haven't figured that part out yet, as I have a CPL that fits on the threads of my lens. Should that become an issue, I will see what progresses from there. This is the first set of ND Grads that I have purchased, ever, so there's going to be a slight learning curve, but I am not sure I will need a CPL anymore...or that's at least what I think.

[SYS]

I also have the screw on CPL for 77mm, so I don't know what to say about those square types...

[Blue S2]

The CPL does something different than a GND. They are still quite useful. I still have my threaded one...but ive been meaning to replace it with a CPL designed for the filter holder. They drop in just like the square filters but you can still rotate them around like a circle. (because they are a circle!)

[Richard_Miami]

The Cokin one is round and rotable within the holder. I don't have a 77mm CP so I am seriously considering buying the Cokin Z164. This will help me NOT to have to buy CPs for other lenses. Given the high price tag, I am hoping for any advice I can get. Thanks.

[inthedeck]

Here's the SKU's RM...

HTZ77GD9S - HiTech Z 77mm 0.9SL GRAD KIT -- The filter kit comes with a 77mm adapter ring, the holder, and one soft filter (.9).

HT1412 - HITECH 4X5 GRADUAL ND.9 HARD -- This is the second filter.

Mind you, the kit would change based on the thread size of your lens. HTZ..GD9S (77mm, 72mm, 67mm, etc.).

See ya.

[ibdb]

I have the Z-Pro + Hitech setup that I have just started to use on my 20D + 10-22. I looked at the Cokin Z164 polarizer, but couldn't convince myself I wanted to spend that much, and got the Hoya screw-in instead. It's not quite as convenient, but it's doing the trick, so far.

All in all, I'm really happy with it. I probably should have gone with a hard edge GND as well as the soft edge, though. Shooting dark foregrounds against lighter skies in the rapidly changing lighting of a sunset can make it tough to place a soft edge filter correctly.

[Richard_Miami]

I have the Z-Pro + Hitech setup that I have just started to use on my 20D + 10-22. I looked at the Cokin Z164 polarizer, but couldn't convince myself I wanted to spend that much, and got the Hoya screw-in instead. It's not quite as convenient, but it's doing the trick, so far.

All in all, I'm really happy with it. I probably should have gone with a hard edge GND as well as the soft edge, though. Shooting dark foregrounds against lighter skies in the rapidly changing lighting of a sunset can make it tough to place a soft edge filter correctly.


I am having a hard time swallowing almost $300 for a filter.. but when I think I am putting it in front of some very pricey glass and hardware.. it is easier to swallow. The difference for me is that I want freedom in my lens selection, and not be restricted to only 77mm when I need a CP.. I just have to go find yet another little old lady to mug.:rolleyes:

[ibdb]

The two lenses I just purchased and was most likely to use the CPL (and GND setup) on were both 77mm filter sizes, so that made it a little easier.

I already had a 67mm CPL for a lens that I didn't see myself using the GND setup with (70-200 f/4), so that also helped.

My main hesitation was whether the screw-in + Z-Pro setup would add too much complexity. So far I've found that my GND shoots are slow and deliberate enough that adjusting the CPL and GND setup separately hasn't been an issue.

Hope that makes sense (but yeah, if someone dropped $300 into my mad money fund, I'd still be tempted ;) ).

[Richard_Miami]

David.. yep, it makes sense. If I had a CP or two I would feel the same way. I am only considering the z164 to SAVE money.. lol. This way one CP fits all.
I shoot almost all my daytime shots in bright, strong South Florida sunlight.. a year round thing for us.. so the CP is more necessary than optional. If the $300 doesn't go to the filter, it goes to glass.. which drives the need for the filter more.. which.. well.. is it the CP which is supposed to spin? or my head??

[inthedeck]

All the more reason to own L's hehe. Most L's in my bag have a 77mm thread such as the 17-40L, 300F4LIS, 400 5.6L, not all such as the 70-200 f4L.

For the other lenses, I don't need CPL's cause that is not what I would use a prime for, necessarily. They just get cheapo UV filters, to protect the frontal elements. The filter and the cap come off together, very well. Never a need to pull the cap off, and then the filter. Just unscrew the filter with cap on, and replace when done.

I have yet to try the GND's...so, once I have the chance, I will let you know. See ya.