Cokin filter question, need help!!

[JohnnyV]

Hi all, wanted to buy cokin ND square filters but not sure if that is the best way to go. Are they good glass and do the holders cause any interferance in wide angle lens? Are there any other solutions and if so where is a good place to buy? THANKS IN ADVANCE.

[Jon]

Cokin's holders (if you're going to use a wide angle lens, get the UWA holder) are good. Their NDs aren't ND, but a slightly tinted grey. Hi-Tech, Lee and Singh Ray all make square/rectangular NDs that will fit the Cokin holders. I buy my Singh Ray ND Grads direct from Singh Ray.

[JohnnyV]

Thank you Jon, will take your advice and check out those filters from single ray. What are the most popular? Split ND, Gradual ND ETC.. John V

[Jon]

Depends on what you're doing. They all have their own uses. What are you looking to do?

[JohnnyV]

Jon, was looking to take landscape, sunsets, anything that requires neutralizing bright light over 1/2 of the picture frame. I heard split ND filters are tricky because you have to hide a line that the filter produces. Are ND grad filters better to work with? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. Which ones do you prefer? John

[Jon]

With either "split" (which would be half-filters) or grads, your aperture is going to influence how abrupt the transition is. At smaller apertures the transition is going to be closer to what it actually is in the filter; at wide apertures, your depth of field will throw the transition still further out of focus. That's why it's essential to stop down in order to adjust the transition.

I've never seen "split" ND (or any other kind) filters that weren't screw-in. I emphatically don't recommend screw-ins for this application as they lock you into composing so the composition fits the transition while with the rectangular ones the transition can be adjusted to your composition. "Hard" grads are better for scenes where there's a pronounced horizon, such as a seascape; soft grads will be more useful if there's an uneven horizon, for instance mountains or forested areas. And +2 and +3 stops are the most generally useful. Here's a reprint from Outdoor Photographer by the late Galen Rowell on usign grads. He also used Singh Ray grads.

[JohnnyV]

Thanks again, that article was very good!! John. Have a good day!

[badams]

if you get the hitech gnd or nd (I can't remember which one it is as I got both) and need a storage box, don't get the cokin storage box as the filter is too tall for it. I just made that mistake and now have to return the storage box.

So what does everyone use to store their filters in?

[JohnnyV]

Thanks for the tip Badams, by the way where do you buy your filters? Thanks, JohnnyV