Filter holder w wide angle/ filters & stacking question

Hey guys ,,

I know I know , every other thread is about the holders and the filers , but i've used the search option for a couple of weeks and i just need some clarifications and confirmations , i pretty much know what i'll be buying but need some directions ,,

-I'm ordering in a couple of days the sigma 17-50 OS . The Sigma 10-20 (the older version / variable aperture) will follow within a few weeks , both take 77mm .

1-I'll be getting a CPL , 1 ND & 2 GNDs + a holder and an adapter .

I'm pretty much set on the CPL , i have a 58mm B+W KSM MRC and i'm really happy with it so i'll probably get a 77mm , from what i've read i don't need the slim version , is that correct ?

2-About the ND i'm still not sure about it , i'll be using it for landscape to be able to use a slower shutter + when doing portraits w/ flash during the day as i'm limited to a shutter of 1/200 ,,

I'm leaning towards the screw-in 3 stops , i heard the Hitech ones are good , what do you think ?

3-About the GNDs , i'll be getting 0.9 Hard + 0.6 Soft ,, probably going for the Hitech 4x5 , heard good things about them ,, Any more suitable options ?

4-About the holder and adapter ,, i know the LEE foundation kit is the best , but as you know it's rare to find and in Canada its price is crazy , around double the US one , so buying locally is not an option ,
on the other hand , Only B&H or E-bay provides reasonable shipping costs and i can't register myself in any to be in the waiting list ,

so i thought about the Cokin ones , from what i read the P-sized holder vignettes starting from 12mm on a crop , will i still get the vignetting with the Z-pro ?

And is that the suitable adapter ? Cokin 77mm Z-PRO Adapter Ring (0.75mm Pitch Thread) .

Finally , About stacking , i know it may degrade the image quality but is it possible to Stack the CPL - ND - GND , for example if i'm shooting a landscape with a water surface in it , i'll need the CPL to control the reflections + sky , ND to be able to use a slower shutter and a ND to expose the sky accurately to get the details , is that possible ? any vignetting issue i should take care of ?

about my budget , i'll probably want to keep it less than 500$ .

N.B. : i will be traveling by the End of June , so i can't wait more than that for the LEE foundation .

Short version : 77mm filter size , wide angle 10-20 on a crop , Which Holder and Adapter ? Screw-in or Circular and which brand ? Slim CPL ? Stacking issues ?

Thank you in advance , you've always been so helpful .

i have a cokin p system mainly to suite a tokina 11-16, you can buy a holder that is designed for UWA lenses that does not vignett too badly, there is still a little in the corners @ 11mm, down side of this holder is that it will only hold 1 filter, the regular holder will take 3

Thnx for the input , but i don't think 1 slot will be practical , i was hoping to get away with the regular 3 slots .

Any other thoughts ?

I shot with the Lee cpl and a nd, no issues whatsoever. I use an ultra wide adaptor for all my lenses.


I have the Lee foundationholder, CPL front lens (uses 4 extended screws to attach to the holder), and a .9 nd, and a .3, .6, and .9 hard gnd filters. I think I paid approximately $590 for those. I also got the "big stopper"...off the top of my head, I do not remember the price..maybe $125.

Even though the the Cokin Z-Pro is a larger holder, it is more prone to vignetting. So much so that one workaround is to mount the adapter ring in the first filter slot, pretty much limiting you to two filters at the very most.

The Lee system is by far the best in this regard.

Thanks guys , i appreciate your help , i guess i'll try to wait a little bit for the LEE system , do you happen to know a place where i can register in the waiting list that ships to Canada with reasonable costs ? if not i'm gonna try to get the Z-pro and modify it , can anyone please confirm on my ND/CPL and GND choices ? thanks again

If you are planning on stacking the CPL and a screw in ND and the filter holder you will vignette badly on a WA lens. That said, if you are going with a filter holder system why not just get a 4x4 ND to go along with the GND's? Stacking just a CPL with the filter holder will be much better than stacking all 3.

first of all , thanks for you help

well , i thought about the Screw in ND for 2 reasons : it's be easier to set up when doing portraits and to get away with putting 2 other filter in the holder if i do the modification that Argyle suggested ,, but if it'll cause hard vignetting , i' guess i'll disregard it ,, my main problem now is the holder , LEE and even the Z-pro are OOS and the local stores have CRAZY prices .

About the CPL , am i gaining anything getting the slim ? the slim B+W KSM MRC is actually cheaper by a couple of dollars ?

The slim will prevent vignetting on the EXTREME WA focal lengths, however most slim CPL will not have front threads. This means you can't use a standard lens cap OR stack any filter/filter holder on top of it. I would just use a regular cpl and sacrifice a few mm of extreme WA. If you can afford it or want it, a LEE 4x4 CPL might be a good option to still be able to utilize the WA lens at it's full potential.

Try http://2filter.com/Lee​filters/LeeFilters4x4.​html and see if they will ship to Canada. They are a great place to buy filters from, and also offer filter kits so you can save money by buying more than 1 at a time. Give them a call if you have questions they have great customer service.

And you can also try uniquephoto.com. They also have it in stock, and may ship reasonably to Canada.

TuanTime wrote in post #12334863
The slim will prevent vignetting on the EXTREME WA focal lengths, however most slim CPL will not have front threads. This means you can't use a standard lens cap OR stack any filter/filter holder on top of it. I would just use a regular cpl and sacrifice a few mm of extreme WA. If you can afford it or want it, a LEE 4x4 CPL might be a good option to still be able to utilize the WA lens at it's full potential.

Try http://2filter.com/Lee​filters/LeeFilters4x4.​html and see if they will ship to Canada. They are a great place to buy filters from, and also offer filter kits so you can save money by buying more than 1 at a time. Give them a call if you have questions they have great customer service.

i remembered i read somewhere over here , that's not practical at all ,,

I contacted 2filter.com about their policy and rates , thanks a lot

You mean the Foundation kit ? i found it OOS , but the Lee 105mm Round Filter Holder For Foundation Kit FP105 is in stock , i'm not sure if it's a substitute ? is it a normal holder than needs an adapter and then can use the filters directly ?

I appreciate the help .

The 105mm adapter ring fits onto the front of a Lee Foundation Kit so that you can attach 105mm filters to the front of the Foundation kit.

Oh okey , it's just an adapter ring , the title got me confused , thanks