Lee Worth the Trouble & $$$?

Until this point, I've gotten away with hand holding a Cokin GND (the base model) when I needed, but now as my skills are advancing, I would like to get a proper setup.

Everyone says get a Lee setup, but I have to wonder if it's really worth it? It seems like filters are a pain to find in stock, especially soft edge GNDs. Prices are a little high, but I don't mind paying a little extra IF it's warranted.

What are your guys thoughts?

Absolutely worth it. Once you get the foundation kit plus the adapters you're set. You can then use Singh-Ray filters or other filters if you like that are of that size.

I actually have 2 foundation kits - one is setup to be able to use a polarizer and the other is setup to allow 3 filters.

Thank you for your quick reply.

Can I still use my current CPL with the holder?

VicE wrote in post #15018484
Thank you for your quick reply.

Can I still use my current CPL with the holder?

That depends on what your CPL is.

The first way to do it is to screw the Lee adapter into the CPL if its' threaded. The recommended way is to use the Lee CPL adapter which requires a much larger CPL. CPL is typically the first filter you want light to go through, then the others.

Also by screwing the Lee adapter into the CPL you could cause more vignetting depending on the lens and how the holder is configured. And you wouldn't want to use the wide angle adapters because it would be extremely difficult to get the CPL off the adapter because of how that adapter is made it would cover the part of the filter that moves. It would also be nearly impossible to turn the Lee filters without messing up the CPL positioning.

Yes they are worth both the trouble and the money.nntry Robert White in the UK. They are usually is stock and does not really cost any more, even adding in. Shipping.

Ah, hope I didn't just make a mistake by purchasing the wide angle adapter ring... Guess I can pick up a standard adapter ring as well.

My CPL is a 77mm Marumi DHG Super, by the way. It's super thin as it is...

Thank for your help. I'll get all worked out eventually.

rklepper wrote in post #15018692
Yes they are worth both the trouble and the money.nntry Robert White in the UK. They are usually is stock and does not really cost any more, even adding in. Shipping.

Thank you for the suggestion. I've never ordered from outside the USA before.

Piecing a Lee system together is frustrating. I've got a foundation kit and (3) soft GND filters - but no adapter ring!

I got anxious and picked up a basic Cokin system (adapter, holder, (1) filter) for less than the cost of the foundation kit). I'll be selling it once I get the Lee adapter ring...but until then, Cokin all the way!

They'd be a lot easier to find if they weren't worth it Yes, they're a godsend for being able to get better shots in the camera.

No, you didn't make a mistake getting the wide angle ring, that's the one you want. It will fit all of your (77mm) lenses and helps keep vignetting and whatnot down when you're using a UWA.

I can't mount my screw-on CPL with the holder since the adapter ring won't screw on with the filter in place. If you could mount it, I wouldn't recommend it, as you could wind up getting it stuck since both pieces rotate.

I highly recommend the square, Lee CPL, for use with the filter kit. It's super easy to use that way and can then be stacked with a couple of different filters.

I highly recommend Robert White.

And they usually have much of the Lee stuff in stock. I have ordered most of my filter stuff from them, as well as a few Billingham bags and have always been very satisfied.

VicE wrote in post #15018708
Thank you for the suggestion. I've never ordered from outside the USA before.

Lee is absolutely positively worth the effort and $$$ to pick up. I overpaid for my foundations kit and adapter ring, and I don't even care. It's probably the only piece of gear that I have ever overpaid for.

Snydremark wrote in post #15018732
I highly recommend the square, Lee CPL, for use with the filter kit. It's super easy to use that way and can then be stacked with a couple of different filters.

I saw this on Lee's website. It would work fine for 90% of what I shoot, but not so well if I needed to use it in conjunction with GND since I couldn't rotate the square CPL independently. Still, the Lee Square CPL is significantly cheaper than Lee Rotating CPL...

I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. The foundation kit and adapter ring is on its way.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, guys!

VicE wrote in post #15019451
I saw this on Lee's website. It would work fine for 90% of what I shoot, but not so well if I needed to use it in conjunction with GND since I couldn't rotate the square CPL independently. Still, the Lee Square CPL is significantly cheaper than Lee Rotating CPL...

I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. The foundation kit and adapter ring is on its way.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, guys!

You'd be surprised. Due to the way the CPLs work, you just orient the filter to the angle that it's effective at, and then slide it into the holder. From there, you can add whichever GNDs, NDs, etc that you want to use along with it; since the CPL's effect is angular, you pretty much only need the right angles available.

There is a tiny bit of slop in both the angle that the filters can be tweaked in the filter, as well as the gradation with the GNDs that you can fudge where they are and slightly rotate the entire holder as well.

Those were all things *I* was really concerned with when I migrated over to that CPL, as well; but it's turned out to not be an issue.

During the film days I had quite a few filters of different types which I eventually adapted to a Cokin P holder. I even have a homemade matte box that will work with the Cokin holder.

Now that my film cameras have been sold (except the 4x5) and everything is digital, I am convinced that all I need is a CPL and a couple of NDs. I'm still carrying a grad but I think PS and LR are usually better and more flexible choices. But you have to shoot RAW if you don't use Grads.

So I have simplified my system to 77mm round glass filters and step-down rings. I have a CPL, two NDs and a much lighter load. No more square filters, holders, adapter rings or their expense. And I am concentrating on the photographs instead of the stuff.

Having said all of that, I think that, if you're going to use squares, plastic ones (or at least popularly priced plastic ones) are not as good as glass squares. The optical resin squares that I have used have had bad color shifts and degraded IQ. I think Cokin still calls them "organic glass". Well,if you remember your HS science class, organic just means carbon based. It's plastic. I know it's supposed to be optical quality but it just doesn't seem to work as well as good optical glass. I think "Hitech" may be worth looking at but that's about all the plastic I would consider.

The Lee holder setup is pretty pricey. About $200, I think. There's another reason to consider round glass filters with step down rings and software solutions for the grads. FWIW.