ND Filters?

So, I bought a realllly cheap ND filter kit ages ago to give a try out, hey, guess what. It was/is useless!

So, what 10 stop filters do you guys use? I know the big brands are Hoya and B+W, is there any difference between them, why are they so expensive etc..? I've also found a Haida filter, which is about half the price, is it worth considering? What's your thoughts?

Pros? Cons?

Thanks

What kind of kit did you get? there's so many different ones and they have different uses.

I love my Cokin P setup with Hi-Tech filters. Don't have a 10 stop yet though.

The price you're paying is for good, optically ground glass that doesn't distort the light coming in to your camera and cause loss of sharpness, contrast, etc; which is what you get when you buy one of the big brands.

Personally, I've never heard of Haida before, and would be pretty skeptical. I'd stick with the known names, even though they're a bit pricey. Hoya and B+W for sure; Marumi may make one that isn't horribly expensive, but I'm unsure.

You could always look into the rectangular filter sets, too (Cokin, Lee, etc). They can be pricey, too, but they're a bit more flexible and can be used on multiple lens diameters with a cheap adapter ring instead of having to buy a filter for each lens size. Cokin can have a bit more of a color shift than the Lee, but it's also cheaper and easier to get [Lee filters, generally considered to be at the top of the list, are fairly difficult to get a hold of in most places].

maverick75 wrote in post #16085539
What kind of kit did you get? there's so many different ones and they have different uses.

I love my Cokin P setup with Hi-Tech filters. Don't have a 10 stop yet though.

It was just a kist that cost me about £20 of ebay, has about 10 screw on mounts, and mounts like Lee/Cokin, so the big square filters you push into a holder.

Snydremark wrote in post #16085547
The price you're paying is for good, optically ground glass that doesn't distort the light coming in to your camera and cause loss of sharpness, contrast, etc; which is what you get when you buy one of the big brands.

Personally, I've never heard of Haida before, and would be pretty skeptical. I'd stick with the known names, even though they're a bit pricey. Hoya and B+W for sure; Marumi may make one that isn't horribly expensive, but I'm unsure.

You could always look into the rectangular filter sets, too (Cokin, Lee, etc). They can be pricey, too, but they're a bit more flexible and can be used on multiple lens diameters with a cheap adapter ring instead of having to buy a filter for each lens size. Cokin can have a bit more of a color shift than the Lee, but it's also cheaper and easier to get [Lee filters, generally considered to be at the top of the list, are fairly difficult to get a hold of in most places].

Ah right okay, makes me lean towards spending a bit more if it is genuine quality you're getting an not just a brand name. Oh, I thought Haida might have been quite a good brand from the prices? (Roughly half the price of Hoya/B+W)

The Lee/Cokin filters are like the ones I already have, and to be honest I find them a bit annoying to actually put together, thus why I'm leaning towards the screw ins. I'm only going to be needing one size anyway (77mm) to fit my 10 - 22 and 24 - 105. So I think I'm going to head down the Hoya/B+W route.

I now use a nisi 77 mm ten stop filter having read a number of reviews on different makes. One of the trade offs on any most nd filters is a colour cast the nisi from my experience has no colour cast, is a fantastic filter and very good price at less than half the cost of the top named version.
One wrd of advise keep it clean and dry as it is a git to clean in the field. I don't generally use uv filters with digital as I have seen no benefit but have ordered one to fit in front of the 10 stopper.
Hope this helps. Rich p

the cheaper 10 stops will give a color cast, which you can fix in PP afterwards.

i have used the b+w 10 stop and really liked the results. it sounds like it would serve you well.

i am switching all of my filters over to lee, so i am waiting for a big stopper (king of the 10 stop filters) to get delivered

I have actually used a Haida Pro II 10 stop (and still do). Very little colour cast, very good filter.

Brelly wrote in post #16085585
...

The Lee/Cokin filters are like the ones I already have, and to be honest I find them a bit annoying to actually put together, thus why I'm leaning towards the screw ins. I'm only going to be needing one size anyway (77mm) to fit my 10 - 22 and 24 - 105. So I think I'm going to head down the Hoya/B+W route.

If you get into it much, you may want to revisit the Lee/Cokin/HiTech route. One thing that those give you over the screw-ins is that stacking an ND and a CPL can quickly get to vignetting when you're using screw-ins; whereas, the panel filters can stack easier without that problem.

I use my Lees (CPL, Big Stopper and/or GNDs) all the time with the 24-105 and 10-22.

For the screw type, B+W or Hoya ought to easily treat you well, though.

I have a couple of Singh-Ray Vari-ND filters, love them.

rgpine wrote in post #16085597
I now use a nisi 77 mm ten stop filter having read a number of reviews on different makes. One of the trade offs on any most nd filters is a colour cast the nisi from my experience has no colour cast, is a fantastic filter and very good price at less than half the cost of the top named version.
One wrd of advise keep it clean and dry as it is a git to clean in the field. I don't generally use uv filters with digital as I have seen no benefit but have ordered one to fit in front of the 10 stopper.
Hope this helps. Rich p

I'll have a look into the nisi filters then, find a few revies and see what I think, thanks

pdrober2 wrote in post #16085693
the cheaper 10 stops will give a color cast, which you can fix in PP afterwards.

i have used the b+w 10 stop and really liked the results. it sounds like it would serve you well.

i am switching all of my filters over to lee, so i am waiting for a big stopper (king of the 10 stop filters) to get delivered

Yeah I've noticed that, anything shot with my current filters come out with like a purple tint/haze which has always annoyed me.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking as well, they seem to get good reviews by just about everyone along with Hoya.

Snydremark wrote in post #16085731
If you get into it much, you may want to revisit the Lee/Cokin/HiTech route. One thing that those give you over the screw-ins is that stacking an ND and a CPL can quickly get to vignetting when you're using screw-ins; whereas, the panel filters can stack easier without that problem.

I use my Lees (CPL, Big Stopper and/or GNDs) all the time with the 24-105 and 10-22.

For the screw type, B+W or Hoya ought to easily treat you well, though.

Ah okay, maybe when I really get into LE and start getting good at them, if I see anything that makes me want to change I'll give it a go, thanks

pyro1 wrote in post #16085748
I have a couple of Singh-Ray Vari-ND filters, love them.

I'll have a look into these as well, thanks

Sirrith wrote in post #16085702
I have actually used a Haida Pro II 10 stop (and still do). Very little colour cast, very good filter.

I've got a Haida 10-stopper as well and I reckon it's just as good as filters that are twice the price.

Here's my initial test. Unfiltered, Haida, Heliopan - all embedded jpegs, so minimal, yet identical, processing.

Snydremark wrote in post #16085547
Personally, I've never heard of Haida before, and would be pretty skeptical.

They do seem to be a much bigger hit in the UK than in the US. Here's 12 pages of discussion. LINK

hollis_f wrote in post #16086642
I've got a Haida 10-stopper as well and I reckon it's just as good as filters that are twice the price.

Here's my initial test. Unfiltered, Haida, Heliopan - all embedded jpegs, so minimal, yet identical, processing.

They do seem to be a much bigger hit in the UK than in the US. Here's 12 pages of discussion. LINK

Ah, I remember you posting these photos some where else Hollis, it might have even been when I was first looking at filters, and ended up buy ing a cheap one because I wasn't too sure about the whole thing. That might save me a hell of a lot of money then, as they look good to me!

hollis_f wrote in post #16086642
....
They do seem to be a much bigger hit in the UK than in the US. Here's 12 pages of discussion. LINK

Interesting; thanks!

Managed to pick up a used B+W that looks in great condition for £60! Just gotta wait for it to arrive now!