Questions on ND Filters

Stacking like that is perfectly legit; as long as you've got quality filters. But, that quality just isn't cheap; and certainly not cheaper than a 10 stop, alone.

This shot was a 3 stop across the whole frame (pushed down like I mentioned earlier), with a 3 stop and 2 stop grad stacked up top to tone back the sky and retain some of the cloud details therein:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/snydremark/11​334890796/

Heya,

Thanks for that.

Yea, I suffer from wanting to get a kit for my current kit. I carry everything in my backpack when I go out because I like to change my plans on the fly as weather and conditions dictate. One of those things you learn to deal with in Florida where it goes from hot to cold, rain to dry in a heartbeat. Ridiculous. But there's so much to see and places to go, so it's working in that regard.

My main two lenses for uses for long exposure are my 35mm (67mm filter) and 11-16mm (77mm filter). My primary use for the ND is likely to be at the beach, since we have, well, tons of them here in Florida and sunsets/sunrises. I'd like to smooth the ocean. Smooth waves crashing. In fairly bright light. That's where the 10 stop comes in. My other thing is I like to hike and we have tons of springs, rivers, etc, so there's always a babbling little creek or something, no big waterfalls since we're a flat sediment state, but plenty of moving water and interesting tucked away areas. That's where I'd like the 3 and 6 stop option. And since a lot of this is water, I'd like a polarized plate, so that I can nail down some glare, while also grabbing 2 more stops too. I wonder if I can get away without a 10 stop due to that. Doing like a 3 and 6 stop, and just using the polarized plate, so effectively having a 5, 8 and 11 stop setup.

Just trying to work out a potential price.

I'm starting to think you're right though. I might need to just get a holder, adapter ring, and a single high stop piece of glass to get into the grove with. And just add some more glass as I figure it out. I kind of want to start with something like 3~6 stop and a polarized plate though.

Any thoughts on HiTech?

Very best,

Hitech is decent, but the 10 stop has a more blue cast to it than the Big Stopper does; although, that's 'supposedly' been remedied in the newer version of their 10 stop; I can't speak from personal experience with that, though as I've only had the Big Stopper.

Their regular ND/grads are reported to have a somewhat severe magenta cast [which can actually help rather than hinder with some sunset/sunrise shooting] when stacked with each other.

Neither of these casts is anything that can't easily be overcome in PP, though. To be honest, though, I've been looking up prices as we've been having this convo and the prices just don't look *that* far apart given needing to cover a 77mm threaded lens.

I was hoping some of the other folks that have/do actively use the Hitech/Cokin filters would have jumped in, as I can only talk from anecdotal info on those guys.

Heya,

Yea the more I look at prices, it's not that much more costly to simply grab Lee stuff.

Maybe I'll get the Lee holder, 77mm wide angle adapter, and a Big Stopper (says in stock, but I'm not in a rush anyways).

Question: why is there a 77mm adapter and a 77mm wide angle adapter? I'm missing something.

Do you use a polarized filter on top of your big stopper?

Edit:

Ok, I think I'm just running in circles. In reality, I think I will not use my 11-16mm Tokina for much more than bright landscape, like beach & water. So I think I could get a simple good quality 9~10 stop filter, like the Hoya one, and call it a day there. Maybe add a polarizer to finish it off. I could then use an 8 stop and a polarizer for the 10 stop and just have that for the lens. It's my only 77mm and I don't think I'm getting any more 77mm any time soon. 67mm is a common filter in my set though. I know I'll use my 35mm and 70-200mm tons for all kinds of stuff regarding water and landscape, so I'm thinking a 3 & 6 stop, and a polarizer. Gonna start pricing it. I don't like the idea of screw on ones, but at this point, I'm already tired of reading about the $500 I'm going to have to spend for a universal plate system, and frankly, when I'm on a hike, I don't know if I want to fool with plates.

Very best,

I'm not usually one to buy on the cheap end for my photography gear, but i took a punt when i was looking at ND Filters.

In my kit i already had a Hoya Cir-Polarizing Filter (bad spelling due to that being how it's printed on the box - makes for easier search)

Rather than trying to cover for all of my lenses, i chose the lens i was most likely to use it on and went from there.

The cheapy i went for was the "Marumi Light Control-8". They must have been cheap at the time as i got two of them!

I have used them quite a bit and have had no issues with degredation of image quality.

My only complaint is that i often forget my lens sizes and seem to always reach for the lens with the wrong size thread for my filters.

Guess that means my photography has moved on and i need to cater with some other sizes.

There's many a thread on the subject but it will just bend your head.

Bite the bullet and grab some!

Heya,

It's amazing that the polarizer costs more than the 10 stop ND's.

I'm retarded. I want both. I'd like a simple circular polarized filter for my 67mm lenses, and a 3 stop ND filter for use on water and scenes where I don't need maximum stopping power (10 stop). Two simple filters. Basically $150 for that. Stacked. Not sure if they would show up badly on the focal lengths (35mm and 70-200mm). I know I need a good polarizer, and I don't always want to have to carry plates and walk around with plates on, so I'm thinking I need a good screw on polarizer anyways. Maybe I'll do that first, and worry about the 77mm later. I think it's my ultrawide that is really just throwing everything off the deep end.

Considering just getting these for my 35mm & 70-200mm (67mm filters):

B+W Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Coatings ($100)
Hoya 3 stop ND filter ($35)
Hoya 10 stop ND filter ($85)

And call it a day.

Later on, maybe get a 77mm 10 stop for my Tokina. Or just continue to make it my "night time" lens anyways (it flares badly in the light anyways).

Very best,

Well here is my situation.
- I want a Variable ND filter, (unless fixed ND filter much better)
- Circular Polarizer filter
- Gradient filter (not sure what this is, is this the one that allows u to darken only portion of the picture, like the sky?)

My problem is that I have 2 lenses now, and in future I might get other lenses too, so I would like my filters to work with all my future (better) lenses if I am planing to drop 100$+ on each filter.
Would step-up rings make these filters workable on all lenses (and would this mean for me to get biggest thread size filter possible to make it fit most potential lenses?)

Also, is there a difference Image quality wise between a say 20$ filter and a $150 one??

Snydremark wrote in post #16584110
Honestly, if you're not already itching for grads, we've probably gone off in the weeds.

Just look at a holder + rings, CPL and the Big Stopper or an equivalent for now. and worry about NDs/Grads down the road.

s

For your 1st sentence, do u mean graduated filter? Can they be variable too?
Can u expand on the 2nd sentence a bit more on what I should get??? I am not sure I get all the terms very well ...
Sorry for lots of questions because so far I have been more of a portrait shooter ...

MalVeauX wrote in post #16584577
...
Considering just getting these for my 35mm & 70-200mm (67mm filters):

B+W Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Coatings ($100)
Hoya 3 stop ND filter ($35)
Hoya 10 stop ND filter ($85)

And call it a day.

Later on, maybe get a 77mm 10 stop for my Tokina. Or just continue to make it my "night time" lens anyways (it flares badly in the light anyways).

Very best,

Seems a fine plan; those are all fine lenses and I can personally vouch for the quality of the Kaesemann, that thing is awesome. Good, quality glass and well built.

Van Gogh wrote in post #16584847
Well here is my situation.
- I want a Variable ND filter, (unless fixed ND filter much better)
- Circular Polarizer filter
- Gradient filter (not sure what this is, is this the one that allows u to darken only portion of the picture, like the sky?)

My problem is that I have 2 lenses now, and in future I might get other lenses too, so I would like my filters to work with all my future (better) lenses if I am planing to drop 100$+ on each filter.
Would step-up rings make these filters workable on all lenses (and would this mean for me to get biggest thread size filter possible to make it fit most potential lenses?)

Also, is there a difference Image quality wise between a say 20$ filter and a $150 one??

For your 1st sentence, do u mean graduated filter? Can they be variable too?
Can u expand on the 2nd sentence a bit more on what I should get??? I am not sure I get all the terms very well ...
Sorry for lots of questions because so far I have been more of a portrait shooter ...

A lot of your questions should be answered in the Filters FAQ that I linked to back in this post

As far as the variable ND, we sort of covered that earlier in the thread, but you need to be aware of the crosshatching pattern that they cause on wider angle lenses. That in and of itself is a good reason, IMO, to go with 'fixed' or standard NDs instead.

In my first sentence up there, yes, I was referring to graduated ND filters. Those are the ones that let you darken the sky without doing so to the foreground, yes.

In the second sentence, I was just referring to the pieces/parts that any 'panel' style filter system requires. Most, if not all of that should be covered in the FAQ, also.

And yes, there is a *definitive* difference in cheap and expensive filters. Cheap filters can cause severe loss of clarity, contrast, color and/or impart various, ugly color casts to your images.

Snydremark wrote in post #16585224
A lot of your questions should be answered in the Filters FAQ that I linked to back in this post

As far as the variable ND, we sort of covered that earlier in the thread, but you need to be aware of the crosshatching pattern that they cause on wider angle lenses. That in and of itself is a good reason, IMO, to go with 'fixed' or standard NDs instead.

In my first sentence up there, yes, I was referring to graduated ND filters. Those are the ones that let you darken the sky without doing so to the foreground, yes.

In the second sentence, I was just referring to the pieces/parts that any 'panel' style filter system requires. Most, if not all of that should be covered in the FAQ, also.

And yes, there is a *definitive* difference in cheap and expensive filters. Cheap filters can cause severe loss of clarity, contrast, color and/or impart various, ugly color casts to your images.

Ok thanks for the info. Will try to read the filter FAQ's as well as learn more about filters before making decisions, right now I have very little knowledge honestly if none

Van Gogh wrote in post #16586457
Ok thanks for the info. Will try to read the filter FAQ's as well as learn more about filters before making decisions, right now I have very little knowledge honestly if none

That's where we all start, man

Heya,

So I'm looking back into filters again. I thought about just getting circular screw-on filters. But then I started thinking more and more about it with a more clear mind, and realized, I'm more likely to be shooting the ocean and shore line. I live in Florida. Sometimes I'll shoot in-land. Regardless, it's almost always going to have some sky involved. So I'll probably want to go with a graduated neutral density. I figured I'd get a soft & hard edge. 3 stops.

Any thoughts on these?

Hitech 85 ND kit (holder, 77mm ring, 1 filter)

I can then add another 3 stop filter (so I have 1 hard, 1 soft). I can stack these for a 6 stop, which covers most things.

A solid 3 stopper is only $30.

Wish I could find a review and examples done with these filters. They seem too "inexpensive" to be good.

Very best,

No idea on those, although they seem like they could be a decent starting point for getting into filters. I know that Hitech, in general, has had color shifts in the past (especially when stacked). If it's all a matter of budget, though, it might be worth doing and dealing with the color casts in post if you get them.

Picked up a 100mm Hitech Pro Stop 10 on ebay for £3.75...

I started with a welding filter so I am not to bothered about the colour as I have found a few ways to overcome the problem.

Heya,

I'm just being cheap at this point. Calling myself out.

I think I'll go the middle ground, between the cheap stuff and between Lee and go with the HiTech 100mm stuff. Seems to review very well and for the overall package saves enough since I'm not going for the absolute best, I just want very good, but within reason budget wise. Ultimately it will be worth it to be able to simply attach to any lens I have.

Thinking I'll do:

Hitech 100mm holder - $60
77mm Ultrawide adapter - $30~50
67mm Ultrawide adapter - $30~50
100x100mm 10 stop filter - $100
100x100mm 3 stop hard edge grad - $80
100x100mm 3 stop soft edge grad - $80

I'll just get one at a time and learn and grow with it. Will probably start with the 10 stop.

Very best,