Use of NDG filters with CP

I have a circular polarizer that screws on the lens. I have recently bought some ND filters with the Lee adapter. The adapter of course will not attach to the lens with the CP screwed on. How do you guys stack your ND filters with the polarizer.
Thanx

Hi. I don't believe you can as the filter holder ring adaptor needs to screw on to your lens. It doesn't work if you screw it to the polarising filter thread as you can imagine everything will spin round. The solution is to buy the the polarising filter made for these square type filter holders.

It looks like a standard circular filter but has a knurled rim for turning in the filter holder. This polariser fits into the first slot closest to the lens. Your ND grads then stack in the remaining slots to suit the shot you intent to take.

You will need to buy one of these polarisers made for the holder unfortunately.

It really is worth it though as it will vastly improve landscapes etc.
Reaperman

I use the Lee system and it uses a 105mm CPL attached to the front of the holder, using a special threaded ring, that you buy separately. The ring attaches in the same way as the spacers. Lee recommends that a CPL be placed as the frontmost filter as it produces better results. I've never checked this out for myself.

I had the very same issue when I first did this set up. I own the the Lee 4x4 CPL and it has done wonders with my photography. It's an expensive piece of glass but well worth it.
I ordered mine directly from Lee and it's pretty much the same price as b&h.

I also have the Lee setup, complete with the 105mm CPL. However, if I'm feeling lazy or rushed, I'll simply mount my B+W polarizer to the lens and hand-hold the GND filter in front of that. Works just fine, and I can't tell the difference whether the CPL is in front or at the rear.

Interesting - do you find that you really need to mount the CPL and ND filters at the same time? I'm not saying that the combo won't work, as evidenced by the posts here, but most folks tend to either use one or the other.

Anytime you start stacking more glass/elements/whateve​r in front of the lens, you run the risk of image degradation. I only own the CPL which does wonders with sky, reflections, saturation, etc. I just orient myself to the shot and turn the ring to get the desired shot. I realize that it will also darken the shadow areas to, possibly up to 2-stops, but I can usually pull most of that back in an adjustment exposure layer if it's that bad. - Stu

Not at all...it all depends on the situation and lighting. For example...the full-size image of my avatar had reflections on the water surface, and the upper portion cliff face (can't see in this small image) was bathed in very bright sunlight. I used the CPL to kill the reflections, and a 3-stop GND to knock down the cliff face...handholding the GND in front and against the CPL filter really doesn't have any vignetting effects that you'd need to worry about. My personal preference is to do what I can in-camera rather than spend a whole lot of time in Photoshop...plus, it gives me a good reason to buy stuff.

And i asked many times about using more than 1 filter at the same time on a lens but seems i didn't get that final answer, and in fact i asked because of vignetting if using that combo mostly on Ultra wide angle lenses, on standard or longer lenses there is no problem.

Tareq wrote in post #5909393
And i asked many times about using more than 1 filter at the same time on a lens but seems i didn't get that final answer, and in fact i asked because of vignetting if using that combo mostly on Ultra wide angle lenses, on standard or longer lenses there is no problem.

Don't confuse the two situations. When handholding a GND filter up against the face of my B+W CPL that's mounted on the lens, I do not get any vignetting. The only thing to worry about is getting a fingertip or two in the picture. You can't alwats see this through the viewfinder since they're not a 100% view (at least not on the 5D and the xxD series).

When I use the full Lee setup with the 105mm CPL (see below pic) on the 5D with the 17-40L and two GND filters, I will get some serious vignetting from the outer ring of the CPL up until about 20mm or so. At about 21mm, the vignetting is pretty much gone.

Thank you for the responses.
I am not understanding exactly though how the 105mm CPL is set up on the camera together with the other filters.

davudvl wrote in post #5912986
Thank you for the responses.
I am not understanding exactly though how the 105mm CPL is set up on the camera together with the other filters.

If you look closely at the above picture, you'll see two brass screws (there are actually 4, but only two are visible). These screws hold the stack of filter slots onto the frame. The 105mm CPL has a holder ring that mounts to the frame with these same four screws...the CPL then screws into the holder ring (exactly like a "normal" CPL screws onto your lens barrel). The CPL is free to rotate, again, just like your typical CPL.

I've combined both on my MK III and did not see a problem with image degration. I only combine both if I know I'm doing landscapes with water.

argyle wrote in post #5910959
Don't confuse the two situations. When handholding a GND filter up against the face of my B+W CPL that's mounted on the lens, I do not get any vignetting. The only thing to worry about is getting a fingertip or two in the picture. You can't alwats see this through the viewfinder since they're not a 100% view (at least not on the 5D and the xxD series).

When I use the full Lee setup with the 105mm CPL (see below pic) on the 5D with the 17-40L and two GND filters, I will get some serious vignetting from the outer ring of the CPL up until about 20mm or so. At about 21mm, the vignetting is pretty much gone.

That is the reason why I didn't get this setup because of vignetting. I don't vignette at all with just the 3 slotted foundation kit on my 16-35 II. The 4x4 CPL is more than adequate.

Jdizzle - I confess my ingnorance of the cokin system although I realize they're a respected company and their product has been on the market for some time. I am curious though. how rugged are the filters... are they made of glass/plastic, and are they prone to scratching? Thanks. - Stu

jdizzle wrote in post #5919199
That is the reason why I didn't get this setup because of vignetting. I don't vignette at all with just the 3 slotted foundation kit on my 16-35 II. The 4x4 CPL is more than adequate.

I have the same experience with my 17-40L and the 5D...that is, no vignetting at all from the foundation kit holder with the three slots in place. Adding the 105mm polarizer is what does it. But if you don't need to go wider than 21mm, its not a problem. If the occasion does come up where I do need to go wider, I'll just use my standard B+W CPL and hand-hold the GND in front.