ND grad filter solution help!

Howdy all,

I would like to get a "kit" of grad-ND filters for my lenses, I guess Cokin is the way to go but I don't know if I need the P, Z-Pro or which one.

What I want is:
- The filter holder of course
- Adapters for 67mm, 72mm, 52mm, 58mm and 77mm for my lenses. The 67mm is the most important one (Tamron 17-50 and Canon 70-200f4L).
- A set of different strength grad-ND filters

Do I need any special adapter for my Sigma 10-20 UWA? Which one?

Can you point me to some "kit" on ebay or at least the needed parts for this? If you don't want to search ebay just mention the name of the things I need to grab.

I'm surprised I can't find this as a "kit" so I can get everything in one single package.

Any feedback tips and ideas would be really really welcomed!

Luigi

Don't overlook HiTech filters, they are just as cheap and in my opinion, having owned both, superior too.

I have the HiTech filters:

http://www.2filter.com​/prices/Hitech_Z_packa​ge.html

2filter.com can also help you with the ring adapters as well.... from your list, looks like you'll need to get 4 step up/down ring adapters. Since you have the 67mm as the one you would use the most, let that be your base and just get step up/down rings for the others.

+1 for HiTech

I've never had Cokin grads but I read a lot about them having a bit of colour cast whereas the HiTechs are neutral, and have a Cokin pricetag.

luigis wrote in post #6547831
Howdy all,

I'm surprised I can't find this as a "kit" so I can get everything in one single package.

Not everyone has the same lenses (hence, not everyone needs the same adapter size) and not everyone has the same photographic needs. I rarely need anything but a 2 stop gradual GND, while other people probably couldn't live without 2 stop hard GND.

I buy the adapter rings on Ebay...cheap, and they work just fine. I buy Hi-Tech filters from 2filter.com...stay away from Cokin, they aren't "neutral" in color! To decide what type and strength GND I needed, I simply looked at a few of my photos that would have benefited from them, and it was very obvious what was needed. You'll want to do the same.

easy choice, lee holder and adapter ring, hi tech filters don't even think twice

Thanks a lot for all the answers it really helped me, I will get a P-Cokin adapter and rings from third party at ebay and go for the hitech filters. The only thing that matters in quality is the filter itself so paying $5 or so for the holder and rings makes sense to me.

Luigi

luigis wrote in post #6553205
Thanks a lot for all the answers it really helped me, I will get a P-Cokin adapter and rings from third party at ebay and go for the hitech filters. The only thing that matters in quality is the filter itself so paying $5 or so for the holder and rings makes sense to me.

Luigi

Yep, this is exactly what I did. Nice setup you'll have too

I recommend you go with either Z-Pro holder or Lee holder 4x4, don't get P-holder, i used it and replace it with Z-pro without looking back, i even want to sell my P-Cokin holder with P-series filters.

Why? As far as I understand the advantage of Z-Pro over the P series is the larger diameter. As I only have 77mm lenses what would be the advantage of the Z-Pro? Aren't filters more expensive too?

Tareq wrote in post #6555591
I recommend you go with either Z-Pro holder or Lee holder 4x4, don't get P-holder, i used it and replace it with Z-pro without looking back, i even want to sell my P-Cokin holder with P-series filters.

luigis wrote in post #6553205
Thanks a lot for all the answers it really helped me, I will get a P-Cokin adapter and rings from third party at ebay and go for the hitech filters. The only thing that matters in quality is the filter itself so paying $5 or so for the holder and rings makes sense to me.

Luigi

why? if your serious about using filters why go the cheap way...I have read countless times about people sanding down different parts of the cokin holders and such, seems like a waste of time, are the lee filter holder and adapter really worth what they charge? NOOO. Is it worth it to have the ability to take off parts of the holder to shoot really wide (aka sigma 10-22, 10mm fisheye etc)? its a solid setup. You don't need lee filters but a lee holder and adapter is what most people end up with after fiddling with cokin holders...I say save yourself the trouble...or stick with masks I now use a combination of the two which I think is the ultimate in landscaping.

plus lee even gives you the option of buying the 105mm CPL to attach to the front of the filter holder so you don't have to get pissed off about crapping about trying to get the polarizer in place while the filter holder is attached to it haha, which is a real pain. Is this all really expensive? yea. But imo if landscape is your thing you should have all options in your bag, mother nature throws curves on the regular.

just a rant half including what I have realized and half including what I have read

luigis wrote in post #6556121
Why? As far as I understand the advantage of Z-Pro over the P series is the larger diameter. As I only have 77mm lenses what would be the advantage of the Z-Pro? Aren't filters more expensive too?

I saw more vignetting using P-series over Z-pro system, your 77mm is not an issue but the focal length is the issue, i see you have siggy 10-20, in this case i highly recommend you go with Z-Pro or LEE holder.
You should spend more enough once rather than spend money twice, i didn't know about the Z-pro and the LEE holders and rings, i was using P-series and saw many vignetting using my widest focal length [10mm on crop and 16mm on full frame], so that i swapped to Z-Pro and still i can see tiny vignetting but much better than P-series, if really money is a big issue then it is no wrong to go with P-series for a while until you upgrade again.

Tareq,

I'd agree totally about the vignetting problem. I use a 24-70L and see no problems with either full frame or my crop 30D, but I'd definitely be wary of using the P series much below that.

luigis wrote in post #6556121
Why? As far as I understand the advantage of Z-Pro over the P series is the larger diameter. As I only have 77mm lenses what would be the advantage of the Z-Pro? Aren't filters more expensive too?

The Cokin P holder has three "fixed" slots...this means that you cannot remove any slots and as Tareq mentioned, vignetting will be an issue with certain lenses. Sure, larger filters are a bit more expensive, but you don't need to buy the so-called "best" filters unless you really have a lot of money to burn. The Lee filter holder is your best bet, from a design standpoint and a cost standpoint (its only a few dollars more than the Cokin Z-Pro). Also, with the P-size filters, you will need two filter holders (one regular and one wide angle).