ND Grad Filters - who uses them?

[Yorkshire_Jon]

Guys,
Does anyone here use ND Grad filters (soft or hard edged?).

Im looking at / half tempted by a Cokin Z-Pro holder and some filters but would like some real-world thoughts and experiences. I believe I need the Z-Pro size and not the P size to accomodate my 77mm DIA lenses and any future 82mm DIA I may end up with.

Q's"
1. Which are the ones to get / ones that will be of most use for here in Aus, 2 stop or 4 stop?
2. I assume both hard edged & soft edged both have advantages and that sea-scapes & flat land would use hard edged, whereas hills or trees in the subject etc would use soft edged.
3. Brand vs quality. Any thoughts on who makes half decent glass? I know LEE's is v. expensive but gets good reviews. I assume Cokin is middle of the road glass and would be sufficient? Any others i should consider?

Thx
J

[s7000]

I've used Cokin's for a few years now and I've found them to be great for their price. I've got the 2 & 4 stop hard grads an ND and a red grad.

The bigger the size the better as you can always adapt to smaller lenses, so buy for the biggest lens you'll be using.

As for their quality. People complain they get purple colour casts across them, but I've never had an issue with it. Compared to Lees... There is none, if you have the cash and want to spend it, the Lee system would be the way to go. But, in saying that. The Cokin's are a great bang for your buck! :)

[Yorkshire_Jon]

I've used Cokin's for a few years now and I've found them to be great for their price. I've got the 2 & 4 stop hard grads an ND and a red grad.

The bigger the size the better as you can always adapt to smaller lenses, so buy for the biggest lens you'll be using.

As for their quality. People complain they get purple colour casts across them, but I've never had an issue with it. Compared to Lees... There is none, if you have the cash and want to spend it, the Lee system would be the way to go. But, in saying that. The Cokin's are a great bang for your buck! :)

Thanks for above. I suspect Cokin will do me fine, I'm not a pro!

As an idiots guide and to make sure I have my terminology right, 2 & 4 stop hard are 50% clear and 50% dark with a hard / straight line between clear and dark section; whereas the ND's have a soft transition between dark and clear? Is that right? I think the NDs are also available in 2 and 4 stop?

Sorry if above sounds simplistic!

Thx
J

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[halfpenny]

Bigs the way to go. Soft edge 4 stops and that way you can introduce the effect slowly to the point that suits you. Cokin is fine.
Thought..... why spend money on a holder when you have a hand. It is a still after all.
ND just meand Neutral Density ie not colored

[WhiteD3]

I use a Lee 4x6 soft 0.9 GND in a Schneider Lee 4x4 Holder and love it. Makes a huge diff when it comes to editing. I recently got a 4x4 Lee 1.2 ND to go with it.

Both got from 2filter.com. Crap web site but good service.

[s7000]

Thanks for above. I suspect Cokin will do me fine, I'm not a pro!

As an idiots guide and to make sure I have my terminology right, 2 & 4 stop hard are 50% clear and 50% dark with a hard / straight line between clear and dark section; whereas the ND's have a soft transition between dark and clear? Is that right? I think the NDs are also available in 2 and 4 stop?

Sorry if above sounds simplistic!

Thx
J

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Kind of... Think of it as a colour gradient. The soft grad bleeds into the clear glass a lot more, the hard grad only bleeds a little. It's not just a straight edge.

Not sure about the stops. I bought them a while ago. :p

[slug_burner]

I think that the HDR photo post processing has done away with the need for the use of a filter to reduce the over exposure of the sky etc.

I have a cokin holder with a couple of different filters which have stayed with my now unused film camera in the big camera bag. I now use a lot more post processing and shoot multiple exposures of the same seen to get the exposure for various areas correct. I have yet to become proficient at post processing but as I am not a pro it does not worry me and I stumble along with the help of online tutorials.

[Disco_owner]

the cokin H250 is one I've been using also , the kit omes with gradual ND , L , M and soft , and all you need is the ring adaptor for your Lens , The p-series only goes up to 82 mm anything above that you have move up to z-series . Grad ND adds a lot of depth to the sky .

[Chucaro]

I think that the HDR photo post processing has done away with the need for the use of a filter to reduce the over exposure of the sky etc.

I have a cokin holder with a couple of different filters which have stayed with my now unused film camera in the big camera bag. I now use a lot more post processing and shoot multiple exposures of the same seen to get the exposure for various areas correct. I have yet to become proficient at post processing but as I am not a pro it does not worry me and I stumble along with the help of online tutorials.

Not quite, you cannot use HDR on a windy day with the follage moving or in a sunrise/sunset in a seascape image.
The effect in the water surface will be not what perhaps the photographer would like to have.
Also you can see distortion in the sky on a cloudy day.
HDR have good applications but in a selective cases.

I do not use filters in my photography and in many cases I use a vertical pano technique to separate the image in 2 frames, one for bellow the horizon and the other for above it.
HERE (http://www.plottier.net/albums/userpics/10002/_AAP1818-VP.jpg) is one example

In THIS (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-grads.shtml) site is a good reading about ND fileters

[drifter]

...

Q's"
1. Which are the ones to get / ones that will be of most use for here in Aus, 2 stop or 4 stop?
2. I assume both hard edged & soft edged both have advantages and that sea-scapes & flat land would use hard edged, whereas hills or trees in the subject etc would use soft edged.
3. Brand vs quality. Any thoughts on who makes half decent glass? I know LEE's is v. expensive but gets good reviews. I assume Cokin is middle of the road glass and would be sufficient? Any others i should consider?

Thx
J
1. I also have the 8 stop Cokin. Remember, at the expense of f-stops, you can also stack them.
2. I have only used the soft grad and it has done everything I need.
3. Lee IS expensive and you are right. Many people prefer Lee over Cokin. There are some who believe that the Cokin filters give a colour cast to the picture. I have not experienced this.


My largest glass is 82mm so I stayed with the P series and purchased all the adapters for the different lens sizes I carry and then purchased 2 holders - the 3 filter holder and the single filter holder. The 3 filter holder may provide some vignetting on the bigger lenses. I did not experience that at all but used the single holder 'just in case'. There are some people who cut the 3 filter holder down to a single holder just to circumvent the vignetting issue.

If you go to a site caller POTN (photography-on-the.net) and have a search there, you will find a lot of discussion on the Cokin vs Lee experiences (and a lot of examples of the use of the filters).

Bear in mind that the Cokin P-series filters are not glass. They are acrylic - and they scratch easily. I have individual cases for each of my filters and keep them in the cases when not in use (I scratched one early on in my experience with them and had to replace it).

Overall? I like them but like many things in my camera bags they aren't used a lot - but they are there when I need them.

And my choice of Cokin over Lee? Price vs use. I got them originally to see if I would use them and how often. The amount of use I give them wouldn't justify the price of the Lee filters - unless I had gone fully pro in the landscape photography genre. These days I do more weddings than landscapes.

[drifter]

and.............

on the rare occassion when I am shooting sea and sky (for example a surfing tournament) I find the circular polarising filter is faster to use and change effect (rotate).

[Yorkshire_Jon]

and.............

on the rare occassion when I am shooting sea and sky (for example a surfing tournament) I find the circular polarising filter is faster to use and change effect (rotate).

Thanks Drfter,
I have a CPL and use that a lot during the day. Interestingly I've recently been reading about how they (CPL's) can be used to good effect in the hour after sunset... Not tried yet though.

Re the grad NDs, lots of viewpoints received now so just need to see if I can bring myself to part with the cash. As you say, they probably won't be used a lot but would be there when I needed them and at that particular point in time would be very worthwhile.

Thanks
J

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