Advice on filter set up

John Soliven

John Soliven

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Hi, I would just like to ask for some advice and guidance :)

I would like to try shooting landscape at this time of the year, I more on a portrait shooter and don't have that much experience on shooting landscapes.
I have done some research about filters and based on the what I read, Lee filters are very good.

I checked the Lee system and they have the Lee Digital SLR Starter Kit, composed of:

Filter holder
0.6 ND Hard Graduated filter
ProGlass 0.6ND Standard filter
cleaning cloth
Tri-Pouch



Here are some of my questions:
The strength of the filters on Lee's Digital SLR Starter Kit, will they be sufficient for landscape shots? (milky flow of water, moving clouds)

Instead of getting the Lee Digital SLR Starter Kit, would it be much better if I'll just purchase the 0.9 ND hard graduated filter and 0.9 Proglass ND standard filter? Though this route will cost me more.

OR

Get the Lee Digital SLR Starter Kit and add the Lee big stopper?


I'll be getting also a polarizer filter, what brand and type of polarizer can you suggest? (circular or square)

Adapter ring will be also included on the purchase.


If I miss something or if you can suggest a better system or filter set up, it would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance! :)
 
To answer your queries:

1) The 0.6 ND is a 2 stop, which in bright daylight won't be sufficient to give you silky water or clouds. Towards dawn or dusk it will help but 2 stops isn't a huge amount.

2) My 0.9 hard grad is the most used of my filters, and a great one to have. 0.9 ND solid will give you a bit more chance of silky water too, depending on the flow of the water, the faster it flows the better chance you've got.

3) If you want daytime long exposures then the starter kit and a Big Stopper would be the way forward.

4) To use a CPL with the Lee kit there is a few ways of doing it. The best is to get a 105mm CPL and the front adaptor ring to go on your foundation kit. Lee make one, as does Heliopan. They are expensive though. The 100mm square CPL is more suited to studio work as combining it with grads is difficult, the chances of the optimum angle for the CPL coinciding with the angle you need for the grad is slim. Finally you can use a screw in CPL and mount the foundation kit in front of that, but you risk vignetting at wide angles.
 
Hi, Just like to point out that the LEE filters are or seem to be in short supply especially the Big Stopper.
For slowing water try the B+W 77mm #110 or other makes of 77mm circular filters you can always use step up or down rings with them and if you have a camera with live view it is possible to set your composition with the filter in place.
As I stated above the LEE filters are in short supply for what reason they are still like this I don't no but for a company that makes such a popular item in todays financial climate it is a joke, they stated many, many months if not now into years that they needed more trained staff but still seems to be that you can not get a big stopper without either a couple months wait at the regular price, buy one as a package priced at silly money from the retailers that have jumped on board the money wagon or go to Ebay and pay really silly money in some cases triple the value of the filter.
As for the NDG filters with what you can do in the softwares available nowadays apart from the Polarizer filter.
All JMO
Russ
 
Not in one frame true, but with manually blended images the results can be better.

I do use grads but generally prefer blending these days, especially for into the sun shots.

To the OP, if you are going to buy filters I would suggest you buy Lee, you will want the 0.9 it is the most useful, then a 0.6, probaby little use for a 0.3.

You can use the 150 x 100mm hard grads as a normal ND by pulling them lower in the holder to cover the lens so saves you buying a seperate one.

If you wish to blur water you may want a big stopper but a 6 stop is equally useful, sometimes 10 stops is just too much.

So, for me it would be the holder and adaptor ring (wide angle version) or else you will vignette on WA lenses.
A 0.9 and 0.6 hard grad
A 6 stop
A 10 stop
A polariser adaptor is useful but so far I have managed without by screwing the adaptor ring onto the polariser, not a great soluton as its awkward but it does work.
 
Thanks to all for your replies and suggestions regarding my inquiries. I'm inclining for the Lee digital starter kit + Lee big stopper set up.

As I'm checking the Lee cpl filter, I was surprised for its price! I still need to buy the cpl filter holder also. I thought i can just get a regular screw in cpl and attach it to the lens or filter holder.

In this regards, what other brands of cpl can you suggest for my set up that's comparable to Lee and will not vignette on a FF camera + Nikkor 24-70. I'm getting a UWA in the future, either a Nikkor 16-35 or the 17-35.

With the said filter set up, am I right to say:
Lens + wide angle adaptor + filter holder + cpl adaptor + cpl filter
 
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