Filter advice

Auraomega

Auraomega

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Robert
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I'm looking at buying my first real filters but if I'm honest I'm confused as to what would be best for me.

I've looked at the Cokin systems lately and they seem good value for money but from what I can tell I won't be able to use a lens hood with them not to mention how bad they are to look at (appearance is important in paid work). The main advantages I can see that they are cheaper than individual filters and can fit all sizes, as well as being able to adjust a nd graduate filter.

On the other hand individual filters look more professional, allow me to keep use of my hoods and are smaller in the bag.

All of my current lenses bar my nifty 50 are 77mm so I could just buy a couple of step up rings. I do mostly nature photograpgy for myself (landscapes and animals), but do do occasional paid events. My usual kit is a D300, Nikon 80 200 2.8, Tokina 11 16 2.8, Nikon 50 2.8 and soon to have a Nikon 28 70 2.8 too as well as a D70 converted for ir and a D700 when I can comfortably afford them.
Based on the above, what sort of filters would you suggest?
 
Auraomega said:
I'm looking at buying my first real filters but if I'm honest I'm confused as to what would be best for me.

I've looked at the Cokin systems lately and they seem good value for money but from what I can tell I won't be able to use a lens hood with them not to mention how bad they are to look at (appearance is important in paid work). The main advantages I can see that they are cheaper than individual filters and can fit all sizes, as well as being able to adjust a nd graduate filter.

On the other hand individual filters look more professional, allow me to keep use of my hoods and are smaller in the bag.

All of my current lenses bar my nifty 50 are 77mm so I could just buy a couple of step up rings. I do mostly nature photograpgy for myself (landscapes and animals), but do do occasional paid events. My usual kit is a D300, Nikon 80 200 2.8, Tokina 11 16 2.8, Nikon 50 2.8 and soon to have a Nikon 28 70 2.8 too as well as a D70 converted for ir and a D700 when I can comfortably afford them.
Based on the above, what sort of filters would you suggest?
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If you are that worried about how they look to make you look cool and "pro"' then buy the lee filter system..

Or you could just buy the right tools for the job in your budget, regardless of how it looks, cos let's be honest, no one really cares.
 
You're right, appearance does matter when doing paid jobs, the appearance of the images you turn out. Working with professional car, commercial and landscape photographers I'm yet to meet one who gives a monkey's what their kit looks like, only how it works and that it oes the job for them.

Beyond that what do you need from filters? For your landscape work the most common would be a set of ND grads, a circular polariser and maybe some solid NDs. As such, and with the lenses you've got you'll want some 100mm filters. You'll need adaptor rings for your lenses, a filter holder and the filters themselves. In 100mm you've got Cokin Z Pro and Hitech both of which do a good job for reasonable money and then Lee which are expensive but are the best.
 
I used the Cokin Z pro on my 40D and found it very good, especially as I could reverse the holder when I used my 10-20.

As has been said, surely the results are what matters?
 
So are we suggesting the Cokin? One other thought that came to mind the other day is protective filters; on rare occasion I take photos of cold war jets which usually ends up with a ton of grit flying at my lens, to date I've been lucky but I know of a few people who've had to replace their UVs due to some nasty damage. I wouldn't mind using a ND filter when doing jets, however I'd obviously want some cheap sacrificial filter to take any damage rather than the ND. Is this possible using the Cokin system?
 
Auraomega said:
So are we suggesting the Cokin? One other thought that came to mind the other day is protective filters; on rare occasion I take photos of cold war jets which usually ends up with a ton of grit flying at my lens, to date I've been lucky but I know of a few people who've had to replace their UVs due to some nasty damage. I wouldn't mind using a ND filter when doing jets, however I'd obviously want some cheap sacrificial filter to take any damage rather than the ND. Is this possible using the Cokin system?
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Why do you want to use an Nd filter with jets? Surely you want as fast a shutter as possible.
Ive shot quite a few cold war jets myself and don't bother with protective filters..if the weather calls for it, I'll use a polariser.
How close are you getting to them? I know from experience a Canberra whilst taxiing can destroy a pair of sunglasses when you are 100 yards behind it, but if you are on a crowd line then I doubt you'd have much issue.

As for can you use and ND And a uv with the Cokin system, yes and no. You could screw the uv in and then screw the Cokin adapter onto that and use the ND, but that then defeats the point of the UV, and you'll probably get vignetting on wider shots. I'm not sure with Cokin, but with lee and hitech, you can buy 105mm rings which attach to the front of the holder, allowing the use of square in the slots and a polariser in front, you'd need to buy a 105mm UV filter,but that's one way around it.
 
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Pretty close, I'm guessing by the taxiing Canberra you're familiar with Bruntingthrope? The ND filter is more so I can get motion with the jets, it's something I toyed with during a dusk/night taxi of a Lightning, was difficult to get the jet sharp looking but the blurry surroundings made for a great photo (in my opinion anyway).

I'm tending more towards the Cokin I admit, I suppose on those rare occasions where I use the ND it's still cheaper than a decent UV filter so more economical to replace.
 
Auraomega said:
Pretty close, I'm guessing by the taxiing Canberra you're familiar with Bruntingthrope? The ND filter is more so I can get motion with the jets, it's something I toyed with during a dusk/night taxi of a Lightning, was difficult to get the jet sharp looking but the blurry surroundings made for a great photo (in my opinion anyway).

I'm tending more towards the Cokin I admit, I suppose on those rare occasions where I use the ND it's still cheaper than a decent UV filter so more economical to replace.
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I have been to brunti a few times and my brother is there a lot, I used to be at Kemble more often that not. The Canberra was actually at Fairford many years ago. I had pretty much access all areas pass on the week leading upto the weekend. No ropes, no marshals and no crowd.

Ive used the Cokin P filters and they were crap. If you must choose Cokin, get the z pro. I'm still not convinced you need one at all, good panning technique with a slowish shutter should get you the look you are after. Have a look in the transport section for some great aircraft shots using this technique.
 
Fair enough, I'll take a look at the Z-Pro instead.
 
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