Filter help please. Cokin/Grad/ND

[scott199]

Hi feel a bit silly here.

When i had my little fuji hs10, i started to try some filter stuff, got a couple of Cokin grads and holder and some ND.

Now that was all simple as i had 1 filter size to get 58mm.

Now through my sillyness, i have a 35mm sporting a 52mm, tamron with a nice 67mm and a 18-200 with a 72mm thread size :bonk::bonk:

So very simply, what sort of lens would you use for filter work, landscapes, night scenes, waterfalls ect ??

Can i do it all with 1 sort of lens and just get filters for that, or maybe just get holders for teh larger size and many rings to fit each lens ??

i would go with the slide in type like the cokin, got a couple of A's and the holder

Would be nice just to have 1 size

thanks you

 

[Krisstiffer]

If you've got the Cokin A holder then why not just get the adapter rings in the different sizes for your lenses?

Sort the filter system to suit your lenses and not the other way round - it's cheaper that way................

 

[Pablosammy]

A's might not be big enough for the bigger filter sizes - sell the Cokin A filters, try and source a set of Cokin P and then buy adapter rings for each lens. For landscapes, you're right in thinking a filter system - if you look after them, you'll only need to buy once.

 

[scott199]

Thank you all.

What sort of lens would be best, are primes ok ?? or zooms more appropriate ?

Or is it like most things, what ever lens suits at the time ?

 

[Krisstiffer]

If you're asking what lenses are best to use with filters then you're thinking back to front.....

Your choice of lens(es) should be based on what you want to photograph.
Your choice of filter(s) should be based on what you want to photograph and will fit the lenses you have chosen.

Think about a filter kit (Cokin A or P, Lee etc) if your lenses have a range of thread sizes so you can use the same holder and range of filters on all your lenses.

Don't think about lenses based on what filters you have............

(Only caveat is that polarisers are rarely effective on very wide angle lenses....)

 

[Nguss]

All I would add is get the largest filter size you are likely to use (most likely 77mm) and buy step up rings for your other smaller filter thread sizes.

 

[scott199]

I kind of understand all that, but as I haven't really tried it, it was more a case of which lens would suit best from the 3 I have.

So I can just get a ring that fits and try to see if its something I would enjoy, then I can get adapter rings for the rest as I build my kit.

 

[Original Poster]

As others have mentioned, if you're on a budget consider the Cokin P range.

You buy the holder (that holds the filters themselves) then the adaptor ring(s) to suit your lens. If you have 3 lenses that are all different sizes its as simple as buying 3 different adaptor rings.

From there you just need filters. Cokin are the cheapest, with Hitech offering a middle class solutions and a Lee system is up there at the top, as you'd expect, the price jumps up in the same order mentioned.

To give you an idea I'm about to order a Lee system that will include a total of 4 filters and will cost just over £400, they're not cheap but the Cokin P range is much cheaper, but also nowhere near as good, you get what you pay for with filters.