Filters and adaptors: technique or upgrade required?

[Lenspenguin]

Hi folks,

I'm a reasonably experienced photographer and am trying to get to grips with effective use of GND filters for my landscape photography. The kit I bought for this was bought some time ago however when I was just starting out, and it took a few years before I got seriously into landscape photography. As such I'm trying to go further with my photography but suspect that either some of my kit needs upgrading or I need to improve my technique (or both!).

At the moment, I'm using the Canon EF-S 10-18mm for a lot og my landscape photography (lovely lens, btw!). For much of my work, I use a Hoya 67mm CPL which screws onto the lens (again, lovely bit of kit).

The problems start though when I try to fit my Cokin 'P' series filter holder to my lens (the cheap plastic one). It has a 67mm adaptor ring. The problem is that this usually screws in to the thread of my polariser (and tightly as well) which makes separating them in the field quite difficult. This in itself is far from ideal as it can mess up the polarisation of the image.

More widely though, the adaptor and filter holder cause serious vignetting, and if I'm honest, I'm not currently convinced by the Cokin GND filters either; they don't fit well into their own filter holder, which doesn't fill me with confidence. I can only get the filters to fit slightly sideways (i.e. one edge in the first slot and the other edge in the second/third) and I tend to find a bit of lens flare occurs.

Finally, I'm severely dyspraxic (think dyslexia but instead of struggling with words or numbers, I struggle with physical co-ordination, dexterity and fine motor control). Obviously all of this combined is fiddly enough to begin with without factoring in a disability on top.

So, the questions I have are:

To fix the vignetting should I go with a different filter holder system (say one for 100mm)? For better results should I perhaps splash out a bit more, and would another manufacturer's filters (say, Lee?) work better?

Alternatively, would it be better to use screw-in GNDs such as the Formatt-Hitech ones and would these stack on top of a CPL?

Thoughts and comments very much appreciated. Thanks folks and hope you've all had a good weekend.

 

[Dave Canon]

I do not use filters normally and certainly not graduated. Filters can cause colour tints, vignetting and flair for little gain (particularly avoid multiple filters). It does depend whether you capture Raw or JPEG. If you capture in Raw on a modern camera, it is easy to adjust the sky in the Raw editor. Using a filter is clumsy anyway as it will darken everything above the transition line including trees and buildings whereas you can be more selective in the Raw editor.

Dave

 

[woof woof]

Cokin do at least two different holders including a lower profile one which takes fewer filters. I have both the ordinary one and the low profile one. I don't know which you have or if the lower profile one, if you don't have that one, would be any better but maybe it's something you could look into.

 

[Box Brownie]

Hi and welcome to TP

FWIW as i am not a user or advocate of filters.....

Never stack screw in filters, or indeed stack your square filter holder onto your CPL...avoids vignetting, potential colour casts (etc?)

Yonks ago, I vaguely recall reading/hearing of someone that did indeed stack screw in filters.....but each step of the stack was a bigger size i.e. they used a step up regards ring between each filter to mitigate for the vignette being caused.

AFAIK ~ when choosing a square filter 'system', if you intend to stack them use one that is the larger square and use a suitable step up adaptor to accommodate the filter holders size. NB reduces the possible vignetting.

As you mentioned your dyspraxia, can I suggest you don't stack the filters and use(if possible/available?) a single filter holder i.e. it has only the one slot as that might aid your handling & insertion of the single filter in the only slot? Note ~ I wonder if it would practical to fabricate some "guides" and fit them on the holder to help with aligning the filter into the holder?

Lastly, some aspects of filter effects can be achieved in post processing e.g. gradient filters. Plus if you exposure bracket and combine in post processing you will have even more creative control.

PS best of luck with your continuing journey in photography

 

[Petrochemist]

I use filters a lot as I shoot infrared quite a bit. However I'm not a bid fan of graduated filters, the foreground/sky transistion in my images is rarely anything like a straight line.
I generally use shaddows & highlight controls to recover the balance between sky & land.

You also mention a CPL and an ultra wide lens, generally this is a poor combination due to the effects it has on skies. At 90degrees to he sun the sky is heavily polarised, the degree of polarising drops off as the angle to the sun is reduced.

Polarisers are fantasic tools, which can nu doubt be used well even on ultra wide angle lenses, but they work much better on normal & longer focal lengths.

BTW Cokin make 4 sizes of filters. I think I've only got the smaller ones (previously called A & P but i believe they are now renamed) For use on lenses like your 10-18 you probably need the biggest size (150mm acccross?) & maybe a special wide angle holder too. There are also several other manufacturese who do these super large filters.