Beginner Nd filters

Emma10

Emma10

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Emma
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I'm after some advice on nd and graduated nd filters. Basically I would like a set, I've got one of the screw in ones from Amazon and have really enjoyed using it, i would now like to buy a set which I can use on more than one lens.
So my budget is around £80 is it possible to buy a set for this and what would you recommend?

Thanks in advance Emma
 
Hi, With that budget I think maybe Cokin filters would be the best option but don't go mad you only need the holder, the adapter ring/s for your lenses, a 0.9 ND filter to start, 0.6 and 0.9 GND filters and maybe the Cokin polorising filter that slots into there system, don't buy the other fancy named filters like dark grey or sky blue etc etc not worth the money for what they give you. Just my opinion but for starters they would do and later upgrade to a better system than Cokin.
Russ
 
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Cokin ones are the cheapest I think, but when stacked can give a purple hue to images.

I think the Hitech ones are popular, but I dont really shoot landscape so stand to be corrected.
 
Hi tech or Haida filters are my choice. Haida filters have little to no cast
 
russellsnr said:
Hi, With that budget I think maybe Cokin filters would be the best option but don't go mad you only need the holder, the adapter ring/s for your lenses, a 0.9 ND filter to start, 0.6 and 0.9 GND filters and maybe the Cokin polorising filter that slots into there system, don't buy the other fancy named filters like dark grey or sky blue etc etc not worth the money for what they give you. Just my opinion but for starters they would do and later upgrade to a better system than Cokin.
Russ
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Great advice thank you, I thought the cokin would be within my budget, I don't need the circular polariser as I have one for each lens.
Hertsman said:
Cokin ones are the cheapest I think, but when stacked can give a purple hue to images.

I think the Hitech ones are popular, but I dont really shoot landscape so stand to be corrected.
Click to expand...
Simon Kitt said:
Hi tech or Haida filters are my choice. Haida filters have little to no cast
Click to expand...

I think the hitech and Haida aren't within my budget at the moment. Is the purple cast easy to remove? I use photoshop elements 13 and take pictures using raw.
 
In my experience with Cokin, if you only use one or maybe two stacked, they are ok.

If you use 3 or more, you could either rescue in PP or create a custom white balance using a grey card.
 
what is annoying is you say £80 then some people suggest WAY OVER budget...hey-ho..!


anyway----which lens do you have..? what filter size.?

I would suggest 1 or 2 ND filters for long exposures
and some grad NDs for when you want to tone down the sky
I like the Cokin Tobacco series for those fake sunsets.....:)

I've never used a Cokin Polariser but have always bought a decent screw-in one - at the moment I use Marumi DHG

the filter diameter will determine which Cokin system to use - either ''A'' series or ''P'' series

I have a whole bunch of adapters and holders going spare - hold off buying any - maybe I can send you a suitable one
 
For graduated filters the Cokins P series are ok to get started with but they aren't the best, maybe look for a secondhand set from someone moving to something better. eBay has a few sets listed, even new a three filter set can be had under £40 (but you'd need to add the adaptor ring(s)).

For regular ND filters I suggest sticking to screw-in filters. If you over-size the filter diameter you can use step-up rings with lenses of smaller diameter - and a screw-in hood if needed. I'm favouring the Marumi DHG filters as a good value mid-range make. They seem to be free of colour cast, fairly resistant to glare and give me good results. I'd suggest an ND64 (6-stop, 64 = 2^6) as perhaps the most useful ND to start with - it's enough to use the fastest lenses wide-open in daylight and to usefully slow the shutter at more moderate apertures.
 
Yardbent said:
what is annoying is you say £80 then some people suggest WAY OVER budget...hey-ho..!


anyway----which lens do you have..? what filter size.?

I would suggest 1 or 2 ND filters for long exposures
and some grad NDs for when you want to tone down the sky
I like the Cokin Tobacco series for those fake sunsets.....:)

I've never used a Cokin Polariser but have always bought a decent screw-in one - at the moment I use Marumi DHG

the filter diameter will determine which Cokin system to use - either ''A'' series or ''P'' series

I have a whole bunch of adapters and holders going spare - hold off buying any - maybe I can send you a suitable one
Click to expand...

I've got a sigma10-20mm a Nikon 35mm Nikon 50mm and Nikon 70-300. So probably the only one they wouldn't get used on is the 70-300 as I don't really use it as often as the other three. I can't remember the filter sizes of the top of my head.

I use Hoya hd polarisers and to my untrained eye seem to do a good job?

Thank you for the offer of adapters and holders what a kind thing to do :)
 
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Alastair said:
For graduated filters the Cokins P series are ok to get started with but they aren't the best, maybe look for a secondhand set from someone moving to something better. eBay has a few sets listed, even new a three filter set can be had under £40 (but you'd need to add the adaptor ring(s)).

For regular ND filters I suggest sticking to screw-in filters. If you over-size the filter diameter you can use step-up rings with lenses of smaller diameter - and a screw-in hood if needed. I'm favouring the Marumi DHG filters as a good value mid-range make. They seem to be free of colour cast, fairly resistant to glare and give me good results. I'd suggest an ND64 (6-stop, 64 = 2^6) as perhaps the most useful ND to start with - it's enough to use the fastest lenses wide-open in daylight and to usefully slow the shutter at more moderate apertures.
Click to expand...

Thank you I'd hadn't thought to look on ebay
 
I went with format hitech and they work great for what I want. Look on eBay for the graduated Set
 
Build up your collection slowly so you can buy good filters along the way rather than a heap of crap ones.

The 50mm and the 70-300mm you have are both fine for the 85mm Cokin P size filters and holder but you'll have issues with the Sigma 10-20mm, I know as I have this lens and use Cokin P size filters!

The holder I use is a standard 3 slot Cokin one but I used a dremmel to cut the last filter tray off the holder so now it holds max two filters, either a C-PL and filter such as ND grad, or 2 filters such as big stopper and ND grad. Even with the amendment to the holder and chopping it down it still vignettes with the Sigma 10-20mm and the widest you can shoot will be 12mm. Anything more than that and you'll see the holder in the frame. There is a wide angle Cokin P holder you can buy which I also have here but it doesn't get a lot of use as you can't mount a C-PL and a filter in it.

So, ideally the 100mm system would be the better BUT THE PRICE! It goes through the roof, especially for a C-PL! So for me I live with the above!

Back to filters, I have a full set of both soft and hard edge HiTech filters, as well as their ND filters and big stopper but buying all that in one sitting is more than £50!

Having said all that, on Amazon for less than £20 delivered is a Lee copy 100mm filter holder, plus lens adaptor and on eBay there isa set of HiTech ND grads:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOTMATT-H...645110?hash=item25c5762876:g:UMQAAOSwTA9X8pdB

Slightly over budget but you'll have a 100mm filter holder and a set of ND grads
 
[QUOTE="Emma10, post: 7575725, member: 83617"....... I can't remember the filter sizes of the top of my head...............[/QUOTE]

the Nikon 35mm and the 50mm lens are 'probably' 52mm thread but you will have to confirm
I use the smaller 'A' series Cokin filters on my Nikon lens (all 52mm filter thread)

or are you going to use the larger 'P' range ..?
 
cardiff_gareth said:
Here is the Lee copy filter holder:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GGDG0RC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

82mm adaptor ring
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00J4FP2AU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

77mm adaptor ring
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00J4FNQ12/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The quality of the holder isn't great but hey, it's less than a tenner and does the job and when you consider the actual Lee holder is £60 .... !
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Thank you I'm going to sit down at the weekend and go through this thread and have a proper look at all of the recommendations.
 
Yardbent said:
[QUOTE="Emma10, post: 7575725, member: 83617"....... I can't remember the filter sizes of the top of my head...............
Click to expand...

the Nikon 35mm and the 50mm lens are 'probably' 52mm thread but you will have to confirm
I use the smaller 'A' series Cokin filters on my Nikon lens (all 52mm filter thread)

or are you going to use the larger 'P' range ..?[/QUOTE]

The sigma is 77mm, 35 is 52mm, 50 is 58mm and the 70-300 is 67mm.

Someone above said the p size should be the minimum I should go is the p filters because of the sigma lens. I'm not too fussy about the cpl filters as I have a set of Hoya hd for each lens and I'm quite happy with them so just looking for nd and grad nd.
 
I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than the Cokin P or the Hitech 100s. Ultra-wide lenses in particular really need a significantly larger drop-in filter than their diameter to avoid vignetting. It's not just the filter, it's the holder and the stand-off from the front of the lens that creates the need for larger filters to avoid impinging on the angle of view.
 
Hertsman said:
Cokin ones are the cheapest I think, but when stacked can give a purple hue to images.

I think the Hitech ones are popular, but I dont really shoot landscape so stand to be corrected.
Click to expand...

Can 100% confirm this (Purple Hue)
 
Emma10 said:
The sigma is 77mm, 35 is 52mm, 50 is 58mm and the 70-300 is 67mm..............
Click to expand...

a bit of a mix then....:)

I'll have a browse through my 'spare stuff'

anyway you will need to end up with .......

a P filter holder
an adapter which screws into the lens filter thread - onto which the holder slides - into which the filter slides

you will need an adapter for EACH lens filter thread size ie 52, 58, 67, 77

some would buy a 67mm to 77mm step-up ring ---. saves buying a 67mm adapter
 
Yardbent said:
a bit of a mix then....:)

I'll have a browse through my 'spare stuff'

anyway you will need to end up with .......

a P filter holder
an adapter which screws into the lens filter thread - onto which the holder slides - into which the filter slides

you will need an adapter for EACH lens filter thread size ie 52, 58, 67, 77

some would buy a 67mm to 77mm step-up ring ---. saves buying a 67mm adapter
Click to expand...

Thank you, yeah I've sat and got my head round it a bit tonight you've just clarified what I thought I needed (y)
 
Okay so... if I bought the cokin filters for example which set would you guys recommend I buy first the graduated or the full nd?
 
Emma10 said:
Okay so... if I bought the cokin filters for example which set would you guys recommend I buy first the graduated or the full nd?
Click to expand...

i dont think you need to buy a full 'set' to start with

i began with a few 'P' series Cokin

P121M - grad neutral grey ND4 0.6
P154 -- solid neutral Grey ND8 0.9....you can combine these 2

and a P125S...grad tobacco soft.....soft indicates a gradual change from tobacco to clear, rather than a 'hard' edge

Plus your holder and adapters ....... budget blown..:eek:
 
:( I know but. Thank hopefully going to order them soon:banana:
 
This may be a good set if you currently have nothing:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HITECH-85...hash=item3cdfceef93:m:miCO0RJnHEHq1uQHNfGnVng

EDIT - Also available from the manufacturer in the sale at the mo:
http://www.formatt-hitech.com/kits/nd-grad-soft-edge

These are soft edge ND filters so that means the grad fades in/out slowly

To show the difference between soft and hard edge (look at the pics):

soft edge
http://www.formatt-hitech.com/filters/resin-soft-edge-grad

hard edge:
http://www.formatt-hitech.com/filters/resin-neutral-density-hard-edge-grad
 
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cardiff_gareth said:
This may be a good set if you currently have nothing:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HITECH-85...hash=item3cdfceef93:m:miCO0RJnHEHq1uQHNfGnVng

EDIT - Also available from the manufacturer in the sale at the mo:
http://www.formatt-hitech.com/kits/nd-grad-soft-edge

These are soft edge ND filters so that means the grad fades in/out slowly

To show the difference between soft and hard edge (look at the pics):

soft edge
http://www.formatt-hitech.com/filters/resin-soft-edge-grad

hard edge:
http://www.formatt-hitech.com/filters/resin-neutral-density-hard-edge-grad
Click to expand...

I've found the cokin ones in sets so the full nd set with holder and a grad nd, with holder adapter and a set of rings for each lens for just under£80 so I think I'm going to go with that.
 
:runaway:I'm driving my self potty now going to stop looking and look at hitech ones. But first a cuppa as I've driven myself potty looking :banghead:
 
Haha! I know what you mean about driving yourself mad! I'm fed up now reviewing the best all round strip softboxes length!

The Cokin are ok, but they'll colour cast if stacked. HiTech are good, as are Lee but the price! £££
 
Yeah, as said above already, the Sigma 10-20mm with a 85mm filter holder will vignette when used wider than 12mm. The wide holder isn't great as with a C-PL in it you can't add another filter to it. I bought a regular cheap 3 slot Cokin copy holder and just cut the last filter slot off. This allows me to use a polariser and a ND grad at the same time ;)
 
cardiff_gareth said:
Yeah, as said above already, the Sigma 10-20mm with a 85mm filter holder will vignette when used wider than 12mm. The wide holder isn't great as with a C-PL in it you can't add another filter to it. I bought a regular cheap 3 slot Cokin copy holder and just cut the last filter slot off. This allows me to use a polariser and a ND grad at the same time ;)
Click to expand...

It's all making sense now, thank you
 
As previously said I would take it steady, I purchased a complete set and found it very confusing, especially the ND's and colours [emoji849] mind that maybe just me being old[emoji23]
 
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