Lets talk Filters! Specifically Neutral Density, GND, VND's

DevC · Apr 21, 2015

Hey all,

I currently have a 82mm CPL filter that i use to shoot waterscapes (reduce glare, darken skies---P.S CPL'S ARE GREAT FOR THIS as with certain angles certain bits of the sky can be darkened while others not) and am planning on upping my filter arsenal to include some ND'S so I can dwelve into cool long exposure stuff!

Now, when i was younger i used to have a small screw in ND which i used from time to time. Long lost that. I currently use a tamron 24-70 2.8 which has 82mm filter thread. I'm in the mix between grabbing another screw in ND filter versus moving to a cokin/lee system. The nice thing bout cokin/lee is that i can buy GND's and just GND's as necessary to balance exposures! Plus lee i keep hearing are top notch! The cons are that they are much pricier than a screw in filter.

On the opposite hand, screw in filters have the benefit of them being harder to break...since LEE filters are pure glass. GND's are pretty much not useful since you cannot adjust the GND's without adjusting your composition, which may be unruly. Plus screw ins have the benefit of being able to buy a VND, which would allow me to combine 5 filters basically into one! Any big cons with VND's? seems like a ton of neutral densitys can be saved in costs?

So some questions...
What do you guys use? If you use a cokin/lee system, did you feel you were able to justify your uses for em versus buying screw ins?
Any one ever break a lee filter?
Any big cons with screw in VND's? seems like a ton of neutral densitys can be saved in costs?

tirediron · Apr 21, 2015

I pretty much only use GNDs & NDs for personal work, so I`ve never moved passed the Cokin system. Lee & Singh-Ray are without a doubt the Rolls-Royce & Bentley of gel filters, and while you get what you pay for, I`ve always been happy enough with Cokin, knowing that when I scratch/drop/damage (Note: When, not 'if'!) I'm out $30-40 vice $200. The only real downside to Cokin's line is that the ND/GND can impart a magenta cast if you're shooting toward the sun. In general, the closer to the sun, the stronger the cast. I can normally eliminate 99.9% of that by using a piece of matte-black craft foam (<$1.00 at Michael's / Wal-mart) as a lens "hood" and shading the exposed filter edges.

ceejtank · Apr 21, 2015

I like my Cokin system. I like it because changing filters is easier and faster than with screw in lenses. You screw in the holder, slide on the filter holder, then it takes less than 10 seconds to change filters. So if my ND4 isn't working, 10 seconds later I can have my ND16 in there, and can combine 3 filters with the setup I have (not that I've done that). But when setting up for sunsets, and clouds only break for 2 minutes.. only needing to slide a new filter in, instead of screwing them in, saves me the seconds needed sometimes.

Lee ND filters are great because they're glass. That being said, I've never had any issues with a plastic filter personally, but I'm pretty careful with all my gear always.

Just my .02

DevC · Apr 21, 2015

Thanks guys! I'm considering the cokin system. The systems for cokin and lee aren't interchangable are they?

My other options were screw in B+W which i hear are top notch too, or certain hoyas which really stop a ton of light (10+ stops?!?!)!

Cokins don't go that high do they?

astroNikon · Apr 21, 2015

I have screw in B+Ws NDs and CPLs. They come in a variety of qualities and prices. I love them. But you have to think through it as teh screwing fit one size. You can get stepup and stepdown rings to fit other lenses. AND then be careful if aluminum because it can strip your lens thread.

I don't have any plastic NDs ... just glass B+W NDs.

but I'm also adding (sooner or later) a Cokin system for Gradient NDs
But I'll probably get TheFilterDude.com mounting system.

weepete · Apr 21, 2015

I thought lee Grads were all resin. Their NDs can be resin or Proglass, and the big and little stopper are glass.

Personally I went with a 100mm square filter system after trying out a cheapo 85mm job and finding it really useful for landscapes.

The big benefit from using GNDs in a square system is that you can alter where the transition is. That alone is worth going for a square system.

Joves · Apr 21, 2015

I am the same as Pete. I do not have the holders for my squares, well I do have one that came with a cheap set of Lee gel NDs I bought to cutup as filters for my 10.5 fisheye, since it is a rear mount. I do have two rounds that I use when I want to travel light, and not have full pockets. All of my gels, and resin filters have some scratches on them. It does not affect the images, contrary to popular belief. Unless you are using glass, and a full holder system they will get scratches on them. Just a part of the game when you hike, and shoot.

DevC · Apr 22, 2015

Thanks guys!

@weepete -- were you able to feel with the GND's that you had more DR than if you were lets say...using a 32 bit TIFF hdr?

weepete · Apr 22, 2015

DevC said:
Thanks guys!

@weepete -- were you able to feel with the GND's that you had more DR than if you were lets say...using a 32 bit TIFF hdr?

It's not necessarily that filters give more dynamic range (indeed a camera would given that you could in theory shoot until you run out of EVs) but I really do think that filters provide a better final image for most shots and they are quicker and easier to use. They seem to me to provide a more subtle look, nicer gradients and better transitions in a final image. There will still be times you'll want to do an exposure blend using mutiple exposures, particularly when you've a high dynamic range behind a backlit object that you want to expose correctly, but I'm totally sold on GNDs as a fundimental tool for anyone who is even half serious about trying to produce quality landscape images.