Do I just need to suck it up... (re: filters)

[JonA_CT]

and take the medicine?

I started putting a Lee Filter system into my cart at Adorama today. I was at $300 before putting a single filter in.

Is there a knock-off option? I have two kids...I'll deal with the ramifications if something isn't bullet proof in quality, but it seems like the other options (Cokin, Formatt-Hitech) are all the same price.

Am I missing anything?

 

[tirediron]

Cokin is decent; I've done a lot of work with their products, and the only major issue I've found is that the NDs and G-NDs tend to suffer from a red colour cast when the sun hits the edge of the filters. I use a piece of black "fun foam" (Michael's, 99 cents a sheet) as a large, customizable lens hood.

 

[Gary A.]

Lee filters are “clean” and color neutral. Other people’s are not.

Check out The Filter Dude for all the hardware. Good quality, works perfect with Lee filters, at a significant discount.

 

[SquarePeg]

I bought a “cheap” set off Amazon a few years ago and have used them without any issues but I haven’t used them often. They have the step rings and the square holder. I’ll see if I can find the brand. For me, unless I’m selling prints and making money off my photography, extras like filters and lighting equipment/flashes have to be cheapies.

How often are you going to be using the filters? Is this for landscape stuff? Are you planning to sell prints?

Found it...Cokin. Paid $60 for a set. It came with colors and ND, GND’s. I’ve never used the color ones. It’s just as easy to add that type of filter I in post. The square holder and rings are a bit of a pita. Sometimes I just hold the filter right over the lens with one hand and shoot with the other. Shhhhh!

 

[Derrel]

Lee filters are hand-dunked by women in white coats in what looks like a clean machine shop. Seriously. Not kidding. I've seen the video. NOT really all that impressive as far as what one would expect.

I dunno...I think in this age of computer-assisted image processing, the worrying about slight color shifts is way, way overblown.

 

[pixmedic]

Cokin is decent; I've done a lot of work with their products, and the only major issue I've found is that the NDs and G-NDs tend to suffer from a red colour cast when the sun hits the edge of the filters. I use a piece of black "fun foam" (Michael's, 99 cents a sheet) as a large, customizable lens hood.

ah Cokin....the good old days

 

[petrochemist]

The square holder and rings are a bit of a pita. Sometimes I just hold the filter right over the lens with one hand and shoot with the other. Shhhhh!

I've done that with lenses that the filter holder won't fit on. Nothing wrong with it for shorter exposures. The filter mounting rings can be quite useful for handholding circular filters in some such cases too.

 

[weepete]

2nd vote for The Filter Dude's filter holder been using mine for over 3 years now.

with the filters Kood International's filters are great, but a PITA to get in the US. Other than that I'd suck it up and get Lee.

 

[JonA_CT]

Lots of help here! Thanks guys. I'll be using these mostly for landscapes (really...probably 100% for landscapes, its easier to use HSS flash for portraits).

I'll check out the Filter Dude. I'm not super worried about color casting, and even better if someone else has already identified the color channel to play with. My real problem is that I have big glass, haha. My Irix 15mm lens has 95mm filter needs, and I'd also want the filter to work for my 80-200mm and my 17-35mm so I need 3 different ring adapters. Unfortunately, step-up rings would almost assuredly vignette on my 15mm lens, so it's not really an option.

I need to convince my wife that my love (and hers too, I guess, since there's a bunch of examples on our walls now) of silky water and well-balanced landscapes is worth my personal investment. Its hard to quantify, though, because while I've sold one-off prints before, it isn't something that I'm really in the business to do.

 

[SquarePeg]

If it were me I would give the cheaper system a try before spending all that money. Especially if you're like me and your focus changes. I started out wanting to photograph landscapes then moved on to macro stuff and then flowers and now people...

You're welcome to use the ones I have and see if you like them. I can send them to you pretty easily. That won't solve your big glass issue. I think the biggest lens I used these with was my Tokina 11-16 which was a 77mm lens.

 

[Gary A.]

The Filter Dude has a ton of adapters.

 

[zulu42]

I've also had a Lee system in my cart... and never pulled the trigger. I ended up with some B+W screw on for ease of use.

Maybe I didn't research enough, but I never found any reviews that had any quantifiable testing to show increased performance of the top end filters. Where are the sites where guys pixel peep and make graphs and charts comparing filters?

I'm gullible. If somebody showed me a line on a graph proving a $200 filter is better than a $90 filter, I might buy one.

 

[JonA_CT]

I can buy the filter holder and the adapters for $100 total at the Filter Dude.

Done.

I found some off label 100mm ND filters for relatively short money on Amazon, and I’ll order a cokin or a lee grad filter.

My total cost will be less than $300. Way better. I’ll review it all when it comes in.