Lee...Cokin P... Cokin Z...What to choose?!

[D-B-J]

So, it's simple. I bought a Tokina 11-16 2.8 for landscapes and such, but want to pick up some plate ND's and GND's. Which system to choose? .3, .6, .9? Which ones are most useful? Soft or hard edged GND's?

I need help!

Best,
Jake

 

[KmH]

No doubt. Lee. Not Cokin.

Get all 3 - .3, a .6, and a .9.
Then you can stack them and also have 1.2, 1.5, and 1.8.
Uh, G = graduated which is soft-edged.
If it has a sharp edge it's not a GND.

 

[D-B-J]

No doubt. Lee. Not Cokin.

Get all 3 - .3, a .6, and a .9.
Then you can stack them and also have 1.2, 1.5, and 1.8.

Soft or hard edged??

 

[table1349]

At some point you will want a set of all three. Pick the type you think you will use the most right away and then add from there. Lee is the way to go in the 100X100mm size at least. It's easy to put a square filter over a lens that is smaller. Not the other way around.

 

[hirejn]

I have Cokin but I almost never use any NDs for anything. Most of what I'd use them for can be done better in software. I've heard Lee recommended by some of the top pros over any other brand. You'll pay a lot for them. Each .3 is one stop, so .6 is two stops and .9 is three stops. In nature you'll probably find GNDs to be most useful.

 

[D-B-J]

Hmmm... Lee is hugely expensive, and I have a feeling I won't be using them as much as a pro. I don't think I can justify almost 400 dollars for two filters and a holder...

Any personal input on the Cokin system?

 

[table1349]

Yes the Lee's are as are the Singh-Ray's. They are also top quality. I have heard of issues with color shift with the Cokin ND filters. You might look at Hi-tech. They make good stuff. Not sure of their prices. B&W also makes good filters but again costly.

Probably the best source to check out what is available. Camera Filters On Sale 2014 Catalog

 

[tirediron]

Yes the Lee's are as are the Singh-Ray's. They are also top quality. I have heard of issues with color shift with the Cokin ND filters. You might look at Hi-tech. They make good stuff. Not sure of their prices. B&W also makes good filters but again costly.

Probably the best source to check out what is available. Camera Filters On Sale 2014 Catalog

Cokin's do produce a colour cast under certain conditions, but that's 99.9% avoidable by shading the filters. I keep an 8x10 piece of matte black craft foam (<$1.00 at Wal-mart/Michael's) that I use as an ad hoc lens shade when I'm shooting toward the sun.

 

[D-B-J]

Yes the Lee's are as are the Singh-Ray's. They are also top quality. I have heard of issues with color shift with the Cokin ND filters. You might look at Hi-tech. They make good stuff. Not sure of their prices. B&W also makes good filters but again costly.

Probably the best source to check out what is available. Camera Filters On Sale 2014 Catalog

Cokin's do produce a colour cast under certain conditions, but that's 99.9% avoidable by shading the filters. I keep an 8x10 piece of matte black craft foam (<$1.00 at Wal-mart/Michael's) that I use as an ad hoc lens shade when I'm shooting toward the sun.

Do you use the Cokin system?

 

[Gavjenks]

Are you shooting film? If not, who cares about color shift, you just shoot in RAW, and any slight tint from a filter is trivial to adjust for. Unless you sit there and use a custom WB gray card for every shot, your auto WB is almost certainly introducing more of a color shift than the filter does anyway.

Variable ND filters do have some significant drawbacks (Diffraction patterns etc), and realllly cheap ($20) fixed and NDs and GNDs can be unevenly tinted, which is a significant problem. But an $80-100 B&W or Tiffen for example filter is just fine in any situation if you're going to be doing any post digital editing.

0.3 is usually not worth the trouble of screwing on a filter most of the time
0.6 is useful generally as a GND, less so plain ND.
0.9 is maybe slightly less often useful for a GND. If you have cash and bag space to spare, get both though, whatever. More useful for a regular ND.
4 or more stops = pointless for GND, still useful for a regular ND for doing long exposures in the day.

 

[tirediron]

Yes the Lee's are as are the Singh-Ray's. They are also top quality. I have heard of issues with color shift with the Cokin ND filters. You might look at Hi-tech. They make good stuff. Not sure of their prices. B&W also makes good filters but again costly.

Probably the best source to check out what is available. Camera Filters On Sale 2014 Catalog

Cokin's do produce a colour cast under certain conditions, but that's 99.9% avoidable by shading the filters. I keep an 8x10 piece of matte black craft foam (<$1.00 at Wal-mart/Michael's) that I use as an ad hoc lens shade when I'm shooting toward the sun.

Do you use the Cokin system?

I do; I stumbled across a smoking good deal on Craig's List (50+ mint/NIB 'P' size filters, holders, CPOL, adapter rings for $40) a few years back, and grabbed it. While they're definitely not Lee/Singh-Ray quality, they're pretty good with the above-noted exception, and when I do drop or scratch one, it doesn't bother me overly.

 

[tirediron]

Are you shooting film? If not, who cares about color shift, you just shoot in RAW, and any slight tint from a filter is trivial to adjust for.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. The cast is a red one, and exhibits itself in a manner similar to that of a CPOL on a UWA, as a gradient. It's actually quite difficult to correct for in some cases, but shading the filter holder seems to eliminate 99% of the issue.

 

[D-B-J]

Are you shooting film? If not, who cares about color shift, you just shoot in RAW, and any slight tint from a filter is trivial to adjust for.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. The cast is a red one, and exhibits itself in a manner similar to that of a CPOL on a UWA, as a gradient. It's actually quite difficult to correct for in some cases, but shading the filter holder seems to eliminate 99% of the issue.

But how do you shade when using an UWA..? Hold it really far off?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tirediron]

Are you shooting film? If not, who cares about color shift, you just shoot in RAW, and any slight tint from a filter is trivial to adjust for.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. The cast is a red one, and exhibits itself in a manner similar to that of a CPOL on a UWA, as a gradient. It's actually quite difficult to correct for in some cases, but shading the filter holder seems to eliminate 99% of the issue.

But how do you shade when using an UWA..? Hold it really far off?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's why I use the craft foam; I can bend/twist/cut to suit. Sometimes you can't do much, or even anything, but since it's only an issue when the lens is pointing toward the sun, it's usually not too much of a PIA.

 

[HughGuessWho100 15]

Cokin's do produce a colour cast under certain conditions, but that's 99.9% avoidable by shading the filters. I keep an 8x10 piece of matte black craft foam (<$1.00 at Wal-mart/Michael's) that I use as an ad hoc lens shade when I'm shooting toward the sun.

Do you use the Cokin system?

I do; I stumbled across a smoking good deal on Craig's List (50+ mint/NIB 'P' size filters, holders, CPOL, adapter rings for $40) a few years back, and grabbed it. While they're definitely not Lee/Singh-Ray quality, they're pretty good with the above-noted exception, and when I do drop or scratch one, it doesn't bother me overly.

I agree 100%. I have one Lee ND filter and several Cokin ND and GND filter. Lee's are very nice filter, but are MUCH more expensive. Cokin filters do have issues, but nothing that I can't deal with in post. Cokin filters, do, however, seem to scratch easier that Lees so you have to be extra careful when handling them. If I were making a living with landscape photography, I would likely go with Lee. But since I am just a hobbyist, I will take Cokin any day.