Good GND filter to go with new Lee system

[jrh]

I have a Singh-Ray 3 stop soft grad and a 2 stop hard grad and find this to be a very versatile combination.

[Elias Silva]

According to this site, there are 0.9 and even 1.2 gradual ND glass filters from Schneider. They seem to be 4mm thick and two of them can be mounted on a Lee holder.

http://www.2filter.com/schneider/SCHNEIDER44filterholder.html

I don't know how much this information can be trusted, but I figure it is worth mentioning.

BTW, I've been following this forum for quite some time now and it is amazing how much knowledge can be found here ...

Greetings from Brazil!

-- Elias.

[neuroanatomist]

According to this site, there are 0.9 and even 1.2 gradual ND glass filters from Schneider. They seem to be 4mm thick and two of them can be mounted on a Lee holder.

http://www.2filter.com/schneider/SCHNEIDER44filterholder.html

I don't know how much this information can be trusted, but I figure it is worth mentioning.

Yes, Schneider Optics has an excellent selection of glass grad NDs.  If you look at their MPTV line (motion picture television) they've got even more. 

Just to clarify, though - the 'Lee holder' mentioned on the 2filter page is not the holder the OP has.  Lee collaborated with Schneider to make a filter for their glass plates that holds two 4mm filters.  The Lee Foundation Kit is different, designed to hold three 2mm filters.

[96Brigadier]

Personally I wouldn't waste your time with a 1-stop GND filter.

I have the Lee 2-stop and 3-stop in both hard and soft edge.  My most used for landscapes are the 3-stop, which is why when I decided to get a reverse GND filter I bought the 3-stop (in that specific case Singh-Ray).

The Lee resin filters are good and at ~$100 each a lot cheaper than the glass ones.

If I were only buying one GND filter it would definitely be the 3-stop.  Hard or soft edge depends on whether the bulk of your shots have an object in the foreground extending into the sky or not (like trees).

[wayno]

Agree in the 3 stop. I use my Cokin Z pro size 3 stop almost always vs my 2 or 1. The Australian light puts paid to that also.

[FunPhotons]

Personally I wouldn't waste your time with a 1-stop GND filter.

I have the Lee 2-stop and 3-stop in both hard and soft edge.  My most used for landscapes are the 3-stop, which is why when I decided to get a reverse GND filter I bought the 3-stop (in that specific case Singh-Ray).

The Lee resin filters are good and at ~$100 each a lot cheaper than the glass ones.

If I were only buying one GND filter it would definitely be the 3-stop.  Hard or soft edge depends on whether the bulk of your shots have an object in the foreground extending into the sky or not (like trees).

So when would you use a hard and when a soft exactly?

[neuroanatomist]

So when would you use a hard and when a soft exactly?

Hard is for when you have an even, unbroken horizon line (the ocean, for example).  Soft is for when the horizon is uneven (mountains, trees, buildings, etc.).  Personally, I suspect I'll have more use for the soft grads than the hard grads. 

[FunPhotons]

NA, any suggestions for a soft 3 stop then? I like the idea of Glass of course, resin is find too I guess.

[neuroanatomist]

NA, any suggestions for a soft 3 stop then? I like the idea of Glass of course, resin is find too I guess.

Personally, I plan to get a 4" CPL and 3-stop grad hard and soft from Lee, and a 3-stop reverse grad from Singh-Ray.

[bigmag13]

try www.2filter.com they say as a byline that they only sell quality products and wont carry stuff that doesnt cut the mustard. service desk is great too! I got a set of lee grads W/holder and a 9 stop for under three. they seem to work well for my water blur and landscapes but i'm not very experienced in that style of shooting.

[FunPhotons]

NA, any suggestions for a soft 3 stop then? I like the idea of Glass of course, resin is find too I guess.

Personally, I plan to get a 4" CPL and 3-stop grad hard and soft from Lee, and a 3-stop reverse grad from Singh-Ray.

That sounds good, except I don't need the CPL I think. These guys?

3 stop Lee hard edge
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/745895-REG/LEE_Filters_SW150_9NDG_S_150_x_170mm_0_9.html

3 stop Lee soft edge
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/745895-REG/LEE_Filters_SW150_9NDG_S_150_x_170mm_0_9.html

3 stop S-R reverse grad
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/615228-REG/Singh_Ray_R_63_Daryl_Benson_4x6_Reverse.html

[neuroanatomist]

The 4x6" Lee (100x150mm), the 150x170mm are too big for the holder. That's the right S-R, though.

[FunPhotons]

Hm, he says the Cokin Z system is significantly cheaper, but while the adapters are cheaper the main holder is about the same. I went with the Lee at any rate.

[FunPhotons]

I'm about the pull the trigger on a few filters, but I'm wondering about the 3 stop S-R, is that enough?

For shooting directly into the sun maybe a 4 stop would be better, anybody used a 3 or a 4 reverse grad who can comment?

[RobertG.]

Hi,
I have a full set of 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 soft and hard grad ND filters as well as a 0.6 reverse grad ND & 0.9 reverse grad ND filter, which I can combine with a 10 stop ND and/or a 105mm Pol filter. So it is easy for me to compare the effects.

The 0.3 grad NDs were a waste of money. I never used them so far. The same goes for the 0.9 reverse grad ND filter, which is very rarely used.

For an average sunset or sunrise I use only the 0.6 reverse grad ND filter when the sun is near to the horizon. Very seldomly I need to combine it with  a normal grad ND (at the sea for example). The attached shot is also such a case. It was shot with a 0.6 grad ND + 0.9 reverse grad ND in order to see something of the village on the bottom of the picture. I used the "expose to the right" technique and then made a HDR from the single RAW file.

If you don't plan to buy a dozen filters, get a 0.6 hard grad ND and a 0.9 soft grad ND filter. A pol filter is a very useful addition to the grad ND filters. The 105mm Lee adaptor ring works well but any 105mm pol filter used on the Lee filter holder will add some vignetting to wide angle lenses. With my TS-E 24mm L it starts at about 8mm of shift when using the 105mm pol filter, no matter if a grad nd filter is used or not.