LEE, HITECH, SINGH RAY, COKIN Filters

[Malte_P]

i read a lot about how bad cokin filters (*) are and i ask myself how bad are they in reality.
i mean, normaly things are blown out of proportion on internet forums.

but i have seen no side by side comparison of the different filters yet.

is there a website that shows the same landscape images (full size would be great) shot with different ND GRAD filters?


(*) so there is no need to repeat that discussion here.

 

[traveller]

Speaking from personal experience: if you can afford Lee, they are worth the difference; if not (or you are unsure whether you will use ND grads), get a set of Cokins. Personally, I prefer SRB Griturn's to Cokin's ND grads; I've never tried Hitech's, but some of my mates seem to like them. I don't know what the availability situation is with all of these in whatever country you're in, not all brands are readily available in every country (e.g. Singh-Ray are difficult to come by here in the UK).

Don't waste your time trawling the internet for side by side comparisons, just buy a set of cheap filters and see for yourself. If you are not happy with the quality they give you, spend the money on upgrading. Cheap filters are too cheap to wring your hands over!

 

[Malte_P]

...
Don't waste your time trawling the internet for side by side comparisons, just buy a set of cheap filters and see for yourself. If you are not happy with the quality they give you, spend the money on upgrading. Cheap filters are too cheap to wring your hands over!

well even a set of cheap cokins (with holder and adapters is 100+ euro) ... and im a student i have to hold my money together.

thought if cokins are really bad and singh rays would last me a lifetime i would spend the money. singh rays are scratch resistant are they?

 

[kubelik]

Singh rays are not entirely scratch resistant. They will still scuff up over time. That being said, the scratches on mine haven't made any noticeable impact on image quality, I worry much more about dust than the scratches. I have no idea how it compares to the other brands' durability.

 

[traveller]

...
Don't waste your time trawling the internet for side by side comparisons, just buy a set of cheap filters and see for yourself. If you are not happy with the quality they give you, spend the money on upgrading. Cheap filters are too cheap to wring your hands over!

well even a set of cheap cokins (with holder and adapters is 100+ euro) ... and im a student i have to hold my money together.

thought if cokins are really bad and singh rays would last me a lifetime i would spend the money. singh rays are scratch resistant are they?

All resin filters are going to get scratched over time; more expensive filters may last longer, but I would not count on them to "last a lifetime". If you're hard up then don't blow your entire budget on filters, just get some cheaper ones and live with the compromises they entail (colour casts -especially when double stacked). I would start with two ND grad filters: a 2-stop and a 3-stop (don't bother shelling out for 1-stop, unless it's part of a set); a holder and adaptor rings. I would choose soft nd grads, as they are more versatile (the exception to this is if you are using 4"x6" type, e.g. Lee's, on APS-C -Lee recommend hard ND grads in this situation).

When chosing a holder, there can be a trade off between versatility and vignetting (and I mean very hard mechnical vignetting). I found that the standard Cokin P-type holder vignetted with the Sigma 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 below 12mm. In this situation, I had to use the wide angle (single slot) holder instead; although you could try modifying the standard holder with a razor saw. This may vary with different lenses, so I would try the standard holder first.

If you must have the best, then the Lee system that I have upgraded too is fantastic in both performance and price (£35 for a 77mm wide angle adaptor ring! It's just a piece of metal for crying out loud!). B+W make glass ND grads for the Lee system, available from B&H for $270 each... ;D

 

[Thyg0d]

I use HighTech and they work pretty good for me..
As everybody else has said.. no filters are in anyway scratch resistant but after using them on
two trips with heavy uses there's no scratches that messes up the pictures..
You do need something to remove the dust with before and after each use, I use the lens cleaning kit
with a "rocket blower" and cloth..

I bought a 1-2-3 kit and a 10 Stop with Lee holder and 77 and 82 Wide angle adapters..
Only used the 1 stop to stack, never alone so I haven't had much use of it..
Then again, I use the 10 stop most so +/- 1 stop doesn't make much of a difference..

 

[docsmith]

I own all of the above brands and am working on a comparison. In most instances, I think that Cokin gets a bad rap. They are actually pretty good and I've used them for a number of shots very successfully. However, I bought my first Lee filter about 2 weeks ago and, so far, it does seem to have less color cast than the others.

 

[tbob32]

I bought the Hitech 85mm Graduated Neutral Density Kit 6 from B&H just to get started and do some experimenting. Have been very happy with them. Haven't noticed any color cast and they seem durable with reasonable care. Got a couple of Cokin adaptors and a holder to use them with.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/811176-REG/Hitech_HT85GKIT6_85mm_Graduated_Neutral_Density.html