Grad Filters

I want to buy a Hitech ND.6 (2-stop) soft Grad filter. I am going to

buy just one,

to see whether I use it much and whether I like it.

Most of my standard lenses take 58mm filters and one, a wide angle

(17-35mm)

takes an 82mm filter ring.

Can I use a Cookin P filter holder for the Hitech Filter. I.E does it

hold a 4X5" filter and

will it hold a 1.5mm thick filter? (Cookins Brochure only gives

attachment sizes).

Would I be better off paying the extra money for a Hitech one?

Is a Cookin P series large enough to prevent vignetting with the 17mm

lenses. I have read in

some posts that people have cut the outer holders off the filter

holder. Is this necessory?

Am I correct in saying that I just need the P-series attachment and

two adaptor rings, a 58mm and an 82mm?

Lots of questions I know, so

Thanks in advance

Andrew Kelly

Cokin P series is ok for the 58 mm lens but will simply not work for the 82 mm threaded lens. I was using a canon 20 - 35mm lens which is a 77mm thread and it caused vignetting. At 82 mm i think i would suggest you go with the Lee or Hitech filter systems. or maybe even the X PRO series if you really want to avoid vignetting

The Cokin P series filters have to be 84 mm wide. So you cant fit the 4" filter in the cokin P holder. Cokin P is good enough for the 58 mm lens but is not good enough for the 82mm wide lens. (If you still decide to go with cokin P buy the new holder that accepts only one filter so as to reduce hte chances of vignetting or alternativley cut the other three filter slots of the nromal one)

Since the Grads are most useful for landscapes (which is what i assume you would be using the wide angle lens for), I would suggest you go with Lee/hitech or possibly the Cokin X Pro series.Lee and Hitech systems accept 100mm wide filters (4" wide). X Pro series accepts 150mm filters (6")

If you go with Lee Holder make sure you buy the wide angle adapter ring to hook the lee/hitech system (It is metal and better than the plastic ones). And buy the 1/2 inch screw set and reduce the number of slots in the Lee holder. (You will need 1/2 inch screws if you want only one 2mm slot and 5/8 if you want two 2mm slots)

If you do decide to go with the hitech filter, let me know your results. I want to get a grad also but am on the look out for reviews. I was using cokin grad with my 28-105mm lens and they are *BAD*. I upgraded my lens and am retiring the cokin P series since now all my lens are at the 77mm thread.

Hi Andrew. I would recommend the Lee filter system; it is what I use and I am very happy with it. The build quality is very good, as is the optical performance. The Lee grads are made of optical resin (I think CR39) and are very good. The Lee wide angle mount screws into the filter threads, but actually sits back a bit on the lens. I have never vignetted a shot with my Pentax 6x7 45mm lens (equivalent to about a 24mm in the 35 format).

I would also consider the 0.9 (3 stop) filter instead of the 2 stop filter. I have both but find that I use the 0.9 most of the time. Both of these are hard grads. I also have a soft grad (0.75) that I sometimes use in conjunction with these. The soft grad by itself is somewhat tricky to use. It is difficult to see the effect in the viewfinder with a soft grad and therefore hard to properly align the filter.

The Lee filter system is somewhat expensive but you are getting a versatile and well made product in return. Regards.