Grad ND and Polarizer filter

[beau_s]

Dear all,

 

I am pretty new with filter. After having done some reading on these forum, I

am now convinced to go with a Cokin P system and save up for a 2 stop soft

Singh Ray GND. My question is on the Polarizer. Which polarizer do you

recommend to go with the Cokin P and which brand? What is the different in

quality between Singh Ray and Hitech?(is it the same different as in GND?)

 

Last is it normal to use both of these filters together and if so in what

situation or is it more of a choice depending on the situation?

 

Many thanks in advance

[stemked]

Personally I would NOT recommend Cokin polarizers. They are too soft (resin) and obviously are not coated optics. There are numerous others to consider like HOYA, B&W, even Tiffin (which many people don't like) all would be preferable to Cokin.

[stemked]

By the way, depending on your system you will most likely need a CIRCULAR polarizer if you are using autofocus (and a few non-autofocus) camera bodies.

[William Kahn]

I have to disagree. I've been using Cokin-P filters, including the circular polarizer and grad ND filters for several years with excellent results.

[david_henderson]

Whilst I'm not the world's biggest Cokin fan I have used their polarisers and consider them OK. I'm not saying I wouldn't rather have a B+W mrc or a Hoya Super Pro 1, but if you're working to a tight budget you'll learn more about polarising using one of these than having none. They're a sight better than most other cokin products anyway.

 

I would be inclined not to use a polariser and a grad together because the effect on the sky will tend to be too strong.

 

Given a choice between Singh Ray and HiTech grads if it were my money I'd buy the HiTech. Come to think of it it is sometimes my money and I do buy HiTech. They are the same optical resin as Singh Ray. There is possibly a greater chance of a slight colour cast but I've always found Formatt (who make them ) ready to exchange if things aren't quite right. You can get a set of three hard or soft edge at a particularly good price.

[curt wiler]

I have had a Cokin-P polarizer for years and I can assure you it is glass. All polarizers that I know of have the polarizing foil laminated between two glass surfaces. For the money, the Cokin polarizer is a tremendous value. That said, I haven't used it on my 35mm equipment because it doesn't suit the way I work. The Cokin-P system doesn't provide enough movement for GND filters on 77mm diameter lenses, and vignettes with some of them. Consequently I have gone to the Lee system and I use standard round polarizers with front threads on the lens with the wide-angle adapter for the filter holder. The Cokin-P system goes with my Hasselblad nowdays. It works fine on Bay 60 lenses (about 67mm). If I need a GND on my Bay 70 lens, I hand-hold it. I'm working on a tripod in this case anyway.

 

Is it normal to use a polarizer and a GND? Depends what you are doing. Always use the fewest possible filters. There are certainly times I use both, but darkening a blue sky would not be one of them.

[davidroossien]

"Last is it normal to use both of these filters together and if so in what situation or is it more of a choice depending on the situation?"

 

One example of using both a soft GND and a polarizer is with wide angle lenses and "unnatural" looking light falloff. This usually happens when shooting away from the sun. The sky closer to the sun (90 degrees) becomes darker than the sky that is farther away from the sun. A 1 or 2 stop soft GND, angled toward the lighter area, can help balance the blue sky. Using a gradient in software helps to compensate for any remaining unnatural looking falloff.

[mark_chappell]

Curt has a point about wideangle lenses with 77mm filter rings and the Cokin system.

When I shot film, my 17-40 lens would vignette below about 20-21 mm when used with a

single-slot Cokin holder -- and much more with a 3-slot holder. That isn't a problem any

more since I mainly shoot with a 1.3X DSLR, but it's worth considering if you plan on using

your GND with an extreme wideangle.

 

FWIW, I use a screw-in polarizer (in the filter threads), with the Cokin holder in front when

I want to combine GNDs with polarizers. It works, but it's a bit clumsy. No vignetting

issue at 17mm with a 1.3X camera, but I'm sure this would be a problem on a FF or film

camera.

 

As others have said, this combination can be very useful but can also create some strange

effects, such as gradation in sky color.

 

Also FWIW, I've found a 3X GND to be more useful than a 2X for landscapes.