Cokin Filters

[peter_fitzsimons]

I have been told quite a lot that Cokin filters are pretty crap

compared to Lee, Hoya, Heliopan etc.

 

I only own Cokin filters so I can't compare their quality to other

brands.

 

What is your experience with Cokin. Surely a coloured piece of

plastic is a coloured piece of plastic, how can they differ.

 

Peter

[pmac]

I have a number of different makes, including Cokin. If you are only looking for a colored piece of plastic, Cokin is fine, but when I used Cokin grey grads with slide film, for instance, I found that they weren't grey at all, but were in fact purple (Jimi would have loved them - so would Prince!). The best I can say was that the effect was 'interesting'. On careful reading of the litreature, I found that Cokin don't actually call them 'neutral density', or use the word 'neutral' anywhere. I guess you get what you pay for.

[jimstrutz]

I hear lot of complaints about Cokin's gray & gray grad filters not being neutral, but mine seem to be. I can only assume there are some quality control issues. However, if you're shooting color negative or B&W film, or using a digital camera, a *small* amount of coloration isn't all that critical on a solid gray filter. However, too much discoloration with a grad will be difficult to fix.

 

Also, the plastic resin on Cokin filters is quite soft, so they scratch easily, but I'm unsure how this compares to other plastic resin filters. Obviously glass would be more durable. If you only rarely use them, the Cokin's are often a good buy. But if you use them and depend on them frequently, you'd be better off getting something that will last.

 

Cokin's polarizers are glass & work well.