grad ND filters

[matan_levinson1]

I'm trying to decide on a set of filters and holder for landscape

photography. my eyes are set on a cokin P holder with hitech 85mm X

107mm 0.6 and 0.9 soft edge garaduated ND filters.

 

I'll use the set on canon EF lenses-

24/2.8

50/1.4 usm

70-200/4L USM

 

any thoughts about the quality of these products? is there a chance

of vignetting with any of the lenses? is it possible to cut down two

of the holder's slots to avoid vignetting? will I be able to mount

the holder on a screw type filter?

 

thanks,

 

matan

[sean corley]

Hi Matan,

 

I use the Cokin P filter system with Cokin and Hitech filters.

I don't think you will have problems with vignetting with any of these lenses.I have no problem using it on my EF 400 5.6l but have had to trim off the holder so that it only has one slot left for my EF 20 2.8. and can't screw it on top of another filter already on the lens. But as the 20mm has a 72mm front element and the 24mm has only a 58mm front element and a narrower angle of view you should be fine.

 

The only thing to think about is if you can afford glass ND filters they will last much longer as they are much more resistant to scratching than resin ones.

[ligia_dovale]

Adding to the previous post, I find that vignetting is not a problem after trimming the Cokin holder, which I also did. However, I was not able to use any other filter on the lens, i.e., an 81-B without getting the vignetting problem again. Added to this, is the fact that screwing and unscrewing the filters plus a holder is a waste of time, a landscape can change in a matter of seconds. I now hand hold the ND grads in front of the lens. It is not difficult when using a tripod and a cable release.

 

As for other manufacturers of ND grads, there is also Sigh Ray. Nonetheless, these are also made out of plastic, can scratch easily and cost a lot more.

[greg_miller8]

I have a 28mm lens with a 62mm filter size. I have trimmed a Cokin P holder down to 1 slot and still get vignetting. You'll also want to know that the more you stop down the worse the problem is. You may not see vignetting with the aperture wide open but can still get vignetting with smaller aperetures - if you have depth-of-field-preview it is wise to use it before you shott. If you dont then you'll find it hard to use a grad anyway since the position of the transition area also moves vertically as your aperture changes.

[pvp]

I've got the Cokin P holder, and Cokin's 120 and 121 (one-stop and two-stop) grads. I'm disappointed with the filters; the edge is much softer than I would like. I'm going to try the Hitech filters as they seem to have a much harder transistion.

[joe_adnan]

You needn't trim the filter holder as Cokin now makes a slim holder use with wide andle lenses. It has only 1 slot.