jeff_lundstrom2
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Posts posted by jeff_lundstrom2
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Jake,
I actually live in New Hartford so I know what you mean - I've stumbled acrosse some cool scenes just by getting lost.
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Thanks, Chuck.
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Charles and Alex, thanks for the ideas.
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Thanks for the ideas, Louie.
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Hey all, I need places to shoot! Seems like Connecticut is the forgotten
stepchild of New England. VT, MA, NH get all the attention! Does ANYONE shoot
in CT?? I'd like to generate a list of places to shoot in Connecticut/Southern
RI/Southwest MA for Nature/Landscape (especially shoreline shots).
Below is a list of places to start with:
Burying Hill Beach (shore) - Westport, CT
Eastern Point Beach (shore)- Groton, CT
Barn Island (nature preserve) - Stonington, CT
Stonington Point (shore) - Stonington, CT
Buttonwood Farm (sunflowers) - Griswold, CT
Bish Bash Falls (falls) - Mt. Washington, MA
Westerly, RI (shore) - just north of Misquamicut
Thanks for your input.
- Jeff
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David,
Point well taken. I've heard about this problem using the two together. I was just reading Darwin Wiggett's 'TTT' technique and was curious how to accomplish this using the bigger 100mm systems.
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Ross,
Sorry, but I'm a little confused. Do you mean that you screw the CPL into the Lee 77mm adapter ring? Thanks.
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Thanks, Howard. I've been wondering how much of an effect a little natural hand shakiness would have during long exposures. Sounds like it's a positive ... good to know - and a little easier on the wallet (which is always nice).
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I am about to purchase a fitler system and have a question regarding using a
polarizer together with the ND Grads. In my research, I see that quite a few
pros use circular polarizers together with ND Grads. My question is How? There
seems to be 3 options....
1. Use the Lee system and buy the 105mm front adapter ring and 105mm Lee
Circular Polarizer.
2. Use a lens mounted circular polarizer then screw in the filter system's
lens adapter and then put on the filter holder
3. Use a lens mounted circular polarizer and simply hand-hold the grad.
1 seems to provide the most assured image quality as you can adjust the
polarizer separate from the grads. The problem is that you would need a
separate polarizer for the lens when your shooting doesn't involve the use of
grads. Plus the Lee 105mm polarizer is $300 ... ouch
2 provides flexibility in that it allows you to have a circular polarizer on
your lens, but you would then need to attach the filter adapter and holder to
the polarizer which would not allow you to adjust the polarizer separately
with the holder in place. I guess you could set the polarizer then carefully
attach the holder?
3 is similar to 2, but my conern is that image quality may suffer with long
exposures.
Any thoughts or experience would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jeff
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Danny, thanks for the info. Very valuable. You said earlier that 12mm APS-C is okay on the wider holder. What is the widest APS-C mm you've been able to shoot on the regular Cokin P? 19mm/20mm?
BTW ... do you have a gallery so I can check out some of your work?
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Just my two cents ... if you are coming all the way from Singapore then you may want to consider a school like http://www.risd.edu/ and similar programs (Syracuse University). This way you get a 4 year accredited undergrad degree AND top notch photo training. Then you can do a Hallmark or Brooks for grad. Just my two cents.
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I am looking to buy my first set of graduated nd filters as well. A lot of people buy the Cokin P holder and lens adapter and then buy the 85mm HiTech or Singh-Ray Filters to fit (search on here for more info). Also, many folks choose the 100mm Lee system (holder, lens adapters, and filters). Cokin makes a 100mm holder as well (Cokin Z) which will fit any 100mm filter size. You can find these online at B&H. You can also visit the Cokin, Singh-Ray and Lee sites (Lee and Cokin both have good info on how the systems work). Singh-Ray site has a lot of useful info on how to use filters in the field (http://singhray.blogspot.com/).
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/category/6400/Filter_Systems_Square_Rectangular_Filters.html
http://www.cokin.com/ico1-p1.html
http://www.leefilters.com/camera/
In terms of quality, Singh-Ray and Lee seem to be the best (and most expensive) with HiTech second and Cokin a distant third. Cokins Grad NDs are not truly neutral and color cast your images. You will find comments on here about their poor quality. In my research, I have read that the holders can cause vignetting if you shoot at focal lengths wider than 20mm. Cokin has recommendations for widest focal lengths for each of its holders. Lee does not seem to list any limitations other than to caution that vignetting can occur. Personally, I am leaning toward the Cokin P and the HiTech filters so I can get started and not break the bank.
FYI, Lee filters and holders seem to be out of stock at B&H and Adorama and just about everywhere else.
Good luck.
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One of the things that sucks about photography is that is SO damn expensive. I've had to train myself to think of every purchase as an investment rather than just another piece of equipment to spend $$$ on. Ken's recommendation is spot on - I would spend the $200 on the kit he recommends. I have one and it serves me very well...and will for years to come. (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=monfrotto+190XB+486&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t).
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Zvia ... Andes, huh? COOL! Be sure to post your shots. Ah .. I see the difference for the use of hard vs. soft. Guess I'll just have to get both - more money for filters and less for my 70-200 f/4 :( Cannot wait til I can get my hands on one. Maybe I will rent one just to motivate me to save. Thanks again for your help.
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Danny, thanks for the thoughts on sanding he HiTechs. Question, what grit sand paper do you use? Fine? Medium? I do not want to scratch anything. Also, do you find the 2 and 3 stops to be sufficient? Have you ever had a need to go greater? Like a 4 or 5 stop? Thanks.
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Zvia, no worries on the mm number conversions. I obviously had them backwards too! Good point on the holders. Nice option to have especially if you need both hands. Re: density, I will most likely avoid the 1 stop for now and go with a 2 or a 3 to start. Do you use soft or hard edge? SO jealous that you have the 70-200 f/4 IS. I am saving for this as well. I currently use a Tamron 28-75 and a Rebel Xt. Wide angle is the next purchase (sigma or canon) then the 70-200mm f/4 IS.
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Thanks, Zvia. Good information. Especially glad to hear that your singh-ray fit your Cokin P. I actually just noticed that singh-ray displays which filter size fits which Cokin holder (e.g. for P Size, for Z-Pro) on their website. Makes life easier. Good point about the crop factor. I had not taken that into account. Question though, if 28mm full frame = 18mm on a 1.6 then won?t 10mm-17mm on 1.6 vignette? Or will it just vignette on the regular Cokin P holder and not vignette on the Cokin P wide angle? I think I just answered my own question. By the way, check out singh-rays site for techniques on hand-holding filters .... might just make this whole conversation moot (http://singhray.blogspot.com/search?q=marc+adamus ? scroll down to Q: Why would I want to use the oversized 4x6 Graduated ND filters?)
Soooo, how do you like your 17-55 f/2.8?
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I am looking into buying a starter kit as well. I've been during some research on ND Grads and found a lot of useful 'how to' info at singhray's site (http://singhray.blogspot.com/search?q=marc+adamus). Marc's technique may solve problems with holders as he frequently hand holds his filters. Not only does he hand hold them he often 'moves' them during the exposure. Read the blog for more specifics. Just from the caption info seems that he uses the 2 stop quite a bit and the 3 stop more for shooting directly into the setting sun. Hope this helps.
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Hey All ... question regarding filter systems:
First off, sorry for the long post, but I am just a little confused. I would
like to get a starter pack of ND Grads (rectangular, not circular) and have
been doing research on here, BandH, manufactures websites, etc.. It seems that
the preferred High-End Filters are Singh-Ray and Lee. The Mid-Range Filters
are HiTech (Formatt) and the Low-End Filters are Cokin. There may be others
out there, but these seem to be mentioned the most.
My confusion comes with the holders and what filters are compatible with which
holders.
Cokin website lists the following range of holders...
A Holds 67mm wide filters; Made for lens diameters up to 62mm; recommended for
focal lengths 35mm and up; P Holds 84mm wide filters; Made for lens diameters
up to 82mm; recommended for focal lengths 28mm and up; Z Holds 100mm wide
filters; Made for lens diameters up to 96mm; recommended for focal lengths
20mm and up; X Holds 130mm wide filters; Made for lens diameters up to 118;
recommended for focal lengths 15mm and up.
Lee simply has one size holder which holds 100mm wide filters. The website
does not indicate a recommended minimum (or max depending on how you look at
it) focal length for use with the holder. They only caution that 2 or more
filters used in the holder could cause vignetting. I gotta believe that if
Cokin recommends 20mm and up focal length with its 100mm filter holder then
that would mean that you should use a 20mm and up focal length with Lee.
So, here are my questions ...
Can any 100mm filter be used with either the Cokin Z or Lee holder? Or any
other manufacturers 100mm holder? If you are shooting at focal lengths wider
than 20mm and using the Lee System will you get vignetting? If you are
shooting at focal lengths wider than 20mm and using the Cokin X are you stuck
with Cokin filters? Or does Singh-Ray Lee or HiTech make 130mm wide filters?
By my research they do not.
Now, I know that the answer to the compatibility question could very well
be ... Buy one manufacturer?s filters and its corresponding holder. Okay...
fair point, BUT my question about vignetting with the standard 100mm filter
systems and shooting wider than Cokins recommended 20mm still remains.
Personally, I would like to get the HiTech Filters (since they are good
quality and reasonable on the wallet), but by my research I would have to get
either the Cokin Z or Lee holder and be limited to shooting no wider than
20mm. Currently, I have the Canon kit 18-55 and will upgrade to the Sigma 10-
20 or Canon EF-S 10-22.
I would appreciate any thoughts, experience and/or recommendations. Thanks in
advance for your help.
- Jeff
Places to shoot in Connecticut
in Travel
Posted
John,
I've never even heard of Quinnipiac River Marsh. Thanks for the suggestion. I hope my 70-200 is long enough avian photography - never done it before. I'll definitley add this to my list.