[atr1981]

Hi guys,

Just got myself a Cokin adaptor ring and filter housing but am now reading articles saying that the system is not that great.

By that I mean the filters themselves. One article was commenting about that fact they are just plastic that have been colored.

Does anyone have this system and do they have any issues ?

Thanks.

[stevegreen]

I use the Cokin filters and I have not had any issues except when I stacked three filters and ended up with a slight colour cast over the image which is a common complaint against them.

[jamesbryan17]

I have them Roset, had no problems with them, they are not plastic at all they are made from ceramic glass. It's pretty amazing how they get the colours to graduate through the glass.

[atr1981]

Thanks guys, that reassures me.

I have a cheap CPL and ND8 threded filter here but wanted a system that will allow more than one filter and the easy ability to change them.

[cedmondson]

Originally Posted by jamesbryan17

I have them Roset, had no problems with them, they are not plastic at all they are made from ceramic glass. It's pretty amazing how they get the colours to graduate through the glass.

Nope - nothing ceramic about it. Cokin call it CR-39 'organic glass' but I'd view that as marketing puff more than anything else. It's a polymer material (aka plastic). Don't let that put you off though. I use them and find them OK. Optically they're fine, cheaper, lighter & less likely to break than 'real' glass. Any slight cast can be corrected in Photoshop anyway.

[Tobers]

They are absolutely fine and you'll get some great shots with them. They are very flexible in use (not bendy, but I mean able to be used on different lenses & in different ways).

The only issue I've had is with an ND8 and polariser together resulting in a slight magenta tinge to the pics. You can remove this in Photoshop or whatever.

I found the polariser to be particularly good, especially with a graduated ND filter for the sky.

[jamesbryan17]

Originally Posted by cedmondson

Nope - nothing ceramic about it. Cokin call it CR-39 'organic glass'

That's what I meant
About the CPL Roset, I know someone who has a Cokin one and he has trouble turning it within the holder while he is using a Grad filter at the same time, but it is great when used on it's own apparently.

[Tobers]

Yep - had the same thing with mine. Easily rectified - set the polariser first then slot the grad filter in. Easy.

[jamesbryan17]

That's a good idea actually Tobers, i'll tell him that.

[py6km]

So what would be the best filter set up for use with a D-SLR ?

I mean, what other companies apart from Cokin and Kood make filters and the golders etc, and which would be considered the best (in terms of build quality, optical quality etc) ?

[Tobers]

I've just sold my Cokin kit and moved up to Lee which are generally considered to be very good. V.pricey but the quality of the holder itself is excellent. The optical quality of the filters themselves is supposedly superior to the Cokin kit, but I can only afford one ND grad at the moment so cant really tell yet!!

[h4rri]

The Cokin CPL is a pig to turn when in place because you have to use the cutouts on the holder to rotate it. Unless I'm stacking I normally just rotate the entire holder

I do like the Cokin system and find the filters very good in terms of optical and build quality.

[stevegreen]

Originally Posted by h4rri

The Cokin CPL is a pig to turn when in place because you have to use the cutouts on the holder to rotate it. Unless I'm stacking I normally just rotate the entire holder

I have never tries rotating the polariser itself, electing to rotate the entire mount which is much easier I guess. I only have the wide angle holder so can't stack any filters when using the polariser

[baldrick]

Which Cokin system do people use, A, P, Z-Pro or X-Pro?

[milkmanchris]

I have a set that I have had 25 years or so.

Stuck in a bag somewhere at my Mum's, I thought photoshop had killed off any use for these.

Names such as tobacco 10% fantastic stuff

[allymac123]

Originally Posted by baldrick

Which Cokin system do people use, A, P, Z-Pro or X-Pro?

The type you should use depends on the filter size for the lens and the focal length.

Look at the Cokin site for information.

[cedmondson]

I use P series with lenses with a 77mm filter thread. On a Canon 24-105L, I can safely use the regular holder, but need a wide angle holder (1 filter only) on a Tokina 12-24 - there's still a slight hint of vignetting at the 12mm end but I can live with it. Larger sizes start to get quite expensive & become more of an issue to carry IMHO.

[RobDickinson]

I use cokin 'P' with genuine CPL and 3rd party ND/grads.

Works well for everything i want it to (for the price) OK at wide angle, little bit of vignetting at 10-12 mm.

[onefivenine]

I'd say get the Z series.

I've learned the hard way, for example I left the UV filter on the lens then screwed the P series adapter before I took this shot... I should have taken th UV filter off first!

[h4rri]

Originally Posted by onefivenine

I'd say get the Z series.

I've learned the hard way, for example I left the UV filter on the lens then screwed the P series adapter before I took this shot... I should have taken th UV filter off first!

Thats croppable though, you should see the 17-40 with the standard adaptor LOL it's horrible.

[monkeyleader]

I got a load of the cokin system from a friend .. only had an ND2 so results were special but I've seen some fantastic effects using others.

My main issue was the time taken to put the dam thing on - okay it was my first attempt but still it seem unless I had something in mind and was going to be hanging around one location for sometime I doubt I'd use them.

Plus if I already have the tripod out then why not just take a couple of exposures and do the merge in software.

It would be interesting to see the difference between a shot using filters and one done in software - of the same scene, anyone have an example?

I think for now I'll get myself a couple of good polarisers for the 24-105mm and the 10-20mm

Nigel

[monkeyleader]

Also wondering do you guys mainly use the graduated NDs or solid ones. and in which situation to use either?

Nige

[h4rri]

Originally Posted by monkeyleader

Also wondering do you guys mainly use the graduated NDs or solid ones. and in which situation to use either?

Nige

Use solids when you want to drop the exposure for the whole scene [flowing water shots etc], use grads when you want to drop the exposure on a particular part of the scene such as the sky etc.

[monkeyleader]

Yer after posting I did a bit of reading - makes perfect sense