[sleaver]

Would this kit be any good? When what I can see you only get two filters and I may be mistaken but are they not the same?

Link

If not are there any other suggestions?

[Gow87]

im assuming the hard grad will be a hard gradient and the other just a straight ND filter.? but blooming heck there expensive (im always skint so probably not the best to advise you on this)

[springtide]

Yep, one is a 0.6 Hard Grad (100x150mm) and the other is a Pro Glass 0.6ND solid (100x100)

.....this new kit includes:-

- filter holder
- a 0.6 ND Hard Grad
- a cleaning cloth
- ProGlass 0.6ND

This is a very good price for what you get, but I would say not as useful as it could be. It would be much more useful if these were both 0.9 ND (3 stop) as I find 2 stops usually not enough.

Maybe just go with the filter holder, 0.9 ND Grad, cleaning fluid and cleaning cloth.

I also wouldn't order from Warehouseexpress unless you know that they have these as stock items. Lee are not the fastest to ship orders to retailers, so you might be better off looking at one of the smaller retailers that stock Lee filters. They are all about the same price, and I've used both Robert White and Studio Kit Direct in the past (both were very good).

[sleaver]

Yep, one is a 0.6 Hard Grad (100x150mm) and the other is a Pro Glass 0.6ND solid (100x100)

Stupid question time, whats the difference as I can't see grad mentioned?

I take it then that it may be better to buy things individually?

[Triggaaar]

Originally Posted by sleaver

I can't see grad mentioned?

In the link you posted it says "a 0.6 ND Hard Grad"

Also the box shows one is graduated, the other isn't.

[cedmondson]

Originally Posted by sleaver

I take it then that it may be better to buy things individually?

If you don't want or need some of the items in the kit, then maybe better to buy individually but the kit costs less than the items included. There's also a cheaper kit with a graduated coral filter rather than the ProGlass ND.
Add Speedgraphic to the list of stockists who have reasonable prices and good service.
I tried a few places for 0.9 ND Grads (both hard & soft) but they seem to be in short supply at present.

[springtide]

Solid ND
This changes the exposure over the entire frame by x number of stops. Useful if you want to have a slow shutter speed at a specific aperture. i.e. to have a slow shuuter speed to show movement in water

Graduated ND
Graduated (so can be moved up and down the frame) to allow different exposures across the image. i.e. for balancing the exposure between the sky and the foreground.

Obviously with the Lee system, you can use multiple filters at the same time. But the more filters - the softer the image due to the loss in quality.

[sleaver]

Originally Posted by Triggaaar

In the link you posted it says "a 0.6 ND Hard Grad"

Also the box shows one is graduated, the other isn't.

I'll try opening my eyes next time!

Should I consider another make other than LEE? Also as mentioned before is a two stop filter that recommended?

[Triggaaar]

I'm after the same filters. Wanting to avoid really cheap glass, but don't want to pay too much. Typical.

[springtide]

Originally Posted by sleaver

I'll try opening my eyes next time!

Should I consider another make other than LEE? Also as mentioned before is a two stop filter that recommended?

Lee are top quality and the 100mm filters are the only option for ultra wide angle lenses. Cokin do 100mm Pro series (which can be mixed with the Lee system) but are a similar price.

There are standard Cokin Series of ND filters which are much cheaper, but do give a purple cast with long exposures. If you can live with that and using them with ultra wide angle lenses - then they are an option.

If you don't need Grads, there are always the screw B&W ND filters.

Are you looking to use these for a specific purpose?

[sleaver]

Are you looking to use these for a specific purpose?

Not really, just want to spend a bit of money, but I'm rather thinking I'll wait rather than rush into it!

Do Cokin to the P series? If so does anyone know what they are like?

[springtide]

Originally Posted by sleaver

Do Cokin to the P series? If so does anyone know what they are like?

There are standard (P Series) Cokin Series of ND filters which are much cheaper, but do give a purple cast with long exposures. If you can live with that and using them without ultra wide angle lenses - then they are an option.

[Triggaaar]

As with everything, the more you research, the more there is to learn. I think I'll be going for a Lee system, but it's irritating that the digital starter kit comes with 2 stop ND filters, when I can see myself needing 3 much more.

[ghibbett]

Hi All,

About a month ago I went through this same process. Lots of research later, and I purchased the following:
Lee Digital Starter Kit
0.9ND Hard grad
0.9ND Soft grad
77mm wide angle adapter
Lens caps
Cleaning solution

Digi starter kit is pretty good in that you get the filter holder, decent carrying puch, cleaning cloth and a few filters. Haven't used either of these filters yet though . I've only used my 0.9ND hard grad so far.....However you'll need an adapter ring for whatever lens(es) you're planning on using. The lens caps are very handy and I can recommend them (they're cheap too).

Anyway, I'm rambling a bit so feel free to fire away any questions you've got. Also, onefivenine is a great source of info on Lee Filters.

Oh yes, and I ordered from studiokit direct - highly recommended. Also, have attached a spreadsheet I did comparing costs of all the various components from 3 different suppliers (The Studiokit direct website prices do not include VAT - however my spreadsheet includes this). Worth a look. HTH

Cheers,

[sleaver]

Apart from assuming that one is hard and one soft, what are the differences and do they have advantages over each other?

[springtide]

Hards are probably easier to work with as they have a clearly defined transition.

You usually use hard edged filters when the horizon is well defined.

Softs are harder to work as it's more difficult to line up the horizon with but have the advantages when you need to keep detail on parts of the horizon (say when you have cliffs to one side).

I lived with a 0.6 hard grad and 0.9 ND for the last couple of years, and when this was not enough I got an extra couple of stops by converting the RAW file twice (from a single exposure) and merging in photoshop.
I've now added to the above with a full set of soft grads, CIL POL, a few more slots in the holder (taking it to 4) and the second holder (and adapter)to make it a pro kit (leaving this with 2 slots).

I know people say you should be trying to get it right in the camera, but I have used 'stacked ND's' to do this but the images come out much too soft (out of the camera) for my liking. I'll happily put up with soft images if I have 'moving clouds', but 'digital merging' is actually the better practice IMO for improved IQ. I tend to try and not use more than 3 filters at a time for this reason.

Another option for the Pro Glass (solid) ND filters are the B&W screw on filters which you can use with the Lee system (but is a fiddle). The advantages of this is that these come in range upto 10 stops of solid ND, which can sometimes be more useful than the max 3 stops that Lee offer. I think Lee also do a special order 4 stop, but it's expensive.

I don't use any of the coloured filters at all - you can get the same effect in Photoshop without the expense of IQ or cost. The only exception for that would be that I would like a Sunset since this is more than just a single colour.

What we need is a camera that has ISO adjustments from ISO 1 -> ISO 6400, with the ability of selecting graduated and/or zoned ISO levels in-camera. That would save us some dosh on filters and stop us having to put layers of plastic in front of the lens reducing the IQ of our photos!

[Triggaaar]

Originally Posted by ghibbett

About a month ago I went through this same process. Lots of research later, and I purchased the following:
Lee Digital Starter Kit
0.9ND Hard grad
0.9ND Soft grad

Thanks for the tips ghibbett. I've also posted in one of the threads where 159 and friends were discussing options. I would have bought the Lee Digital Starter Kit, but I'm really wanting 3 stop filters, not 2, and I'm not wanting to shell out for both at the moment.

Originally Posted by sleaver

Apart from assuming that one is hard and one soft, what are the differences and do they have advantages over each other?

The difference is how quickly it changes from ND to clear. The hard ones would definitely be better for seascapes and flat landscapes, the soft are useful when the change in the scene from light to dark is either more gradual, or not such a straight line.

[Triggaaar]

Originally Posted by springtide

I know people say you should be trying to get it right in the camera, but I have used 'stacked ND's' to do this but the images come out much too soft (out of the camera) for my liking. I'll happily put up with soft images if I have 'moving clouds', but 'digital merging' is actually the better practice IMO for improved IQ. I tend to try and not use more than 3 filters at a time for this reason.

Interesting points, which go along with Thom: "Thom's Maxim #19: Don't put extra glass or plastic in front of your expensive, well designed glass unless you need to."
That's why I don't fancy 2 stop NDs to start with, as I'll often need more.

Another option for the Pro Glass (solid) ND filters are the B&W screw on filters which you can use with the Lee system (but is a fiddle).

How do you use them with the Lee system, do they go in slots, or do you screw them on before the Lee system?

What we need is a camera that has ISO adjustments from ISO 1 -> ISO 6400, with the ability of selecting graduated and/or zoned ISO levels in-camera.

Lower ISO is a fair request. Graduated ISO levels could be a bit tricky

[baldrick]

For the cheaper cost you could have a play with the Cokin stuff and see what you actually need, then splash out on the Lee filters....

[springtide]

Originally Posted by Triggaaar

How do you use them with the Lee system, do they go in slots, or do you screw them on before the Lee system?

Thats exactly right, you screw this on the lens prior to using the Lee adapter. It's a bit of a fiddle with the wide angle adapter as the screw thread is 'countersunk'.

Due to the 'countersunk' issue, trying to use a CIL POL in this way is more than a fiddle, since once attached it's almost impossible to unscrew without breaking the filter into two (I'm pretty good as putting them back together now though)

[Triggaaar]

Originally Posted by baldrick

For the cheaper cost you could have a play with the Cokin stuff and see what you actually need, then splash out on the Lee filters....

To be honest I don't need to try the plain ND, it's obvious what it does and with my D70 only going down to ISO200 (same as D300) I know I want a good few stops.

So to test 1 graduated nd would cost:
option 1, buy cokin P kit
cokin p wide angle holder (£8.70), 77mm P ring (£6.75), graduated nd filters £12.90 each, = £28.35
option 2, buy cokin Z filter
£35 each - if these fit in the Lee system, I'd rather have a cokin Z filter at the end, that I can use, than cokin P stucff I don't want.

or Lee resin graduated filters cost £55, but a little cheaper if you get the ones available with the kit.

My gut feeling is that the 2 stop Pro glass ND filter will be a waste of time for me. The 2 stop ND grad hard will be useful, but I'd rather a 3 stop, so I may as well buy the Lee system individually, perhaps starting with 1 grad, seeing how I get on and then buying others when I know what more I need.

Originally Posted by springtide

Thats exactly right, you screw this on the lens prior to using the Lee adapter. It's a bit of a fiddle with the wide angle adapter as the screw thread is 'countersunk'.

Due to the 'countersunk' issue, trying to use a CIL POL in this way is more than a fiddle, since once attached it's almost impossible to unscrew without breaking the filter into two (I'm pretty good as putting them back together now though)

Typical that my new Cir PL has just arrived in the post (although even if I have to buy another PL to go in the Lee system, this one will still be useful for when I dont carry the whole kit).

I'm not wanting to be overly creative with filters. I simply want an ND for flowing water, a grad (choice of grads, but use 1 at a time) to darken skies (or the odd other bright object) and a poloriser. I want to avoid putting too much if front of the lens, but I guess there could be times when I need all 3 of those filters. It's a shame that Lee don't have as many stops as B+W (which are well recommened) and B+W don't do filters to go in the Lee system (I think they're just screw in aren't they?).

[onefivenine]

Re Hard v Soft, I understand from reading elsewhere that soft filters are intended for Ultra-wide angle as the gradation line of a hard filter would be more obvious, and apart from that hard filters are generally fine.
Will try to dig out where I read that.

A tip for positioning your ND filter is to use the "Depth of Field Preview" button.
When the lens is stopped down, the line of gradation is much easier to see.

[onefivenine]

Originally Posted by Triggaaar

My gut feeling is that the 2 stop Pro glass ND filter will be a waste of time for me.

I simply want an ND for flowing water

I have the 3 stop ND Pro Glass. It's perfect for flowing water...

This was my first attempt at a flowing water shot ...
I used a C-PL, 0.9 Pro ND, and a 0.9 Hard GND in this shot.
That works out at about 8 stops total reduction for the sky and 5 for the foreground.

[Triggaaar]

Thanks 159. What were your camera settings - ISO, Ap & Sp?

[onefivenine]

Originally Posted by Triggaaar

Thanks 159. What were your camera settings - ISO, Ap & Sp?

ISO100, f/18, 3.2s, 24mm

[Triggaaar]

That goes to show how you really need those stops, especially in sunny Britain. I don't even have ISO 100 (for D300 users and the like, I assume it's not as easy to make sensors go to 3200 and down to 25). I'm really loving that shot. Obviously the detail in the rocks and the different waterfalls, with a great foreground too.

[ghibbett]

Originally Posted by onefivenine

A tip for positioning your ND filter is to use the "Depth of Field Preview" button.
When the lens is stopped down, the line of gradation is much easier to see.

Good tip that one

[py6km]

How are you getting on with your dSLR starter kit ghibbett? I'm thinking of upgrading my Cokin P set up for a Lee filter kit.

[ghibbett]

Hiya py6km

Yeah it's really good. Not having owned any cokin gear, I can't say whether the upgrade is worth it, but as a standalone kit it's very good. I would definately recommend the 10 filter case if you have (or plan on getting) more than 3 filters. The next bit I need is the circ polariser as my screw-in type is a nightmare to use with the Lee kit. So I may as well get the proper one.

BTW, I took your advice and got a Kata R-103. Nice bit of kit!

So when are you going to bite the bullet and go FF?

Cheers,

[py6km]

Originally Posted by ghibbett

Hiya py6km

Yeah it's really good. Not having owned any cokin gear, I can't say whether the upgrade is worth it, but as a standalone kit it's very good. I would definately recommend the 10 filter case if you have (or plan on getting) more than 3 filters. The next bit I need is the circ polariser as my screw-in type is a nightmare to use with the Lee kit. So I may as well get the proper one.

BTW, I took your advice and got a Kata R-103. Nice bit of kit!

So when are you going to bite the bullet and go FF?

Cheers,

Cheers for that. I was thinking of getting the dSLR starter kit or simply the normal starter kit, but I'd definitely like to get a nice (thin) CP as well, and a couple of kits (such as a black and white kit, and the landscape one) - lots of money though, so will have to hunt around a bit! Now that I've used the Cokin stuff a bit (and I have a cheapy black and white filter set for my 50 1.8) I'm happy that I'd actually get some use out of the more expensive stuff.

Good news on the Kata - I think it's a great bag too!

FF - well, I've been getting more and more excited about the possibility of an announcement from Canon about a successor to the 5D, but it's all speculation (and the rebate promo doesn't end until 19 July, so I can't see how we'd see anything this week or next to be honest as was rumoured). I just can't bring myself to get a 5D yet, partly because my 40D is fine, and also because I know as soon as I get one, the new one will come out! Anyhoo, the current one lacks some things that I'd like to be hoenst (big decent screen, dust buster, 'pro' AF). That said, my last batch of little shots indoors at home at ISO 800 were quite noisy - I'd not taken the 40D up to that before. It was a 'nice looking' noise (and actually looks cool in black and white), but I'd prefer to be able to add that in myself. I hear the 5D is clean up to (at least ) 1200.