ND Grad Filters

[Dave_S]

Ignoring the expensive Lee brand, if you wanted to buy a set of ND Grads, would you choose Kood or Cokin?

Yep, I know that Cokin is more expensive than Kood, but is the extra cost justified?

Dave

[tesarver]

Re: ND Grad Filters

I've used Cokin for years and like them

Tom

[ST-EOS]

Re: ND Grad Filters

One other brand for you to consider, have a look at Hitech filters.
I used to have a Cokin Pro set they can give a colour cast when stacked but...that can be corrected with software.
I now have Lee but find I'm getting lazy and don't use them choosing instead to add a graduated filter or blending bracketed images in post processing.
Silly of me really as it can take longer to fix in PP than it would have done to use the filters in the first place.

[freshwater]

Re: ND Grad Filters

I use a mixture of Lee and HiTech. The HiTech are good but the Lee are better ... but I concede that they ain't cheap

[Dave_S]

Re: ND Grad Filters

Thanks for you input guys, much appreciated.

In all honesty, I don't know how much I would use them, but am thinking of them as more of a useful accessory to have in the bag, should an occasion arise where they would be of benefit.

With standard set of ND Grads, I don't think I would ever feel the need to stack them.

I certainly have no interest straight ND filters, as I really don't like milky water shots, seeing them as more artistic than photographic, but then that's just me.

Dave

[Dave_S]

Re: ND Grad Filters

This might surprise you?

I was thinking back a few months, to when we had a talk at out camera club, on filters.

The lady giving the talk, is a professional photographer, with high-end Nikon camera gear.

She showed us some stunning landscape 'shots' that she had taken using ND Grads, and when asked what brand of filters she used, she replied '7 Day Shop'.

Makes you think doesn't it.

Dave

[ColytonJohn]

Re: ND Grad Filters

When I saw this thread I immediately thought of 7 Day Shop as I know they have a very, very cheap range of filters including NDs (both round and square) yet having bought some odd bits and pieces from them where the quality has been remarkably good I thought their filters probably would be too.

However, I was reticent about mentioning them due to cost of the gear the OP is buying and the huge difference between Lee and 7DS but I still had a quick look and, while the range is small with some flagged as 'unavailable', there may well be something to have a play with.

EG: square ND4 for £8.39 and ND2 for £4.99 (both unavailable but I've used their e-mail notification for when restocked).

Cheers,
John

[Dave_S]

Re: ND Grad Filters

The phrase 'you get what you pay' always springs to mind John, but maybe cheap doesn't always mean poor quality, although with some things it does of course.

Certainly, this lady is a very experienced photographer, and the images she showed us, that were taken using 7 Day Shop filters were excellent.

Like many things in the photography world, irrespective of the brand name, quite a significant amount are made in the Far East.

Certainly with astro-telescopes, it is a known fact, that many are made in the same Far Eastern factory, and marketed in the West under a variety of brand names. Identical telescopes, made in the same factory, but painted a different colour, and carrying different brand name are sold at varying prices.

I guess the same could well be the case with a variety of photographic accessories.

Dave

[Riggers]

Re: ND Grad Filters

I have a good set of LEE filters - hard/soft of varying stops ND and ND Grad, the pro kit and lens attachments and the LEE Big Stopper but don't use any of them any where near as much as I expected.

Blending 2 images in Photoshop is so easy, produces such great results and it gives you more control with a brush and layer mask. I tend to take around 5 exposures and keep the 2 I think will work best for what I have in mind.

So going forward I'm not convinced I'll use the filters much except for the Big Stopper (sometimes stacked with another ND) which I love for long exposure shots.

[Dave_S]

Re: ND Grad Filters

I have done just as you describe Lee, and yes it does work.

Even something as simple as taking a single image, where the sky and clouds are overexposed, compared the ground.

Creating and adjustment layer, bringing the sky back to looking more attractive using the mid-levels adjustment, then with a soft black brush, remove the levels change from the rest of the image, and flatten to produce a much better looking, and balanced image.

Dave