allanwalls wrote:
...I have dabbled, making use of a selection of mostly cheap, circular filters. I also have some decent circular filters in all sizes and of various brands (a variety of NDs, a couple of CPLs, and a few old, cheap ND grads). But I am not particularly happy with the images (odd color casts, flaring, etc.) and am ready to move to a full set of of better glass. I am looking for 100mm x 100mm and 100mm x 150mm, glass filters with a solid and reliable holder, preferably with an integrated CPL and 2-3 slots for stacking.
I started out compiling my Lee Filters wish list (.3/.6/.9-GND soft + .3/.6/.9-GND hard + .3/.6/.9-ND + 10 stop ND + 15 stop ND + integrated CPL + holder + 77/82 adapter rings) and when I hit $1,000 I stopped counting and started shopping around. But just about every other brand quickly ends up with a price tag in the stratosphere (some even more than the Lees).
I've looked at Formatt Hitech, Firecrest, NiSi, Haida Pro and a couple of others and they are all really steeply priced. Then I came across Zomei Z-Pro. Dirt cheap, by comparison to everything except Cokin (which I have a few of and don't care for). I have never heard of Zomei... do any of you fine folks have experience with this, or any other, reasonably priced landscape filter system?
...I have dabbled, making use of a selection of b... (
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Higher quality, multi-coated glass 100x100mm and 100x150mm are EXPENSIVE.
And you're wanting 10 or 11 filters! If you are finding them for around $100 apiece, those are probably optical plastic and NOT multi-coated (MC glass tend to cost closer to $200 apiece, or well over $2000 for 10 or 11 filters with holders, etc.)
Those square and rectangular filters are also a pain in the arse to carry around and work with... bulky... require filter holders and adapters (more parts and bulk)... can't be shaded very well with a lens hood.... etc. The more affordable optical plastic generally are not multi-coated and are more difficult to safely clean, too.
GRADUATED NEUTRAL DENSITY:
Shooting digitally, Grad NDs are largely unnecessary. I stopped using mine years ago... had them left over from shooting film and I now only kept them in the event I need to use them with film again. That doesn't happen very often, even though I still have a number of film cameras.
With digital it is super easy to take two shots... one adjusted for the sky, the other for the rest of the scene... then use layers and masks or HDR in post-processing to combine the "correct" portion from each. If not possible to make two shots that way (such as when there are moving objects), another approach is to take a single RAW shot and double process it... adjusting two or more images differently and then using layers & masks or possibly HDR to combine them. In fact, the results doing this are at least as good and often a lot better than was ever possible with Grad ND filters... more controlled and precise. And once it's learned, it's pretty quickly and easily done. It is necessary to have and know how to use software capable of working in layers & masks (such as Photoshop or Elements... but not Lightroom), and possibly doing HDR effects.
CIRCULAR POLARIZERS:
IMO... for digital photography a quality, multi-coated Circular Polarizer is the single most useful filter. The best of those are:
B+W XS-Pro High Transmissive C-Pol (Schott glass, slim brass frame, 16-layer Nano multi-coating, Kaesemann polarizing foil, weather sealed): 77mm, $110. 82mm, $125.
B+W F-Pro High Transmissive (same as XS-Pro except not slim and 8-layer MC): 77mm, $110. 82mm, $114.
B+W MRC C-Pol (same as F-Pro except standard strength, not HT): 77mm, $100. 82mm, $160.
Heliopan High Transmissive (Schott glass, slim brass frame, 16-layer Nano MC, Kaesemann polarizing foil): 77mm, $195. 82mm, $227.
Heliopan SH-PMC (same as above, but not slim and standard strength C-Pol): 77mm, $146. 82mm, $176.
Breakthrough Photography X4 (Schott glass, slim brass frame, 16-layer MC): 77mm, $149. 82mm, $159.
Breakthrough Photography X2 (Asahi glass, alu frame, 16-layer MC): 77mm, $99. 82mm, $109.
Formatt-Hitech Firecrest SupeSlim (Schott glass, aluminum frame, 15-layer coatings): 77mm, $79 (sale). 82mm, $83 (sale).
Hoya HD3 (unspecified "optical" glass, slim aluminum frame, 16-layer Nano MC): 77mm, $200. 82mm, $224.
Hoya EVO (unspecified "optical" glass & frame material, 16-layer MC): 77mm, $156. 82mm, $170.
Hoya Pro1 Digital (unknown "optical glass", unknown frame, "multi-coated"): 77mm, $110. 82mm, n/a.
Hoya NXT (unknown "optical" glass, unknown frame, "anti reflective, hydroscopic coatings"): 77mm, $113. 82mm, $150.
Tiffen Digital HT (high transmissive, ColorCore glass, titanium frame, "multi-coated"?): 77mm, $126. 82mm, $170.
Marumi EXUS C-Pol ("optical" glass, Teflon thread alu frame, standard strength C-Pol not HT, Nano-like multi-coatings): 77mm, $118. 82mm, $134.
There are others... the best of which are higher priced. I'd avoid "combo" C-Pol of various types because they cost a lot more, and similar can be accomplished simply by stacking filters.
NEUTRAL DENSITY
Unless you're shooting video, I can't imagine why you would need five different strengths of ND (1-stop, 2-stop, 3-stop, 10-stop and 15-stop). Again I recommend screw-in filters and for still photography usually one or two will do.... such as a weaker 3-stop (0.9 or 8X) and a stronger 6-stop (1.8 or 64X). Those can be stacked to give 9 stop reduction in light, if needed. A C-Pol can also be used for weaker ND purposes (high transmissive C-Pol block approx. .75 to 1.5 stops, while standard C-Pol block 1 to 2+ stops, depending upon how they're adjusted).
ND are pretty highly specialized too (much more-so than C-Pol). In landscapes they are usually just used to allow slow shutter speeds in order to blur movement of water and similar. 15-stop ND are extremely strong and I think primarily used to shoot solar eclipses. Once again, high quality glass and multi-coated would be best.
Most of the above brands offer quality, multi-coated ND filters too. They tend to vary less wildly in price than C-Pol, so I won't go into detail.
IN OTHER WORDS...
You could buy a couple quality C-Pol in the two sizes you need for between $200 and $250.
And it would cost roughly the same or a little more for four ND (two strengths in each of the two sizes)...
So you'd end up with a total of around $400 to $600 invested in filters that...
... are higher quality and easier to clean than optical plastic.
... are multi-coated (or Nano MC for even easier cleaning and better durability).
... are smaller and easier to pack and carry around.
... don't require holders and adapter rings.
... can be used in conjunction with your lenses' matched hoods.
Finally, you could save some $ by only buying the 82mm size filters and using a step ring to fit them to your lens with 77mm filter threads. Personally I'm not a fan of doing that because in most cases it means that you won't be able to use the lens' matched lens hood..... and IMO lens hoods are even more important when using filters. You may be able to only buy certain of the filters in one size or the other, though. For example, maybe you don't need ND fitlers for both lenses... only one of the lenses would be likely to be used for the purposes where you're likely to use a specialized type of filter.
So few filters are necessary for digital photography, it makes sense to buy top quality and not cheap out. (Back in the days of film I carried 30 or 40 filters in a given size... now shooting digital I carry 2 or 3 per size.... and don't need all of them in all sizes because some lenses I use with filters... others I don't).