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Author Topic: Most neutral of ND grad filters?  (Read 4342 times)

spotmeter

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Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« on: February 25, 2015, 11:27:04 pm »

I am looking to purchase some 86mm ND grad filters for a new lens and was wondering if anyone has seen any tests as to which ones are the most neutral in color?

In this size they are quite expensive and would not want to purchase a brand that would degrade the color of the sky.

I am thinking of buying a 2 stop and 3 stop.

Thank you.
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Jimbo57

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2015, 05:41:25 am »

Using circular, screw-on, ND-grad filters is not recommended as you cannot alter the positioning of the transition relative to the frame.

I prefer to use rectangular filters in a holder such as the Cokin or Lee systems.

Personally I use both Lee (outlandishly expensive) and some "Chinese Cheapies" that cost about 5% of the Lee prices.

Paradoxically, in terms of colour cast, the cheapies are better than the Lee - but that is pretty inconsequential as I created a preset in Lightroom to correct the Lee error and it is now just a single click to remove the cast.

My suggestion, therefore, would be:

(a) Opt for a holder system rather than circular filters.

(b) Choose a system to suit your budget and correct any colour cast in Lightroom (or ACR).

I assume that relative prices reflect relative quality in the manufacturing process but bear in mind that, in landscape photography (as opposed to, say, architectural work) a small amount of distortion is undetectable in clouds, waterfalls, rock formations, trees and grass. I have certainly never found that landscape images are degraded in any discernible way by the use of inexpensive ND or ND-grad filters.
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Ghibby

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2015, 10:30:36 am »

Agree with everything Jimbo57 has already said, a square system is the only logical way to go.  I use a Lee filter system, the filter holder and system is very flexible and robust.  I know that the Hitech Formatt system also offers a very good filter holder with nice aluminium backplate, the Lee holder is a plastic moulded part.  Similar price in the UK but both systems are able to use practically all 100mm square filters from any manufacturer. 

You will find the 2 stop grad(s) to be the most useful, I would get a pair of 2 stop filters one as a hard grad and the other as a soft grad and then a single hard grad 3 stop filter. The hard and soft just refer to the transition boundary, the soft edge is great when hills and mountains are in the landscape but for general purpose a well placed hard grad does the trick.
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spidermike

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2015, 03:46:39 pm »

I agree as well.

I have the Lee holder with the Hi-Tech filters and it all seems pretty good to me. I bought the longer filters (100wide x 150 long) because it gives a greater flexibility in where you place the gradient edge.
Also, buy the wide angle adapter.
Lee are recognised as having the most neutral color, though that is not to say that cheaper ones are any worse and I uess you pay higher prices for tighter quality control. Though HiTech had their problems in the past they have solved those but offer a free replacement if you have any complaints.
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PeterAit

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2015, 04:01:30 pm »

Is this really important? If you are shooting raw, any minor color casts caused by the ND filter can easily be removed during processing.
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rdonson

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2015, 06:32:19 pm »

Slightly OT but there has been some buzz lately about Formatt Hitech being a better filter holder (aluminum) than Lee.
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Regards,
Ron

Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2015, 05:15:04 am »

Is this really important? If you are shooting raw, any minor color casts caused by the ND filter can easily be removed during processing.

Hi Peter,

That depends on the cause for the color deviation. If it is caused by IR transmission, the cast may extend to all three color channels in a way that can hardly be corrected (like trying to unscramble an omelet). The Bayer CFA is transparent to IR, so IR will just as readily register as Blue and Green, as it does Red. When exposure is increased, more IR is transmitted at a higher exposure level, and the Camera's IR filter will not be sufficient.

Cheers,
Bart
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torger

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2015, 06:01:08 am »

If you really want the best neutral stuff you should get the Schneider MPTV glass filters. They are expensive and heavy though. I use Lee filters, they do cause a slight cast but for landscape photography I think it's okay.

I have used formatt hitech before, but I stopped using them when I discovered that some of the filters slightly blurred the image in some places. Possibly they have improved their quality since though. I haven't seen any resolution issues with the Lee filters so far.

All grads are uncoated though, even the Scheider glass grads, which can be problematic in certain backlit situations or sharp light, which I think is a more of an issue than the cast, but that's just something you have to live with.
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spotmeter

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #8 on: March 02, 2015, 12:22:27 am »

Torger,

Thanks for the heads up on the blur issue.

Will be sure to check from now on whatever filters I get.

Regards.
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Jack Varney

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2015, 06:48:28 pm »

What is your experience with the Lee and similar systems with regard to not having a lens shade in front. What methods (other than your hat) do you use to shield the lens and filters or do you just not use them under these conditions?
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Jack Varney

dwswager

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2015, 01:53:06 am »

I am looking to purchase some 86mm ND grad filters for a new lens and was wondering if anyone has seen any tests as to which ones are the most neutral in color?

In this size they are quite expensive and would not want to purchase a brand that would degrade the color of the sky.

I am thinking of buying a 2 stop and 3 stop.

Thank you.

I would say Schnieder, though I'm not a big fan of B&W filters.  Personally, I own the Singh-Ray rectangular grads.  Though I use them a lot less with digital than I did with film.  It's just easier to create a mask an edit exposure than it is to try to position a grad correctly and then clean up the invariable spots that are 'wrong'.  Of course, my D810 has a large Dynamic Range and very low shadow noise so digital editing is very clean.
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Jimbo57

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #11 on: March 09, 2015, 12:35:47 pm »

What is your experience with the Lee and similar systems with regard to not having a lens shade in front. What methods (other than your hat) do you use to shield the lens and filters or do you just not use them under these conditions?

Many of the filter holder systems do have lens hoods as part of the system - but they can result in vignetting with wide angle lenses.
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mkihne

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2015, 01:56:58 am »

New Formatt Hitech firecrest. Up to 16 stop circular....also square to 10 stops I think.....neutral. Also super thin. Only bitch so far aluminum screw rather than brass but fairly smooth on and off.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2015, 02:00:01 am by mkihne »
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Ghibby

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Re: Most neutral of ND grad filters?
« Reply #13 on: March 11, 2015, 09:17:46 am »

What is your experience with the Lee and similar systems with regard to not having a lens shade in front. What methods (other than your hat) do you use to shield the lens and filters or do you just not use them under these conditions?

Hi Jack,  I use Lee filters all the time and rarely have a problem that can't be solved with with either a hat, my hand placed just outside the field of view or my most often used accessory which is the Lee filter holder wallet itself.  The only time it can be challenging is with very oblique light, more often than not a very minor shift in composition will solve the problem.  

This biggest problem that I have found with filters is when using a very dark filter like the big stopper or similar on a lens with a protruding front element like the TSE 17mm or for Nikon users the 14-24 f2.8.  With light from the right direction this can cause a reflection of the lens element itself to bounce of the back of the filter and back into the lens. Normally this manifests as an arc across the upper part of the image. Not a lot that you can do about this though. 

Ben
« Last Edit: March 11, 2015, 09:24:19 am by Ghibby »
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