Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: henrikfoto on June 26, 2016, 07:24:29 pm

Title: Filters - what brand is the best ?
Post by: henrikfoto on June 26, 2016, 07:24:29 pm

I would like to invest in a full set of filters, different nd´s and some some others.
But what brands are the best? I see a lot of Lee and Cokin, but are these the best
or are the cheaper brands just as good? What should I look for?

Henrik

Title: Re: Filters - what brand is the best ?
Post by: dwswager on June 26, 2016, 07:39:30 pm

Quote from: henrikfoto on June 26, 2016, 07:24:29 pm

I would like to invest in a full set of filters, different nd´s and some some others.
But what brands are the best? I see a lot of Lee and Cokin, but are these the best
or are the cheaper brands just as good? What should I look for?

Henrik

Squares or Round screw in?  Glass or Plastic?  There is no best.  About 20 years ago, B+W got super popular because they use Schott glass.  I am not all that impressed with them.  They bind just as much as my aluminum ring filters.  And the ones I have are a pain to clean.

For screw in circular polarizer, there is none better than the Nikon CPL-II.  The Hoya HD3 would be my next choice.  For a waterproof sealed one, the the B+W is probably the choice.

For ND Screw in, I would still probably go with Hoya (and Kenko) or B+W.  Lee and Formatt-Hitech seem to get good reviews.

Title: Re: Filters - what brand is the best ?
Post by: henrikfoto on June 26, 2016, 07:45:31 pm

I was mostly thinking about square filters for the possibillity of graduated effects.
I would think glass affects the image quality less, but I might be wrong?

Title: Re: Filters - what brand is the best ?
Post by: dwswager on June 26, 2016, 10:32:48 pm

Quote from: henrikfoto on June 26, 2016, 07:45:31 pm

I was mostly thinking about square filters for the possibillity of graduated effects.
I would think glass affects the image quality less, but I might be wrong?

There are times when a split neutral density filter is handy, but for the most part, that has been overcome by high DR of newer digital cameras and post processing.  I have a set of Signh-Ray splits that are 20 years old and I use them from time to time, but not like I used to with film.   Just not necessary in most situations.  Either my D810 handles the scene or I shoot a stack and combine in Lr or Photoshop.

I'm not up on the squares, but Signh-Ray, Lee and Format-Hitech seem to be the go to brands, but I will leave that to others.

Title: Re: Filters - what brand is the best ?
Post by: Paulo Bizarro on June 27, 2016, 04:18:12 am

I have used Sing Ray and Lee, both very good quality.

Title: Re: Filters - what brand is the best ?
Post by: francois on June 27, 2016, 08:36:11 am

Quote from: Paulo Bizarro on June 27, 2016, 04:18:12 am

I have used Sing Ray and Lee, both very good quality.

I have to agree, I've been using those brands for years to my satisfaction.

Title: Re: Filters - what brand is the best ?
Post by: johnniewalk on June 30, 2016, 07:01:48 am

My suggestion is go with lee cooper it is the best brand with having high quality.