Filters - Cokin A or P?

Thinking about investing in some grad ND and circular polarisers. At the moment have the two K10D kit lenses (18-55 and 50-200), which both happen to be 52mm filter thread, and my brand new 100mm macro, which is an old-fashioned 49mm. I guess at the moment the smaller Cokin size would do fine, but am I going to regret this if I buy more lenses later? Anyone dealt with this sort of issue, or made mistakes I can learn from?

Yes and yes.

To expand: Yes, you are going to regret it because sooner or later you will acquire some glass that requires larger filters.

Anything that is interestingly wide, or impressively long, or mouth-wateringly fast, will require P series filters.

And yes, I've been there and done that. Can I interest you in some A filters that you will soon regret buying?

G

second that...
a series gettin some new life now that I got a video camera, after 4 or so years of collecting dust

Or bigger such as the Cokin X or Z Pro or Lee System - but then you're talking LOTS of money but less chance of making filter purchasing mistakes you'll regret... Been there also...

I've tried both Cokin A & P (both too small for really wide and fast lenses) & X-Pro (too big to carry round sensibly) and finally settled on Lee as being the best compromise in terms of size and system adaptability but it is an expensive option. For the lenses you list Cokin P will do the job fine but do think long and hard about what future lens purchases you might wish to make. The biggest filter ring you can sensibly use with Cokin P in my experience is 77mm - they do a larger 82mm adapter ring but it's next to useless.

Will

Thanks, guys. Anyone used any filters from Kood, currently advertising Cokin compatibles in the magazines at reasonable prices?

I've used Kood and Hitech - both pretty good P-sized filters.

At the moment I use the Lee foundation with Cokin Z-Pro ND grad filters. (Speedgraphic have a killer deal on a set of ND grads )

You can just about get the Cokin P to work on the SMC-DA 12-24 with a small amount of vignette at 12mm with a hacked P holder.

Other thing to bear in mind is that the P-size stuff isn't the same quality as the Z-Pro and Lee. There's a lot of red/magenta cast in the P filters I've used (both original Cokin and Hitech), especially if you need to stack two filters together. The Z-Pro is much better, but the filter is quite soft (already scratched two. ) From what I've heard the Lee's are tougher - but you pay the price

Matt

Thanks once again to everyone for their help, especially Matt for putting me on to Speedgraphic - as you say the ND grad kit for P looks an excellent way in. Would you expect P to work ok on the 14mm f2.8 DA, 77mm thread? That's the biggest I can imagine needing.

And one more question: do you tend to leave the adaptor rings on once fitted? Or to put it another way, should I buy one 52mm and share it between two lenses, or splash out for two?

Paul,
With the standard Cokin P holder you will have problems at 14mm. There is a wide angle adaptor now that will hold a single filter which may well be ok.

Having got the 12-24, I found it better to go for the Z-Pro grads with a Lee WA ring (at great cost ). They have been significantly better in optical terms, and are generally no problem at 12mm (unless you tilt the holder).

I have two rings - 67mm and 77mm WA.

The only wonder I have is... since the Z-Pro are much larger, the graduated region is a lot larger than a P size. Consequently when using on smaller filter sizes, I am sure it's better to use P otherwise you'd just get the "grad" bit and not the whole stretch. I would say that 58mm would require P or A...

HTH!
Matt

Thanks, Matt - most helpful as always. And would you buy one or two adaptor rings for two 52mm lenses?

Paul,
If you buy them from www.srbfilm.co.uk then I'd get two
If you buy the Lee ones, get one
Matt

Just to say thanks to Matt for the recommendation of Speedgraphic, who have fulfilled my order very efficiently. Your help is appreciated, Matt!