Filters

I've been looking around at ND sets and have found that both Lee and Cokin have some very well priced sets of 1/2/3EV stop sets (and the Cokin comes with a case ). Seems like a good idea to get something that I won't have to replace. I'm interested to know what people use and what they think of them.

I'm also scared by the price of a circular polariser for either system at £200 At leas it is a one off cost rather than one for each lens size.

I'd say a set of ND grads is pretty essential if you are serious about landscape photography, and useful for other forms. I have the Cokin P series ('cos I can't afford the Lees that Matt raves about), and they are fine, but disappointingly easy to scratch.

For circ polariser i have a 67mm screw-in and a series of step-down rings to fit the other lenses.

It is a one off cost . . . until you break it, then you'll wish you'd bought a cheaper one.

Well, just to make a slight correction...

I rave about the "Lee Foundation" set. That's the holder. Superbly engineered and well worth the dosh.

I couldn't afford, or justify, the Lee filters. So I went with a set of Cokin Z-Pro ND grads (great price from Speedgraphic). I did get the Lee 3 filter holder too - and that's very nice indeed.

But, yes, they scratch Thankfully, though it hasn't affected the image quality yet. I did hear that the Lee filters are much tougher - so maybe they are worth the extra.

And the polarizer... aaaargh! I try to live without one, but every now and again I go back to the Cokin P with a Kood polarizer and that's not bad. But the ND grads are definitely not in the same league as the Z-Pro or Lees.


Just look after whatever you decide to get!!!
Matt

You may not need the circular polariser with the K10D.

I have two linear polarisers (a 72 mm Hoya and a Cokin P), and the metering and AF seem to work just fine with my K10D.

I was very surprised to discover this, given the received wisdom, but very relieved not to have to splash out on a CP.

Was looking at the Z-Pro ND set which comes with 3 grads, case and a holder plus getting a ring for 52mm to start (later a 67 and 77). This costs about the same as a set of Lee ND filters with no ring, no case and no adapter. Still not sure if it would be better to go for the smaller P system. Not sure about the quality and don't have anywhere nearby that would stock this sort of thing to look at.

I think you are right that getting a 77mm polariser would be better with some step down rings as the price for a 110/105mm one is crazy.

Not entirely
You see, if you put a filter between the lens and the holder it becomes a right pain to adjust the two! The ideal solution is having the polariser on the end of the filters - then the filters stay put and you can rotate the polariser.

I would add the following info:

* If you have the SMC-DA 12-24, you can just about get away with P-sized filters if you hack the front two filter slots. But then you can't have pol+ND.

* If you have the SMC-DA 16-45 then P-size are just fine. No problems

* The quality of the Cokin Z-pro is much better than the P sized. It's different material.

* The Cokin holders are really tacky. Before I purchased I read reports about the Z-pro holder slipping off etc, and so decided to go with the Lee holder, a 67mm ring, and a 77mm Wide Angle ring for the 12-24.

I would also say that the K10D has a better dynamic range than the *ist-D, and I find I whereas I was using all three on the *ist-D, I generally only use the Z121M when shooting RAW on the K10D... but that maybe just down to the style of image.


Don't think there's a "right" answer. But I reckon if you (a) will use them infrequently on 14mm, (b) use them on 16mm lenses up then the P-size are probably the better bet
(Cheaper and easier to carry around. And the polariser is MUCH cheaper )

...and now that I'm getting more into HDR imaging I'm finding a tripod and multiple RAW exposures is an even better way to go

Matt

I won't have anything wider then 16mm for a while.

I have a tripod so HDR is a possibility, but shooting the sea it doesn't work quite as well because of the amount of movement, especially in longer exposures. For those shots an grad ND set is essential. If it was just a landscape then HDR is fine, although blending in Elements 2 is much harder than later versions or CS2 where you can do it practically automatically.

as a point of interest, HDR is perfectly possible without a tripod, you just have to use Huggin or similar to line the photos up before you blend them. One more step in post, but one less thing to carry in the field.

Of course if you have a tripod with you anyway it's worth using it, but for those "mmm that would make a good HDR" moments it's a good trick.

I have a reactively good tripod, just didn't have any way of transporting it until recently. Ok, it is at least 15 years old and somewhat heavy, but not too bad. Could use a lighter tripod head though as that is the biggest problem.

What software? I tried a google for huggin but only came up with lots of tree hugging....

I like playing about with post processing but I'd rather spend that time behind the camera.

I use Artizen from SupportingComputers.net and it does an excellent job of handling movement In addition it's got the largest set of tone mapping operators of any software I've seen. The UI is a little clunky and slow, but it does produce rather nice results.

Coping with movement is something the HDR software is getting better at all the time.

That's not to say that I don't like using ND grads too

Matt

sorry my spelling is wrong, I meant Hugin

it's a frontend of Panotools, designed for lining up panoramas but can be set to output the files separately rather than blending them together, so you can use the output in whatever you want.

I have used it with success for hand held HDR and stacked astro images, as well as its intended roll of panorama stitching.

It's not the worlds easiest piece of software to use, but a little work produces the best panoramas I've yet seen and the level of control means you can press it into service for other things too. Very handy, and available for Windows, Linux and MacOSX. I've used the Windows and Linux versions and both are more or less identical so I guess the Mac version will be the same.

Ah, right, I'd had a look at it when it was mentioned previously, only just set it downloading though as I don't think I had my K10D when it was last mentioned.

My concearn is the sheer cost of circular polorisors from people like Hoya .
I use a Pentax DA 18MM - 55MM with a 52 mm filter thread for most stuff.
I have been looking for circular polorisers for the lense and i am horrified at the cost ,around £80 from Hoya.
I purchased Jessops own brand for my film camera some time ago with 49 mm filter thread at around £26 and i am still useing it with no problems.
I realise Hoya and the likes are the high end of technology in this market and so i would expect the price to be reflective of this but i can`t help but feel we are all being ripped off at current prices.
Has anyone found a good cheper outlet for these products ?.
If so please let us know.

Graham

Have you actually established that you need a circular polariser?

Linear polarisers work fine (both metering and AF) with the K10D - maybe they do with the K100D as well.

Worth finding out before lashing out on the expense of a CP at all.