Solid ND Filters

Trying to get audio sorted but ND's had been on my mind as well.
At the moment I am considering the Cokin P filter holder and Lee filters.
Or Tiffen if they are correct size.
 
Hey J, what are yo doin for audio? You gonna take the dive with the H4N?

As for ND filter, I was thinking Cokin as well but was wondering what others thought on this board.
 
This is a question I've wondered about. Just from googling there's a ton of second hand opinion but I can't find anything concrete on what to use and why. Hopefully some of the hardcore photographers can chime in with their choices and why.
 
How do you mount a Cokin holder-adapter thing on the GH1 with the kit lens? All lenses are of a different lenght. Right now I'm trying to find the best, circular filters vs. Cokin
 
Wouldn't get cokin, it's not a true ND filter there is a color cast sometimes purple or green. I've tried them and I wouldn't get them. You can get the cokin holder and go for higher quality NDs to fit the cokin p holder-- go for Lee or singh-ray.
 
I just picked up 3 x FD mount lenses and I have a ciecio7 adapter on order so whatever ND solution I go for will have to work across multiple lenses choices.
After all - detachable lenses is the main reason to get this cam.

One option is to get a set of circular screw on ND filters for 62mm thread size and then buy different step up rings to match different lenses. Would be nice to avoid screw threads though.

I have a cavison 3x3 mattebox laying around and just for shi*s & giggles I threw it on – fits perfectly with the kit lens but it severely dwarfs the older canon FDs. Cavision also have a cheap mini rail system that would solve the clip on mattebox dilemma.
 
Cokin's definitely a really good solution to look into, J Davis. http://www.cokin.com/kits.html

For those looking, check that out.

I, myself, went for 77mm Filters and bought a step-up ring for every one of my lenses to make them match the 77mm thread. That way I could use the filters on any piece of glass, including the 77mm Threaded Tokina 11-16mm and Nikon 17-35mm without the need of step-ups. Then purchased a bulk of 77mm Cheap-ass lens caps on Ebay for like 10.00 to cover all of them. Got some white paper tape, labeled them, done.

I would suggest getting a second set of ND's as well. Specifically because stacking...

.3
.9
.Polarizer
.hood shade

Will start eating into your frame. Instead, you could stack

Also, Hoya marks theirs 2, 4, 8. Tiffen has some marked .3, .6, .9 and 1.2 in the circular threaded format.

As far as ND's go, I bought Hoya HMC's based on a few google searches. People were reporting great flare handling with minimal contrast and color effects. Tiffen's are nice as well.

Circular Polarizer I got was also Hoya, it's done quite well so far. Think I'm going to pick up a Linear Polarizer to go with my Circular Polarizer for a Variable ND.
 
Sorry to drop a noob comment .. what do you mean by 'stacking'?
Is that like combining .3 and .6 to get .9 ? Or am I waaaay off with that guess?

EDIT:
77 mm is a good thread size filter to have as thats the thread size mentioned by Jared for the fixed lens scarlet.
 
I had always thought that combining ND's (aka stacking) was a big NO-NO because it softens the image.

It was a post on reduser I read many months back where someone said it.
 
Kholi,

Any reason you got a step-up ring for each and every lens? I was going to get a set of step-up rings for the common lens sizes (52, 58. 62, 67, 72) and just put the ring on when I needed to use that particular lens. This way I have a step-up ring for just about any lens I want to throw on it, whether it's my own or one I'm borrowing.

Are you using a Protection filter on your lenses? If so, did you put that on and then the step-up ring?
 
I can't even begin to say that's a nono. Bare in minds that it can only be preferenc when facets like image softness come into play. One persons soft image is smothers sharp image.

That's also why matteboxes with several stages and polarizer compartments exist. So you can stack nds and other filters when you want to shoot wide open with a 180 degree shutter.

Red resolves so much information that using soft glass in th first place is very desirable by many. A Disney job I dpd on second unit (first unit Matty G) we used super baltar cinema primes. They were so soft sometimes I couldn't tell if I was in focus or not. Lol.

But the image with RED was incredibly beautiful and did very well with the Ann of our older talent/subjects.

In short, stack away! Use what you gotta to get your shot. =D
 
Mike@AF said:
Kholi,

Any reason you got a step-up ring for each and every lens? I was going to get a set of step-up rings for the common lens sizes (52, 58. 62, 67, 72) and just put the ring on when I needed to use that particular lens. This way I have a step-up ring for just about any lens I want to throw on it, whether it's my own or one I'm borrowing.

Are you using a Protection filter on your lenses? If so, did you put that on and then the step-up ring?
Click to expand...


Miiike. Actually that wa the reason why I did it. Speed. I can just slap on the filters without trying to look for the right thread size. For me, the cost of step ups online were so little it just made sense to get one for each alon with a 77mm cap.

Also I'm actually not isn't uv or glass protectors. Mostly because I don't have room for them. Once I've got nds and the circular pola on then that's already a lot of glass and I don't want them edging into my frame.

I almost always roll with a polarizer as well. Some might say it's overuse but I love the sky, very very much. And every chance I get to grab a blue cloudy sprawl I'll take it. The pola helps. It also helps with blazing hot concrete!!! Which is very ugly in video.
 
If you're going the screw-on ND route, you may want to invest in the slightly more expensive ones that are multi-coated. It preserves the contrast of your image. If you've got a great lens, it would be a shame to sully it with a crappy filter in front of it. That's why I would also stay away from Cokin filters. But yeah, if you're using a matte box, the square, glass filters are going to do the trick!
BTW, I got lucky--I work at a TV station where we use cameras that use 82mm filters. And I just bought a 82mm to 62mm step-up ring. So I can use my ND's from work!
 
Multi coated all the way. These things are so cheap there's no reason not to get the best quality. This is on reason why I'm in love with using slr glass. It's the same for any camera that can take em though.

The low tech approach to video acquisition is just so damned fun!!!
 
Used equipment is always an option. I picked up 3 B&W multi-coated ND filters online, used, for under $50.
 
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