Cokin P series Grad ND...

[DownByFive]

So I've been looking at getting a P mount for grad filters...Cokins grad filters are pretty inexpensive, but I'm curious about their grad ND. Some blurbs call them ND, and some call them grad gray filters. I've also heard that Cokin's "grad ND" filters are not really neutral...Cokin's website calls them gray, but some stores classify them as ND. If I were to pick one up, would they be so non-neutral that it'd be pretty noticeable, or are they relatively neutral? I'd like to not spend a ton of money, so the Cokin's are appealing, but if they will give crappy results, I guess I'll bite the bullet and move up to a true ND. What do you all think?

[Steph_B]

So I've been looking at getting a P mount for grad filters...Cokins grad filters are pretty inexpensive, but I'm curious about their grad ND. Some blurbs call them ND, and some call them grad gray filters. I've also heard that Cokin's "grad ND" filters are not really neutral...Cokin's website calls them gray, but some stores classify them as ND. If I were to pick one up, would they be so non-neutral that it'd be pretty noticeable, or are they relatively neutral? I'd like to not spend a ton of money, so the Cokin's are appealing, but if they will give crappy results, I guess I'll bite the bullet and move up to a true ND. What do you all think?

Trust me, bite the bullet right away and get some of these awesome Singh Ray ND filter. I've had Cokin P series ND for 2 years and only recently switched to SR. What a difference! These filters are trully neutral, which is FAR from being the case with Cokin.

I had both the P120 and P121. The P121 was Ok even though my shots were only sharp when I was using a 50mm or lower. The P120 was just a catastrophe. It had a clear magenta cast which I needed to remove in PS. As long as you do B+W this should be fine though.

Since then, I have upgraded! I do not regret my decision.... not a single day.

BTW: ND filters are a must if you are into landscape photography. You have to know how to use them to get subtle effects!

Hope this helps....

BTW, Cokin P filters are about $30, and SR are about $99.

Cheers,

Steph.

[another view]

I use the Cokin P121 and don't see any noticable color cast with it. For the price, give it a try and see what it does for you. You'll probably be using a fairly small aperture for shooting, so press the DOF and look thru the viewfinder when positioning the filter. It's a lot easier this way.

I've heard that the SR filters are a lot more forgiving with placement. This can be important when you don't have an even horizon line, like with hills. Singh Ray has two versions, hard stop for a straight horizon line (like the ocean) and soft edge for not-so-straight horizons like hills. The Cokin is a compromise between the two - sometimes not enough, sometimes too much!

[mjs1973]

I have the Cokin P 120. I took it out last night for a test run, having never used a graduated filter before. It was pureley a test, but I am happy with the results. I didn't notice any color shift, and I can't tell where the ND part of the filter stopped, and the clear part started. Granted it was getting a little darker out than I wanted, but for me the results were what I was hoping for. I will try to get out and test it some more this weekend, but for now, I'm pretty happy with it.

[mdmc]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...rch&Q=&ci=3847

I bought a cokin P holder recently w/a few graduated nd filters. They cost 17.95 each for the filters, and 12.95 for the holder and a book describing all of the cokin filters. they are called graduated grey filters, but they are the same as graduated nd filters. Many other brands of filters fit the cokin filter mount. You will also need an adapter ring (7.95) to fit the thread size of you're lens(lenses). The adapter ring(metal) screws into the filter thread, and the filter holder(cheap plastic, but works perfect, seems durable) slides on and clips to that. The holder has 4 slots, closest to the lens is a slot for round filters, follwed by 3 square filter slots. You can use them all at the same time! the round slot is for rotating filters within the holder, such as polarizer,and you can also rotate the filter holder to change the orientation of the square filters.
If you can get a hold of a copy of Outdoor photographer 11-2004, it has a short course on grad nd filters.
BTW Singh-Ray filters are 98.95. I'm sure that there's a quality difference, but i seriously doubt that its worth $81.
I'll check to see if the OP article is on the web and post a link if it is .
Mark

[mdmc]

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/c...graduated.html

This is not the same article I wanted to post, but its free!
Mark.

[Steph_B]

BTW Singh-Ray filters are 98.95. I'm sure that there's a quality difference, but i seriously doubt that its worth $81.
Mark

Sorry Mark, but I must disagree... The SR filters are definitely worth every penny! Granted: my P120 may have been a 'lemon' in terms of color accuracy. However, forget about using a Cokin filter and hoping to make big enlargements. All my ND Cokin filters degrade significantly the overall sharpness of the pic, at the point where my 70-300 mm lens AF starts to hunt at 200mm.

At the end of the day, it all depends on what kind of lens you have. If you bite the bullet and got yourself expensive pro lenses, putting a $20 plastic filter in front of them does not make much sense. However, if you just want to try ND filters and see if they help you achieve better results, I guess Cokin filters can do the trick.

My personal experience is that every filters that I ever bought from Cokin (pola, NDs, grays) eventually got replaced by Singh Ray's. I should have gone directly to the best, spare myself all the trouble and save a few bucks in the process.

Just my 2 cents worth...

I will try to post a pic taken with the P120.....

Cheers,

Steph.

[mdmc]

Steph_B,

I can't disagree with you because I havent used the grad nd filters. However DBF I belive is a college student, and for $60 he can get the Cokin system & a couple of filters, V.S $240 For the same set up w/ Singh- Ray filters.
In the long run he would be better off buying SR filters, next year he may have little interest in landscape photography, but right now he can try some new things that don't cost that much.
I look forward to posting some pic's w/ the cokin filters.
Mark.
P.S
I have just reread you're post and I think I am agreeing with you!
Mark.