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Hi all. I'm looking at picking up some Cokin filters after they were recommended to me. Has anyone got any idea which ones to get, or at least a good place to start. I was looking at getting a couple for my Nikkor 50mm 1.8 and Sigma 50-150mm 2.8. I've had a quick look on Cokin's website and I quite like the effects of the Gradual Grey G2 Light (ND2) Ref 121L. Any Cokin uses out there?? ..and no jokes.. .gif) |
Cokin Filters
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pistol 13,018 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 19 years ago -
henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoI use cokins - 'cause they're pretty cheap & do the job, so you don't mind quite so much when you loose one in a river or accidently step on one.
One thing I have noticed is that they do seem to develop a colour cast as they age - a noticable magenta cast usually. Although I've now got some brand new ones & they're a-ok, not sure for how long though.
What are you intending to do with them?
The 121L is very light, I tend to use this one on its own only if I'm shooting pre-dawn. example shot
The 121M is ND 4 & has a fairly short transition to it - useful for seascapes etc. where you've got a flat horizon. This is the one I use the most, as it gets lighter I'll add on the 121L as well. example shot
The 121S is ND8 but has a much softer transition, so useful for when you have buildings/mountains etc. sticking up over the horizon. example shot
As a starter kit I'd suggest you get the 121L and 121M, I find they're the ones I use the most. -
pistol 13,018 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 19 years agobauhaus wrote:
I use UV filters, my primary aim is to protect the lens (Doing gig photography you get beer, spit and spunk tossed at you all the time)
Other than that, I prefer to shoot as cleanly as possible, with the exception of a polariser I prefer adding any tints, fixes etc via the mighty Photoshop
I'v got a few UV filters too, just wanted to try something a bit different. -
pistol 13,018 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 19 years agohenro_ben wrote:
I use cokins - 'cause they're pretty cheap & do the job, so you don't mind quite so much when you loose one in a river or accidently step on one.
One thing I have noticed is that they do seem to develop a colour cast as they age - a noticable magenta cast usually. Although I've now got some brand new ones & they're a-ok, not sure for how long though.
What are you intending to do with them?
The 121L is very light, I tend to use this one on its own only if I'm shooting pre-dawn. example shot
The 121M is ND 4 & has a fairly short transition to it - useful for seascapes etc. where you've got a flat horizon. This is the one I use the most, as it gets lighter I'll add on the 121L as well. example shot
The 121S is ND8 but has a much softer transition, so useful for when you have buildings/mountains etc. sticking up over the horizon. example shot
As a starter kit I'd suggest you get the 121L and 121M, I find they're the ones I use the most.
Great, thanks. Thery were the ones I was looking at so I think I'll give them a try. -
This thread is a dissapointment to me 
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Cuchulainn 845 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 18 years agohenro_ben wrote:
You confused me here for a second till I did a quick google. In optics for the lab, an ND4 filter would be 10e-4 transmission! Funny how the same naming conventions for the same optical components can vary so much..
The 121M is ND 4 & has a fairly short transition to it - useful for seascapes etc. where you've got a flat horizon. This is the one I use the most, as it gets lighter I'll add on the 121L as well. example shot
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pistol 13,018 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 19 years agohenro_ben wrote:
I use cokins - 'cause they're pretty cheap & do the job, so you don't mind quite so much when you loose one in a river or accidently step on one.
One thing I have noticed is that they do seem to develop a colour cast as they age - a noticable magenta cast usually. Although I've now got some brand new ones & they're a-ok, not sure for how long though.
What are you intending to do with them?
The 121L is very light, I tend to use this one on its own only if I'm shooting pre-dawn. example shot
The 121M is ND 4 & has a fairly short transition to it - useful for seascapes etc. where you've got a flat horizon. This is the one I use the most, as it gets lighter I'll add on the 121L as well. example shot
The 121S is ND8 but has a much softer transition, so useful for when you have buildings/mountains etc. sticking up over the horizon. example shot
As a starter kit I'd suggest you get the 121L and 121M, I find they're the ones I use the most.
Just ordered a 121L. Thanks for the tips. -
henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agopistol wrote:
Just ordered a 121L. Thanks for the tips.
Welcome, still think you'll be wanting to get a denser one before too long.
I hope you got an adapter ring & holder for it as well? -
pistol 13,018 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 19 years agohenro_ben wrote:
pistol wrote:
Just ordered a 121L. Thanks for the tips.
Welcome, still think you'll be wanting to get a denser one before too long.
I hope you got an adapter ring & holder for it as well?
I did yes, with 2 rings. One for my Nikon 50mm and one for the Sigma 150mm 2.8. What other filters do you think would be useful?
Edited by pistol at 17:05:37 19-04-2007 -
FiveManArmy 506 posts
Seen 7 years ago
Registered 15 years agoWhere did you get your filters from Pistol?
I'm looking at getting a graduated filter for my holiday in greece in a few weeks.
What colour is the best to get? The gradual grey?
Thanks -
FiveManArmy 506 posts
Seen 7 years ago
Registered 15 years agoCan anyone help with this?
I'm confused with which colour filters I need for general use! -
henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoFiveManArmy wrote:
Can anyone help with this?
I'm confused with which colour filters I need for general use!
If you've got a digital camera then I wouldn't bother with any coloured filters for general use, as you'll be able to duplicate the effect in PS.
I'm presuming you want to stop the skies burning out, so get yourself a neutral density filter - the Cokin p121 range are the ones I use.
121L is the lightest & has a fairly soft transition from dark to clear, 121M is a medium darkness & has a harder transition, 121S is the darkest & has the longest & softest transition. -
FiveManArmy 506 posts
Seen 7 years ago
Registered 15 years agohenro_ben wrote:
FiveManArmy wrote:
Can anyone help with this?
I'm confused with which colour filters I need for general use!
If you've got a digital camera then I wouldn't bother with any coloured filters for general use, as you'll be able to duplicate the effect in PS.
I'm presuming you want to stop the skies burning out, so get yourself a neutral density filter - the Cokin p121 range are the ones I use.
121L is the lightest & has a fairly soft transition from dark to clear, 121M is a medium darkness & has a harder transition, 121S is the darkest & has the longest & softest transition.
Thank you!
Yes I want to try and balance out the sky and landscape.
I've got a Canon 300D camera, am I right in thinking I need size A filters? -
henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoFiveManArmy wrote:
Thank you!
Yes I want to try and balance out the sky and landscape.
I've got a Canon 300D camera, am I right in thinking I need size A filters?
It's to do with the lens you're using, not the camera.
Full instructions here. If you're using a standard kit lens you may well get vignetting at 18mm focal length with the A filters. I'd recommend getting the P series.
Remember you'll need to buy a filter holder for the filters, and a screw in adapter ring for your lens. -
FiveManArmy 506 posts
Seen 7 years ago
Registered 15 years agoMany thanks Ben, that's really helpful.
Shame they don't do a ND4 with a soft transition. Seems like that would be the most useful combination. -
henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoThe 121M (ND4), is soft, just not as soft as the others. It's the one I use the most on a day to day basis. -
MrCarrot 3,524 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 17 years agoErk, 70 quid down on a P series holder, adapter rings and a few grads. Hopefully they'll arrive before my holiday in the Lakes next week. Should give me an excuse to get up and cath a few sunrises if nothing else. .gif)
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henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoMrCarrot wrote:
Erk, 70 quid down on a P series holder, adapter rings and a few grads. Hopefully they'll arrive before my holiday in the Lakes next week. Should give me an excuse to get up and cath a few sunrises if nothing else.
Seems rather a lot for cokins, what filters did you get? -
MrCarrot 3,524 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 17 years ago121M, L and S, a standard P holder and 2 adapter rings. All from Warehouse Express. Bit of an impulse buy really, I didn't check the prices anywhere else before ordering. :/ -
henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoMrCarrot wrote:
121M, L and S, a standard P holder and 2 adapter rings. All from Warehouse Express. Bit of an impulse buy really, I didn't check the prices anywhere else before ordering. :/
I guess this isn't the time to mention you can get the P121 series + holder in a pack for around £35...?
Make sure you put your filters back in their plastic boxes when finished with - don't just dump them in your bag/stick them in your pocket, you won't believe how quickly they'll scratch. -
MrCarrot 3,524 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 17 years agohenro_ben wrote:
I guess this isn't the time to mention you can get the P121 series + holder in a pack for around £35...?
/o\ -
henro_ben 2,393 posts
Seen 21 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoDon't feel too bad about it - they can be really hard to track down & once you'd added in the adapter rings & postage it'd be up to £50ish anyway. -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 10 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoI've been taking a few more sea shots in the last few days. As expected, the sky is often blown once I get the exposure right on the foreground and sea.
I'm using a bog-standard kit 18-135mm Nikon lens with a 67mm front. Can someone offer me some advice on which graduated filters would be most useful? I think one sharp and one softer gradient filter would be best. Should I be looking at Cokin? Moveable filters obviously a must, so I'm guessing some sort of mount is needed.
All new to me, so any help appreciated. -
Some of us rather like the Hitech filters. Their 85mm filters fit the Cokin P system but seem better than Cokin's own ones. -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 10 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoThanks fella - I'm nothing more than a keen amateur, so I'll look into the Hitech products. Any recommendations? -
DrDamn 1,216 posts
Seen 18 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoThe HiTech filters RichardDawkins recommended are nice - though I had a few ordering issues (see Photo Gallery thread a few pages back). Website is www.formatt.co.uk
In terms of what kit to get there are a few options depending on what you want to spend etc. I ended up with quite a few to give me some flexibility. I got a 0.3/0.6/0.9 hard edge graduated filter set, the same for soft edge and the same for a set of ND. Including P&P that came in at just over £100 - you could get away with a lot less though.
On top of that you need a mount. You can get a Cokin P-series mount for ~£8 and you will also need an adaptor ring for your lens size (67mm) that will be ~£10. -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 10 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoMassively helpful - thanks DrDamn. I'm off to Formatt for a mosey and a probably wallet-busting purchase.
Thanks again fella. -
Jeepers wrote:
I've been taking a few more sea shots in the last few days. As expected, the sky is often blown once I get the exposure right on the foreground and sea.
I'm using a bog-standard kit 18-135mm Nikon lens with a 67mm front. Can someone offer me some advice on which graduated filters would be most useful? I think one sharp and one softer gradient filter would be best. Should I be looking at Cokin? Moveable filters obviously a must, so I'm guessing some sort of mount is needed.
All new to me, so any help appreciated.
Either cokin or hitech filters will do you nicely. HiTech ones are better quality and are available in both hard & soft transitions, Cokins are a little bit cheaper and somewhat easier to get hold of (i.e. Jessops usually has them), downside is they tend to have a slight magenta colour cast to them and only have a soft(ish) transition.
For seascapes I tend to use a hard grad along the horizon and then a mix of soft grads to control the sky & reflections. I find that soft 0.3, 0.6 & 0.9 grads and a hard 0.6 is the most useful combination - for me anyway.
.gif)
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