Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 30 of 30

Thread: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

  1. #21

    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Asheville NC
    Posts
    163

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Quote Originally Posted by lenser View Post
    You might also consider Cokin. They work quite well for me and I would add a red and green and a Polarizer to your list.
    Another vote here for the Cokin. My Cokin Pola-Red and Pla-Yellow are my most used filters for B&W.
    Bill McMannis

  2. #22
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    4,729

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    With the possible exception of the ND's and ND Grads, the quality of the Cokin resin filters are as good as the Lees, HiTech,s etc., (the Coking Grads supposedly have a color cast) and are a bargain price-wise. The Cokin Z holder is also a bargain and will accommodate the 4" filters of all brands regardless of thickness and you don't need to carry the little screwdriver.

    If I were buying filters I would get glass (e.g., Schneider) and not resin. No matter how careful you are, scratches are inevitable with resin.

    Thomas

  3. #23

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    grand rapids
    Posts
    3,851

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Quote Originally Posted by tgtaylor View Post
    With the possible exception of the ND's and ND Grads, the quality of the Cokin resin filters are as good as the Lees, HiTech,s etc., (the Coking Grads supposedly have a color cast) and are a bargain price-wise. The Cokin Z holder is also a bargain and will accommodate the 4" filters of all brands regardless of thickness and you don't need to carry the little screwdriver.

    If I were buying filters I would get glass (e.g., Schneider) and not resin. No matter how careful you are, scratches are inevitable with resin.

    Thomas
    What screwdriver? For what?

  4. #24
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Seattle, Wash.
    Posts
    2,929

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Quote Originally Posted by vinny View Post
    What screwdriver? For what?
    For the Lee holder (which he’s comparing to Cokin).

    2mm guides for unframed polyester filters, 4mm guides for framed (or resin).

    A Lee slotted hood requires no screwdriver. Me, I have a Lee un-slotted hood. Using its two backside brackets, I place it on the holder’s outermost (4mm) guides – or when not using a holder, directly on the lens adapter ring.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Lee holder 1.jpg   Lee holder 2.jpg  

  5. #25

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    grand rapids
    Posts
    3,851

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Thanks. I have the Lee holder with hood so i've never needed a screwdriver. I also had a cokin (p) until larger filters were needed.

    Quote Originally Posted by Heroique View Post
    For the Lee holder (which he’s comparing to Cokin).

    2mm guides for unframed polyester filters, 4mm guides for framed (or resin).

    A Lee slotted hood requires no screwdriver. Me, I have a Lee un-slotted hood. Using its two backside brackets, I place it on the holder’s outermost (4mm) guides – or when not using a holder, directly on the lens adapter ring.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    5,505

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lenny Eiger View Post

    By all means, if anyone is interested in filters, go right ahead. However, as with a battery of 9 lenses, I don't consider them "essential" in a landscape photographer's backpack. This is opinion, of course. I am not attempting to set a rule. I could also be wrong. If someone wants to point out an example of where they might be really useful, and explain how I might be missing something, I'm all ears. I'm here to learn as well.


    Lenny
    Lenny,

    I fully understand the fact that how and why we choose to photograph is a personal decision, and that there are no rights or wrongs. Same could be said about most decisions in life that require some interpretative choices. And by no means do I consider filters essential to B&W photography. Same goes for other decisions, such as format size, digital versus analog, silver gelatin versus platinum, etc. etc.

    But the point is this. All of these choices result in something that is different and unique. Making a negative with B&W film, with the proper filter, can in some cases give a different interpretation than making the exposure without a filter and then trying to replicate the results in PS. I personally spend a lot of time in PS to interpret an image as I "saw and wanted it." But there are situations where if I make the wrong decision in exposure I find myself in a situation where "you can not get there from here." If you can get there from anywhere, more power to you.


    Sandy
    For discussion and information about carbon transfer please visit the carbon group at groups.io
    [url]https://groups.io/g/carbon

  7. #27

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Santa Cruz, CA
    Posts
    2,094

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Quote Originally Posted by sanking View Post
    But the point is this. All of these choices result in something that is different and unique. Making a negative with B&W film, with the proper filter, can in some cases give a different interpretation than making the exposure without a filter and then trying to replicate the results in PS. I personally spend a lot of time in PS to interpret an image as I "saw and wanted it." But there are situations where if I make the wrong decision in exposure I find myself in a situation where "you can not get there from here." If you can get there from anywhere, more power to you.
    Sandy
    I am certainly not going to claim I can get "there" from anywhere. Like you, I've been doing this a long time and some of it works very well. I never imagine I know it all.. there are so many areas of photography it would be impossible. However, that said, I've ignored filters the entire time. I just never bothered.

    I have a nice set of filters and holder from Lee. I tried them out but there was nothing I saw that made me want to carry them around. I've been listening to this discussion with interest to see what I might learn. Someone said I missed something and my ears perked up. I reviewed what they all do again and they generally do stuff I don't want. (Darken skies.)

    As I sit here thinking thru this I think my attitude has to do with how I shoot. I do my best to get "present" wherever I am. I'd like to see something magical and unnoticed. I am interested in images that are done with respect, and an appreciation of where one is. I like the subtleties of light. I like the deep woods and ravines, especially. When I photograph I am focused primarily on my attitude and seeing. When images fail its generally not because of the print. Its because there's nothing there. I've may have a great composition, but all the angles are bringing the eye to a place that makes one wonder why I took the photograph in the first place. I needed to see deeper, to understand where I was. Perhaps to actually understand something that can be articulated in a visual language.

    The print quality I want I've gotten from a little enhancing, staying true to what was there in the first place, rather than lots of manipulation. I print on papers I love with delicate inks. I went to this page: http://www.leefilters.com/index.php/camera/blackwhite There is a fairly useless comparison there about a third of the way down of the b&w filters. Right below is an image by Charlie Waite. I would never photograph like that. Of course, he has every right to. However, we are looking at very different things. I can see why an orange filter would be useful for his kind of image. I just can't see how they would be useful to me...

    That doesn't mean they wouldn't be. It just means I don't see it....

    Lenny
    EigerStudios
    Museum Quality Drum Scanning and Printing

  8. #28

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Lenny, the early post of yours that I responded to was probably poorly worded and gave the impression that everything can be done in Photoshop, which of course it can't, and was why I responded about you missing the boat.

    I shoot practically everything with a filter in place. The few times I don't use a filter would be indoors and in extremely low light for obvious reasons. Filters are an integral part of the process for me. It is a way for me to decide what the tones will be by using only some of the light that is there. Ironically, the one filter I don't use is a polarizer. I just prefer natural reflections. With lot of what I do these days a polarizer would ruin the photo.

    I have to admit though that I am not in search of the traditional "perfect" print with detail everywhere (although I can make it) that seems to be the holy grail of most large format photographers. If you make images that way, more power to you, and I can appreciate them, but it isn't for me. Chacun à ses goûts. As far as I am concerned, as long as the photo is good, technical issues don't matter that much.

  9. #29

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Iran / Manila
    Posts
    375

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Hey guys. I know this is a bit off topic. slight. What can you say about filter rings vs. cokin type filters? i'm thinking of getting a filter set. actually i bought red kenko filter and mamiya yellow filter recently. the kenko has some smudge inside the glass dunno when i put it against a strong light i could see it. so now, i'm thinking of getting a filter set. the cokin p filter set is cheaper compare to what i saw on the bay (tiffen black and white filter set). i'm considering the filter rings for compactness what do you think?

    thanks guys!

  10. #30
    Drew Wiley
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    SF Bay area, CA
    Posts
    18,338

    Re: Black and white filters - Hitech quality?

    Polyester filters are pretty marginal optically - inferior even to old-time gels. I don't like them at all for actual photographic use. Optical resin filters are better, but also fragile, and much more expensive. One doesn't really need all that many filters
    for basic black and white shooting. Might as well get the best glass ones you can afford. Coated or multi-coated glass is also a lot easier to keep clean, and way less prone to condensation problems. Cheap filters just make an expensive lens act as if
    it were cheap too. Take some experience to know what exactly you need in terms of filtration - has a lot to do with personal
    style, the subject-matter involved, even the specific film you use...

Similar Threads

  1. Filters for Black White
    By bob carnie in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 1-Apr-2012, 06:37
  2. Black and White film quality.
    By Mike Hansen in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 10-Nov-2008, 11:47
  3. High-quality black-and-white digital prints?
    By Bill_92 in forum Digital Hardware
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 10-Feb-1999, 01:01

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •