I have been using screw in filters so far: they provide good results but I have been buying good quality filters, primarily B&W. I mostly use a circular polarizing filter and ND filters but would like to experiment with others. I'm thinking of the Cokin system but they are plastic and I wonder about the quality. I use Canon L lenses and don't want to degrade the images using cheap filters.
On the other hand, I have two filter sizes to deal with, 67mm and 77mm and buying two of everything is too expensive.
Does anyone have experience using the Cokin system? One drawback will be that you can't use a lens hood.I understand that and can envisage strategies for dealing with this. I have a 17-40 mm and a 24-105 mm and wonder if I will have vignetting issues with the P system, would I have to use the Z pro system? Will image quality be degraded?
why do you buy two of everything? get a step-up ring from 67 to 77mm. i wouldn't recommend Cokin filters themselves except for fun but there are lots of high quality filters that fit the Cokin P holder. the vast majority of them are plastic.
If the quality of Cokin filters is of concern to you; "Lee" do an excellent filter range, I have not used them but they have a very good reputation (and price to match).
On the issue of lens hoods; if you have the time to play with filters you will most probably be using a tripod and have enough time to use your hand/piece of card to shield your lens and filters from stray sunlight. You can get clip-on hoods for the cokin filter holder, but they aren't very good.
Filters are a convenient way of achieving certain results, especially when using multiple filters.
There are some situatiuons where advanced photoshop work would be more beneficial, and vice-versa.
I have read that the cokin system is pretty expensive. But if you want to stick to quality screw ins just buy the 77 mm and a couple of $5.00 adapter rings to put them on the 67 mm lenses. Using the single large size lets you still only buy one and using the larger one on the smaller lens eliminates any vignetting problem caused by the filter size.
DIS Ottawa wrote:
...I'm thinking of the Cokin system but they are plastic and I wonder about the quality. I use Canon L lenses and don't want to degrade the images using cheap filters.
Cokin, Hitech, and Lee filters are made from resin material. I can't say much about the Cokins, but the Hitech and Lee filters are made from the same grade and type of resin. The material is very durable, but like anything else, if you're not careful you can scratch them. Singh-Rays are glass.
I use Hitech GND filters and do not notice any degradation whatsoever.
As far as lens hoods go...Lee has a collapsible bellows-type lens hood for their system (I believe that Cokin may have one also). These are a bit pricey and will definitely add to the cost of whatever setup that you decide to go with.
