I was under the impression there were some 'cheap but ok' GND filters out there. I'm pretty much seeing a hundred U$D or so. Am I missing something? I need one to hold in front of a 77mm lens; not necessarily for long exposures. Just to balance the scene a couple stops. thx!
Cheap GND filter = color cast. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Get yourself a Lee or a Singh-Ray, and be done with it. Personally, I don't want to put a cheap grad between my lens and the subject.
Hitech's are good, I don't notice any color cast on mine.
I'd strongly suggest considering the larger 4"x6" size (or 100x125mm)- they are more expensive but easier to handhold, and if you're shooting a smaller format like DX, a hard-edge filter can be double-used as either a grad or a full ND. In fact, if you feather the filter during the exposure to soften the transition, theoretically one filter can do the job of three. That potentially more than offsets the higher cost of each filter.
Try Hitech. Larger sizes will be easier to hand hold. I don't really understand why people include Singh Ray with Lee. It's more expensive than Lee and less neutral.
