Lee Graduated Filters

Could anyone offer advice on what the advantages are of purchasing Lee filters rather than a cheaper make such as HiTech? I know that they are larger and could therefore be used on a larger format lens, but is the optical quality of the Lee filters superior? I'm keen to invest in a good set of ND filters but am confused as to the large price difference.

I've owned two HiTech filters. One had a significant magenta cast that was not acceptable and difficult to adjust in PS. The other one seems fine. This is pretty much what I've heard around from various discussions is the lack of consistent quality in the HiTech and problems with color cast. I don't know if there would be reasons to neccessarily only consider Lee, as Singh-Ray filters are pretty highly regarded as well.

Thanks for the feedback Roger, much appreciated. I've not looked into Singh-Ray filters as I can't find anywhere that stocks them in the UK.

I've not seen a color cast to any of the three HiTech ND grads I own. I think the main difference between different brands is how they do their grad line. Since these things are plastic, they eventually do get scratched and need to be replaced. For this reason I went with the more economical HiTech filters.


Kent in SD

I switched from Lee to Hitech a while back. I dropped and broke a Lee filter, and then thought about replacing it. Decided that would be a good time to check out a new system. The Lee filters were great, but large. I like the more compact size of the Hitech filters, and being able to use the normal Cokin P filter holders, and the quality seems to be equal. I've been very happy with the Hitech filters so far.

I owned a Lee system last year and absolutely loved it. The main reason to get it is bacause of the filter size, I used it in conjunction with a Mamiya RB67 system and the added size made it posssible for grad lines as high or low as I wanted in the frame without getting the edge of the filter in the frame. The cokin "P" sized filters had issues. This was with lenses that were 72mm size though, which is why I got the Lee's. The quality is great, as are the pouches that come with the filters...sounds hokey, but it was a nice feature. Also, the Lee system holder is fantastic.

All that said, I had the filters (along with my camera) stolen in November, so I now use HiTech grads with my 4x5 system. The lens elements are much smaller, so I no longer need the large filters. The HiTech's work well and seem reletively neutral. I would not hesitate to recommend them, they're great for the money. The Lee's had a nice feel though and the "hard" edge worked really well for general use. I would still use them if I could afford to get back into the system. Best of luck!

Joel's comment that the Lee's hard edge filters worked well for general use reminded me of something. Another reason I switched to the smaller Hitech filters was that I felt that the gradations worked much better. Not sure if this is true, but from personal experience I felt that the gradation on the Lee filters was too soft, even on the hard edge filter. It seemed to me that a hard-edge Lee filter was comparable to a soft edge from the Cokin-P sized filters. Maybe it's a percentage thing (if the transition occurs over 5% of the filter, then the transition will be larger in a larger filter). I just wasn't getting the results I hoped for from the Lee hard-edge filters. I've been very happy since switching to Hitech.

I have four Hitech filters. No complaints. Never used Lee so I can't compare.