Graduate filters

I was thinking about picking up a graduated filter or two. I've been looking around on the computer and have found way too much information. If you had $200 to spend, what would you get?

Wow, tough question. If I could only get 2 filters, I would probably choose a Singh Ray 2 stop hard and a SR 3 stop soft, then continue building as $$ permits.

I agree with Bill regarding a 2 stop hard and 3 stop soft from Singh-Ray. That's exactly the choice I made and I'm happy with it...although I bought the 4x6 filters for hand-holding.

Go Singh-Ray and you won't be sorry! I'm a cheapskate and not very picky but, I recently purchased a Hitech grad that just sits in my bag for emergencies. Its akwardly small size, inferior quality, and magenta cast make is unpleasant to use and a nightmare for reflection shots.

Same choices for me, and I'm very satisfied, although many people feel the effects can be diuplicated in PS without the filter cost. Sandy r

I also have the Singh-Ray 2/soft and 3/hard. Something to ponder if you're considering on any glass GND's... they break. Even though they may have soft, cushy pouches... if you put them in your seat pocket and sit on them, they will break.... :-)

Lon

I would consider where you most often photograph before buying any hard step GND's. If you photograph mountains or deserts most often, I would get soft step GND's. The hard step are great for beach scenes when you don't have much projecting above the horizon. In the mountains, they won't get used much.

I carry a 2 and 3 stop soft GND (Singh-Ray). I've been using the standard sizes and am upgrading soon to the 4x6 filter to make it easier to handhold.

I agree on the Singh-Rays, and agree with Bret that the choice between hard and soft depends largely on how/where you shoot. I have 2-stop and 3-stop soft grads, shooting primarily mountain scenes. The soft grads are very versatile being able to overlap them while staggering them to eliminate the grad line, invert one relative to the other and overlap them to create something equivalent to a reverse grad, etc. If I lived near the coast, I'd have at least one hard grad and probably a reverse grad to control the brightness on the horizon.

Here's another vote for Singh-Ray filters. I use a 2-stop soft and 3-stop soft. I have a 3-stop hard, but, as Bret indicates, they are of limited usefulness when the horizon is iregularly shaped.

-PB

For digital and 35mm the soft filters generally work better in most situations. For larger formats I would actually go with a hard edge since the longer lenses will diffuse the edge more but at the same time make it easier to place accurately. On the smaller formats my most frequently used grad is a 3-stop soft. I like Bill's suggestion of augmenting it with a 2-stop hard so you can stack them for different effects when needed.

Guy

I wonder if you would save some money by going to undergraduates?

Dang it, Alex! You beat me to it!

Good Job!

-PB

I would go the 2 stop soft and a 3 stop hard. I use these most of the time. They are also the most often used combination when stacking. The next most useful is the 2 stop hard.