Posted by Jack Garrett on April 10, 2011 at 11:59 AM
Does anyone here use the Lee Big Stopper Variable ND and or the Singh Ray blue/gold polarizer or similar? How does it work for you and would you recommend either one? I'm playing around with the idea of getting the b/g polarizer and attaching the big stopper to it...or continuing to use my filter system and buying some hitech 3 and4 stop solid nd's. for my upcoming trip to Washington state.
Input appreciated, thanks!
Posted by Rene Pirolt on April 10, 2011 at 12:42 PM
Jack I used to have the B&G polarizer. I thought it would be a nice creative tool, but it ended up just collecting dust in my bag. Both the blue and gold color casts looked very strange and garish. Depending on the look you are trying to achieve you may like it. I finally sold the filter.
Posted by Sarah Marino on April 10, 2011 at 4:15 PM
I have the B+W 10-stop filter and have played around with the blue and gold filter. I really like the 10 stop filter. I have used it mostly to record motion in clouds or waves with some good results. You have to nail the exposure or a lot of noise shows up (at least with my 5D2). Recovering any underexposure with this filter introduces too much noise in my experience. To make the math quicker in changing light conditions, I have an app on my phone to calculate exposures using the filter and this has helped increase my success rate.
I agree with Rene about the B&G polarizer. I only messed around with it for an afternoon and knew that it was not for me. I know someone who uses the filter to take a second exposure and then uses it as a layer, lowering the opacity and painting in the effect where desired. I have read about other ways to calibrate white balance settings when using this filter for better results but I haven ot actually tried it out.
I have a Lee Big Stopper and love it. It has gotten a lot of use in the last 6 months and opens up a whole creative suite of applications for me when I wouldn't otherwise shoot.
Posted by Art Escobado on April 10, 2011 at 8:52 PM
He talks about color correcting the B&G with ACR and the eye dropper tool. I have one but keep forgetting about using it...hmmm thanks for the discussion topic Jack. I will use it and see what shakes loose. It's seems paramount to use it with water.
I have a blue-and-gold polarizer from Singh-Ray in cokin p-mount and should probably sell it. I'm either not creative enough to use it properly, or it's too garish for what I consider to be authentic work. To give you some context, a decent starting point in ACR is to subtract 100 points of magenta... The eyedropper tool usually ends up a -100 to -120 magenta. I've done some decent twilight images with it, but it doesn't seem to be my thing. I'm holding on to it for the moment, and will give it some more tries over the coming season, but it may yet end up being sold next winter.
Posted by Jim Casteel on April 11, 2011 at 11:39 AM
I have a 77mm Blue Gold Singh-Ray filter. It is a filter that I have a love hate relationship with. It does really cool stuff at twilight in places like Arches. I have tried it for sunrises and have gotten some mildly pleasing results about 1 hour after sunrise. It is really easy to over cook. You are more than welcome to borrow mine if you want to try it out.
Posted by Rene Pirolt on April 11, 2011 at 3:22 PM
Art - interesting read, but not sure if I will reinvest $300 in the G&B filter.
Posted by Jack Garrett on April 11, 2011 at 6:18 PM
Jim, I'll shoot you an email. Anybody know where I can order a big stopper? All the major places are on backorder...B&H, Adorama, etc..backordered. I just called Lee Filter, USA and they say it will be several weeks before US gets any..sheesh. I found one on Ebay and they want $200 for a $130 filter!! I never knew a filter could be so popular.
Jack, you will just have to order it man.. it is always on back order and it will not change for a while. I waited 4-5 months to get mine in and that was almost a year ago. Best thing to do is just order it and be patient, unless your willing to pay some crazy prices on eBay.
Posted by Jared Atencio on April 12, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Jack, try 2Filters. I ordered a replacement for my original a couple of months ago (Feb) and only had to wait a few weeks for mine, which was MUCH better than the 4+ months I had to wait for the first one I purchased back in Oct. Also, just to clarify, the Big Stopper is not a variable grad, but a solid 10 stop "welding mask" of sheer blackness. I don't use mine often, but it does allow me some creative outlets when I probably would not be shooting otherwise and it also allows me shots that are simply not possible with any other filter. It's a challenge to learn, use, and get a shot that you like, but I've seen some pretty neat shots using the BS. Good luck!
Posted by Jack Garrett on April 12, 2011 at 11:21 PM
Jared, I ordered one from them today...they weren't sure but didn't think it would be too long...thanks! Yeah on the variable.. I was confused with the singh-Ray variable ND.
Discussion
11 repliesInput appreciated, thanks!
I agree with Rene about the B&G polarizer. I only messed around with it for an afternoon and knew that it was not for me. I know someone who uses the filter to take a second exposure and then uses it as a layer, lowering the opacity and painting in the effect where desired. I have read about other ways to calibrate white balance settings when using this filter for better results but I haven ot actually tried it out.
Hey Rene-
Did you see this article by Wigget?
http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles1006/dw1006-1.html
He talks about color correcting the B&G with ACR and the eye dropper tool. I have one but keep forgetting about using it...hmmm thanks for the discussion topic Jack. I will use it and see what shakes loose. It's seems paramount to use it with water.