What do I need to get started , for such landscape photography ?

[jasonA]

Originally Posted by Nicole

I find that as long as I zoom to about 12mm on my 10-20mm lens, the vignetting goes away for the most part. Below that I tend to get the edges of the holder in the photo. I have one of the 3 filter holders that I use.

I have to shoot at 17mm (on 5D Mark 2) most of the times, as I cant afford the 16-35mm L lens for getting that sale depth like the 10mm (on crop sensors).

So, I would like to shoot always on the full wide.

What do you suggest ?

I cant hand hold, since most of them will be long exposures.
So, what filter holder system do you suggest ?



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And whats the difference between hard edge and soft edge filters ?

[RichardTaylor]

I am just a casual landscape shooter and the Cokin filters meet my needs.

However I have friends who shoot lots of landscapes and they are mostly using Lee filters as they feel stacked Cokin filters introduce colour casts.

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And whats the difference between hard edge and soft edge filters ?"

It describes the transition area between totally clear and the full fllter effect.

[navcom]

The Cokin system is usually preferred by most SLR folks...that's SYSTEM (i.e. holders, adapters, rectangular filter size, etc.), not the filters themselves. In my personal experience, Cokin filters are not truly "neutral", which is why you are hearing comments that they can on occasion alter the colors. Lee is also a close second for systems. It's really dependent on what you prefer, not "one is better than the other". Filters in a Cokin size are more readily available from different companies than Lee...but not drastically.

Filters are definitely one of those items where you get what you pay for. Cheap filters many times end up causing more frustration in the long run.

Hard edged ND grads have a very abrupt transition from the clear portion to the "gray" portion. Soft edge ones have a more gradual transition. Hard ones are great for when you have a well-defined horizon (such as an ocean scene) where you are trying to control the sky. Soft ones work better for variable horizons or areas where the transition between the foreground and background are not as pronounced.

Hand-holding is the only way to prevent vignetting. It's just a simple physical fact...the filter holder will hang out in front of your lens and when that lens is an ultra-wide lens, something has to give. And sometimes using a filter is just not possible, even hand-held, on extremely wide filters (i.e. 180 degree field of view).

I routinely hand-hold for 1-2 minute exposures. You just have to practice keeping it in place. It doesn't have to be held 100% perfectly still as it won't cause blurriness like hand-holding the camera itself. You just have to keep it in a relatively stable place. Stacking filters is common practice and if your filters are decent quality, it won't be a problem at all.

Hope that helps!

[ravncat]

Originally Posted by Nicole

I find that as long as I zoom to about 12mm on my 10-20mm lens, the vignetting goes away for the most part. Below that I tend to get the edges of the holder in the photo. I have one of the 3 filter holders that I use.

I find that the Cokin system is cheap enough to buy again that - if you have a saw and are handy you can cut off the third filter slot at the second - i know, it leaves you with enough room for only one filter (and the polarizer) but that's usually all I need. Cutting in this fashion is often enough to stop the vignetting issues