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Going on a trip soon and am looking at what filters I need on my 24-70 (77mm) for landscape shots.

Was think of:-

UV already on lens.

Circ Polariser to fatten up blue skies.

ND for sunrise and sunset shots. What sort do I get, 4, 8 or grad. Do I need more than one.

What does everyone think.

Look forward to the replies as I have thinking about that myself .
Thanks Barry for asking.Where is the trip to ?

Jeff

I've been thinking about this recently, too.

I used to use a lot of filters in the film days but almost none with digital.

I'm using UV filters less and less because they can increase flare but they may be useful to protect lenses in some circumstances from airborne dust, rain etc. (Easier to clean a filter than the lens).

I'm not sure whether you really need polarisers for the skies but then I haven't been shooting many landscapes lately so I'll have to test that. Easy to overdo sky polarisation with digital, I would think and easy enough to adjust in Lightroom if required. My preconception is that I'm more interested in a polariser to highlight or remove reflections on water, glass, etc.

You wouldn't use an ND for sunsets, that would be for things like time exposure effects on waterfalls in the middle of the day. You might use a graduated ND, but probably only where you have a straight horizon. If so, you'd want an adjustable (Cokin-style) one. I'd probably be more inclined to take two shots to combine but you need to understand the dynamic range of your camera, because it may not be necessary.

Graduated ND for sunrise and sunsets. I use Soft 1.2 (4stops), hard 1.2, reverse ND grad 0.8 (3stops). Although combining shots is an option, these grads can knock down the sky to prevent it from blowing out even when you bracket. Most of the time, I can get away with a single shot that can be easily adjusted in LR.
Modular systems are recommended. In order of price and quality ebay cokin clones> real Cokin> Hitech > Lee > Singhray

10 Stopper - highly useful for various landscape work in full sun. You can get 30 second exposures in day light.

Variable stopper - search for lightcraft (or Singhray if your pockets are deep). These are two polarisers sandwiched together which can be adjusted from 1 stop to around 8-9 stops. [Lightcraft also makes one that goes from 9 stops to 12 stops I think]

Polariser - can make landscape pop when it removes reflections from odd places (like rocks, water, leaves etc) and enhance color a little. Hard to emulate in PS.

UV - optional....I am now using a mix of B+W (XSP MRC) and Marumi (DHG)

C-Pol - I find that I use these less and less...but since i have been in a rut wiht my work I may go back to using them more again and see if they are making a difference

Grad ND - definitely a modular system (Cokin personally) I have a ND4 and a ND8 and often wish I had the option of a ND2 when I need to stack.

Jeff,

Off to north island NZ for a couple of weeks driving. Have no plan just going to drive and see where we end up. Did the south island last Xmas so now want to see north.

I guess my motivation for this question was to see if there were filters I could use on my trip that would help me to get good results in camera at the time of the shot rather than in PP later on.

I currently only have a UV filter but that is more for lens protection.

I used a circ polariser filter recently and I found depending on the direction of the light you had some control over the blue-ness of the skies. To me it also seemed to help obtain more saturated histograms. This was on a heli flight over Sydney Harbour and there was a lot of glare and reflections.

Haven't used grad filters before but I thought that they might be handy to separate sky exposure from land mass exposure. Again to try and get the shot in camera.

Surenj I assume when you are talking about Soft 1.2/Hard 1.2 you are talking about screw in filters with a soft/hard separation between the top and the bottom half of the filter. If so this seems like a logical system to travel with. Are ther any particular brand I need to look at here.

With regard to modular Cokin type filters how do people find them when tavelling.

Lastly are there any suggestions for those hazy day shots. BTW Cameron, while I think about it, thanks for your recent advise on the Canon SX30IS. My friend ended up buying one and saved some bucks in the process as well.

Barry
I did the South Island recently and took a cpl, a Lee grad .6 and nd .6, and a SingRay reverse grad -3. The reverse grad fits the Lee holders and the cpl was a screw in. They were easy to carry and I used them for a few sunrise/sunset shots and the cpl was used in some full sun shots which brought out the colours beautifully.

Enjoy the trip.

barry wrote:Soft 1.2/Hard 1.2 you are talking about screw in filters with a soft/hard separation between the top and the bottom half of the filter. If so this seems like a logical system to travel with. Are ther any particular brand I need to look at here.

I was talking about cokin sized square filters. With the graduated filters you need the flexibility of able to position the horizon as required.

When you travel with this sort of kit, you need
1. filter adaptor ring (that screws to the front element of your lens)
2. Filter holder
3. square filter(s) themselves

It wouldn't be easy to use this sort of thing while you are airborne etc... This is more for tripod setups.

I have some hitech branded filters which fit the Cokin P size. Lee branded filters are probably the best value. Singhray may well be the best but you will pay a premium. These are all resin filters. There are glass options (more scratch resistant) but even more expensive I think.

barry wrote:With regard to modular Cokin type filters how do people find them when tavelling.

Lastly are there any suggestions for those hazy day shots. BTW Cameron, while I think about it, thanks for your recent advise on the Canon SX30IS. My friend ended up buying one and saved some bucks in the process as well.

No worries Barry, I hope your friends daughter enjoys the camera. As for the Cokin type filters and travel, if you have a spare lens slot in your bag, you can easily place 2-3 filters (in their boxes) and the holder as well as an adaptor ring or two. If you are like me and you have space issues then you may be tempted to leave them at home.

Hazy day.....I'm waiting for someone else to answer as well!

Barry

One thing worth considering is a tiny town in the middle called National Park(!). If you stay at a particular backpackers (or get there at 7 in the morning) a bus takes you to the foot of Mt Tongariro. You climb over the saddle between Tongariro & Ngarahohe and the bus picks you up on the other side at the end of the day.

Does anyone know how long the light stop rating of ND Lee Filters will accurately last before they should be replaced?