Hmm... screw on or square filters...?

Been looking at warehouseexpress.com and they have a nice looking Cokin P series graduated ND filter set with a holder but how do I know the holder will fit on my 52mm diameter lens?!

As for the horizon problem... how much can you actually change the lateral position of the horizon with the square filters? Would it, for instance, be possible to have the 50% grade at 10-15% from the bottom of the picture or would the top of the filter then not reach the top?

You buy one of these!

Definitely the Cokin/Lee series square filters. You're investing in something that'll go with you regardless of what you're next camera will be.
It's worth spending the money on.

I have square filters, although I do have a protector for my 17-40 that is round. Not sure what I'll do when I get a polariser, though. Could really do with a decent one in a bigger size!

My Lee grad will easily allow for the bottom of the gradient to be at the bottom of the circular hole, even without an adapter ring. The grads aren't actually square filters, as they're 100mm wide, but about 150mm tall, so plenty of room to slide them.

Edd

Questions, questions, questions...

I've been looking at the Cokin filters and thinking about which one to get to start.

The ND grad set would be nice as it also comes with the holder but I was only thinking of grad filters as an after thought.

I was really looking for the normal ND filters. Specifically I was looking at a 6 stop B&W filter. Cokin only do up to 3 stops as normal ND filters. This would allow for 8 times the exposure instead of 64 from the 6 stop. Is it possible to combine filters?

I'm mainly interested in long exposure stuff and so liked the idea of the 6 stop filter. If I got 2 x 3 stop filters and used them together would this give the same effect? Is there any downside to using multiple filters?

Hmm... decisions, decisions...

Yes, ND filters work in combination just as you'd expect, so 2 x 3 stop filters can be used together as a 6 stop filter.

Well I didn't see the point of buying the ND filter and a holder as it would come to about the same price as the kit so I bought the kit and a coupld of 3 stop ND filters

And the 52mm adapter

Thanks for the help guys! My planned trip this weekend can now go ahead

I'd go for the lee's. They're better quality and the Cokin's have a tendency to affect the colour of the image, turning everything a funny shade of pink that has to be corrected in post processing. They're more expensive but better that than buying a set of Cokin's and ending up junking them.

I would do but they're out of my price range.

Plus the reviews I've seen around the web of the Cokin's all seem very good.

Besides, it's an online purchase so if I don't like them I've got 14 days to send them back.

In fact it's 28 days according to the website's Ts&Cs

Fair enough then. I'd also go for the Cokin Z-pro mount in that case, because they use the same 100x100 filters as the lee's, so you can interchange them depending on what you want to do or what your funds allow.

Thanks for the hint. I’ve just lashed out on one of those too. I was going to “build my own” but that seemed a much better way to start.

Well, my set arrived today. I’ve been playing in the garden, taking photos with the filters in and out of the holder, and I am noticing a difference on the screen on the back of the camera.

I see from the included bumf that I can get an adapter for my Leica (or in fact any compact camera), so I can use the filters with that too if I want.

If you ever want to experiement with square filters without spending huge amount have a look at Kood filters. I'm not suggesting them as an alternative to Lee/Cokin but if you just want to have a play with some effects then for about £8 a go (look on eBay) you cant go wrong.