Hitech filters

[Jarvman]

I'm still looking at buying some ND Grads, how do the hitech ones compare in quality to the Lees? bearing in mind they are the half price and produced right on my doorstep so I could prob pick them up direct from the factory. There might be a possibility of a student discount too, what with studying local, hmmm.

 

[timparkin]

good but seem to scratch slightly easier and are thinner - I personally prefer the Lee filters but this is down to 'usability' rather than visual quality. The Lee holder system is better however. If I were price sensitive I'd be happy with the HiTech..

Tim

 

[Jarvman]

they'd be used in a Lee holder. price isn't really an issue, perhaps I'd be better just going all out and getting the best there is, but if they're very similar it'd be nice to save a bit

 

[L Gebhardt]

I have no problem with the hitech, though I haven't tried the Lee filters because of the price. Probably won't either, as I don't want to spend the money if I can't see a need. I was not impressed with the cokin filters.

 

[timparkin]

Hi Jarvman, I got paranoid about the scratches on the HiTech filters causing flare. They were only very light scratches but with a certain light they 'glowed'. Lee filters have yet to exhibit any scratching - actually the one that took the brunt of the fall when my camera and tripod fell over at Goredale scare shows a little bit of scratching.. It's also broken into a couple of peices

Tim

 

[Bob F.]

I have two sets of Hitech. Never had Lee filters so I can't comment on them, 'though their good reputation goes before them. I also have a Cokin...

I put the Cokin and Hitech graduated filters on my densitometer and the Hitechs were all neutral but the Cokin showed some slight colour cast. As these are the only one's I have tested, all I can say is that *my* Hitech grad filters show no colour bias.

Given that Hitech cost close to a quarter the price of Lee for a set of 3 grads (£35 Vs £130 at Teamwork) and use the much cheaper Cokin 'P' holder (Hitech also make holders etc.) I chose Hitech over Lee, especially as I don't need the extensive Lee system that uses their holders too.

Of course, you could look at Formatt (who also manufacture Hitech) glass filters, but at £350+ for a set...


Cheers, Bob.

 

[markrewald]

I was going to post a question on Hitech filters! How fortunate that this thread appeared!

I am debating getting 2 Hitech "P" sized ND 1.8 rectangular filters or just get a 67mm B+W ND 3.0.

I use multiple systems, both digital and film and 35mm to medium format. So I would like to get the Hitech but am wondering what the affects would be with stacking 2 filters would be. I know the B+W is the better quality but I got a lot of lens sizes to cover and that will quickly add up.

Those that are stacking ND Cokin style filters would love to hear about your experiences.

 

[Solarize]

Those that are stacking ND Cokin style filters would love to hear about your experiences.

I regularly use two, somtimes three filters stacked in the Cokin P system - and with black and white am more that happy with the results. I can't comment on colour as I've not shot enough of it.

So many issues of quality come into play when photographing, that at least for me, the effect of an image being degraded as a result of the filter is quite unoticable. I would however watch out for flare, which can get especially bad when stacking filters - the holder is not all that great for blocking stray light. They also scratch pretty easily, but I don't notice any problems with quality from my filters which have small marks. As mentioned though, be especially aware of flare if there are scratches.

Ciaran

 

[markrewald]

Thanks Ciaran! Thats what I sort of expected so I will go with the Hitech approach.

 

[davetravis]

I started with BW screw-ins.
After a while I wanted more control over the position of the dividing line, or horizon.
I went with the Cokin P holder, with HT resins.
The light goes right through any small surface scratches, and flare has never been a problem, even when I combine up to 3 of them.
IMO, best for the $.