Lee filters

SMBooth · Sep 13, 2014

Can anybody offer a opinion on the polyester filters on offer from Lee Filter. Just looking at the black and white filter set. Do they preform as well as the solid resin filters?

Muihlinn · Sep 13, 2014

I have been using Lee's resin and polyester for years and I can't tell the difference on the negative. Polyester are more fragile, but performs nicely for a fraction of the price.

Sure there are advantages in resin, but you don't have to worry for a quality loss with properly cared polyester filter if that's your worry.

Jeff Kubach · Sep 13, 2014

Muihlinn said:
I have been using Lee's resin and polyester for years and I can't tell the difference on the negative. Polyester are more fragile, but performs nicely for a fraction of the price.

Sure there are advantages in resin, but you don't have to worry for a quality loss with properly cared polyester filter if that's your worry.

I agree.

Jeff

Hatchetman · Sep 13, 2014

I bought a LEE grad NDF filter. It gave things a purple hue and really hurt image quality with a wide angle lens. With B&W and a normal/telephoto, it would probably be "OK." I would not buy again.

Ken Nadvornick · Sep 13, 2014

Muihlinn said:
I have been using Lee's resin and polyester for years and I can't tell the difference on the negative. Polyester are more fragile, but performs nicely for a fraction of the price.

Sure there are advantages in resin, but you don't have to worry for a quality loss with properly cared polyester filter if that's your worry.

I also agree. I have the Lee B&W set. It's used in front of a pair of G-Clarons (210/9 and 305/9) on an 8x10 camera.

For all practical purposes I've never been able to discern a difference in the resulting quality. I know it's there, guaranteed as a corollary to that pesky First Law. But in practical use I don't see it.

However I do see the substantial cost savings over resin. And besides, if you damage a polyester it's no big deal to replace it. But if you damage a resin...

Ken

Muihlinn · Sep 13, 2014

Hatchetman: Probably defective, I never had such issue with mine. I'll ask Lee for a replacement. I've shot lots of slides with quite wide lenses across all formats from 135 to 8x10 with them and never had any hue, not with the grad or the plain ND. Nor my brother who uses it all the time for seascapes in his D700.

SMBooth · Sep 13, 2014

Great to hear the positive response, I pick up a set.

Regarding the colour cast, I've had it using ND filter on digital, and I note that my new Hitec ND is been made to remove the cast.

Lee filters

SMBooth

Muihlinn

Jeff Kubach

Hatchetman

Ken Nadvornick

Muihlinn

SMBooth

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