Alright, I hear you guys, we had it in the polls and you guys wanted gear, so here we go!

I’m not very good at always having the newest gear, as I’m pretty much into buying only what has an actual effect on what I do. This not being Video, we’ll not see much of the 7D talk here. So let’s talk about a piece of gear that really affects stills. One I just recently got: The Cokin 8 stop solid ND filter.

I’d been reading about the Cokin system every once in a while and always lusted about getting me one of those someday. The huge problem with the things though is the availability. At least here in Switzerland, there’s no easy way to get them. At least so I thought. The other day I went to see the new 100 Macro at my photo retailer’s and saw a Cokin catalog lying around. Two surprises there, well three actually (the third being the Macros new IS)… The first was the fact that my retailer could get the Cokin stuff at all and the second was the affordability. These things are not cheap, but compared to the B&Ws and the HOYAs they’re pretty okay. Plus, once you have the holder they’re only about 30 bucks a piece. Considering that and to distract myself from wanting a 100L Macro, I got an 8 stop solid ND to start with, as its effect is the hardest to digitally replicate in post. What it does, is basically keep the equivalent of 8 F-stops of light from getting into your camera. This allows for way slower shutter speeds. Where you’d normally have a 1/100 of a second, you get 4 seconds if my math is correct (it never really is, but you get the idea ).

Today I finally found the time to test it in the field. We went out, fought the elements and got to a little pond a few miles from the house. The weather was terrible as it has been all weekend. With intense fog and hefty rain. Once on location, the first piece of gear that turned out to be very useful was the ultraflat Velbon I brought. In nature photography to be able to stretch the legs of a tripod out sidewards is a superb feature. This way we could set it up over the water and have the camera in the perfect angle. Next up was the filter. It consists of three parts. The first one is a solid metal adaptor Ring. It’s well crafted and screws into the filter Ring and broadens the front of the lens to make it fit into the the holder. It also has the weird side effect of having your lens say “FRANCE” where it should say “JAPAN”… French lenses, seriously?

With the adaptor thingy on, the holder slides right over it and clicks in with a little pin. The holder is made out of quite flexible plastic, it doesn’t feel mega solid, but then again it doesn’t have to. It has room for three filters which on the one side is good, as you can stack filters. On the other side, it protrudes pretty far out because of that. Doing that, it shows up in the frame at angles wider than 21mm. This is the first of the two only downsides of the P series. If you’re doing very wide angle photography, you should go with the larger holders of the Z series. The other downside is that one can’t use the lenscap over the adaptor ring, so you need to purchase the special Cokin lenscap or, as I do, take the whole thing off after using it.

Aside from that, the whole thing is quite cool. As mentioned, one can slide up to three filters into the holder. So far, I only have one filter so I can’t really tell how stacking will affect image quality. What I can tell though is that using one doesn’t really reflect negatively on iq. I had the fear that, given the distance between the filter and the front element, reflections could be an issue. But even with a strong light coming from behind the camera, I found no decernable flaws on that front.

Beyond that, the filter does exactly what it is designed for, it keeps a lot of light out of your camera. This makes composing and focussing your image quite difficult. Here’s where the two part solution regarding the adaptor ring and the holder really shines. You can do whatever you have to do to take your picture and then just slide on the holder with whatever filter you have stacked on there. Quite an awesome feature compared to a screw-on filter.

So… this is pretty much as far as I can go with this review so far. I still have to test it a bit more and I’ll update as I do. Yet, the first impression is very positive.

All images © Frederic Mancosu

Hello!!!!!slmt menyambut winter utk sesape yg mengalami musim paling kritikal & x best ni..hahaha

Anyway..this time…sesi upload pic2 aku pg Schweinberg a.k.a Bukit Babi bersame Jon dgn misi kali ni nk shot kabus2 yg begitu teruk kat sini.Semalam..aku sempat usha shot2 org lain psl kabus ni..cool giler!!siap de layer2 kabus.Aku ingt kat sini bleh dapat gak kot shot cm 2 sbb asik berkabus je lately ni.Last2..smpai puncak Bukit…langit pn kabus skali..xde beza sngt..flat je smua..kabus smpai ke langit.aiyoooo…tension 2 bangun awal2..kabus cmni..so..i go for plan B..which is..pakai cokin filter natural grad(P121M) and then..play with White Balance utk dapat langit biru sket.so..bile biru+ grey..some kind of purple color comming out!!!!to make it more visible…do some editing in photoshop from RAW file!Then other plan was…shot simple..break the Rule of Third!!!so…please enjoy the shot..just some simple shots.

Photographed by antigum

Bhatu 4, Port Dickson, Malaysia,Asia
————————————————————————————————————————–
Camera: Canon EOS 400D
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm ƒ4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Exposure: 4 differ exposure
Aperture: ƒ22
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 10mm
Method:Cokin ND8 & blended image in photoshop
————————————————————————————————————————–
View On Black

– License

Salam..setelah sekian lame x shot landscape…at last..Sawah Sagil,Air Hitam,Johor.Perjalanan dr Kluang hanye mengambil mase 25min.Antara sebab kepulangan aku ke Malaysia adalah utk melawat sawah ni dan trime kasih kepade Ayie sbb bawa aku ke sini.At last,berjaye gak aku jejak kaki ke sawah ni.Aku hanye berpeluang utk shot landscape kat sawah ni dlm 1jam 15min dalam area nk sunset.So…enjoy!!

More images

I had a chance to get out and do a shoot in a long while. Good mate of my named Jimmy had asked me to go and help him shoot at the new location. It was a nice day with calm hot weather. Here are a few shots. Shots were done with natural light as well as 2x speedlites into a translucent umbrella. Unmodified light were also used for far away shot.

For these two shots above, the one on the left was also filtered by Cokin Z-Pro Z121S (Grad ND8) to bring the sky down. The right shot was unmodify light.

A fair amount of post processing were done to it. Below is the original RAW shot.

Tidal Pool, originally uploaded by hangingpixels.

I am just reposting all my images to start this new blog and to back track my flickr. I am planning to update this blog daily, so bookmark it and please check back here again soon – like tomorrow.

I was standing in the middle of the on coming wall of water, it might look small now but when it got to me – it was up to my thighs. More photos from the shoot of Mona Vale Pool Below is a few seconds later.

Got up at 4 to get to the pool for these shots, travelling petrol: $10

A can of WD40 to water proof the camera: $4.95*

Stand in front of an on coming wall of waves (and being scare sh#tless): PRICELESS

Make: Canon Model: Canon EOS 30D Focal length [mm]: 10 ISO value: 100 Shutter speed [s]: 1/5 Aperture: F11

*to use this, you sprey it onto a piece of cloth the wipe you camera with it, avoiding the lens and viewfinder….not sprey directly onto the camera….anything that repel moisture is good. It also stop salt sprey from clinging itself on the camera too.

Do whatever to get the shot right? This is me in the photo below taken by Tomhide. Wasn’t a bad capture actually, thank Tom.

Cokin’s Not-So-Neutral "Neutral Density" Filters, originally uploaded by Steffan Harries.

I’ve been using Cokin P-Series filters with the wide angle hold for a while now and it’s alright. I’d give it a six out of ten. If Cokin got they’re act together and fixed this colour cast problem then I’d give them ten out of ten! It’s the only thing holding them back and I fear it’s going to force me to replace my Cokin kit sooner or later. I’ve binned at least a dozen shots because of it and I’m not sure I can live with it anymore.

On the left is the unprocessed image as it came out of the camera with a huge pink/purple cast and on the right is the colour corrected image. For some images the warmer tone is nice but I’d rather have control over the toning of my photo rather than have them cast like this. This shot was taken using an ND4x and ND8x stacked over each other. Stacking NDs seems to make the cast more prominant but it’s pretty visible regardless of filter stacking.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’ve had some pretty decent photos from these filters and some have even been explored like this one and others that have done well that I’ve nearly binned like this. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh on Cokin but I’m tempted to move over to using Hitech filters because of this…and I’m not the only one!

It’s marmite. Some love it. Some hate it.

This session is only to display all the landscape pictures that i manage to capture during the last Perhentian Island vacation.Enjoy!!!

Masjid Kristal Kuala Terengganu

Hello….on the last 8th August 09..i got the chance to shot my friend’s wedding (Zulhelmi & Zarith) as my first experience. They are both also Malaysian Students in Germany and they hired a well known Photographer,Razali a.k.a Ayie,which is also my friend…..as their Official Photographer.So i took this opportunity to learn a little bit on how to shot a wedding from Ayie and it’s such a great experience!!There are also two other great photographers joining us in this session….Faiz and Azam a.k.a redcili.Thanks to you guys for such a great time!!!hehehe…

Date:8th August 2009

Location:Batu Pahat,Johor,Malaysia.

Special wish: SELAMAT PEGANTIN BARU.SEMOGA BERBAHAGIA KE ANAK CUCU.

On the last 28th July 09, i had a simple 1 hour photoshot with 2 of my friends which both are guitarist.So..we were having a great time during the photoshot which located at Flein,Germany.The gears i used are Nikon D300 with Tokina 11-16mm f 2.8 lens and a COKIN P121M filter to bring up the blue sky during the bright day.So..enjoy the shot and the moment.

You can see more picture in my flickr page.

]]> http://nineblades.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/sul-campo-recensione-filtri-cokin-p/ Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:23:32 +0000 9blades http://nineblades.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/sul-campo-recensione-filtri-cokin-p/

Finalmente tornato dalla vacanza Corsa, posso ora recensire brevemente il mio kit di filtri Cokin Serie P. Più avanti qualche dettaglio sul viaggio e i luoghi da visitare.

Prima di tutto, la composizione del kit:

• - portafiltri Serie P
• - anello adattatore P477 (77mm)
• - Graduated ND filters P120, P121S, P121 (ND8 ovvero 0.9)
• - ND filter P154 (ND 8 / 0.9)

Il montaggio e l’uso sono abbastanza semplici ed intuitivi, non sono molto ingombranti e possono essere usati a mano libera, anche se con qualche disagio. La costruzione è decente, anche se la resina da cui sono ricavati i filtri sembra esser sempre pronta a graffiarsi al primo colpo (eventualità abbastanza fattibile se non si fa attenzione, qualche volta hanno rischiato di cadere da scogli e mura..). La scorrevolezza della rotazione è buona, ma a volte routare il portafiltri può portare a svitare l’adattatore dalla lente..

Su APS-C e 17mm (28mm equivalente su FF), non è visibile vignettatura meccanica, se non una leggera accentuazione della vignettatura intrinseca dell’obiettivo ai diaframmi più aperti. Tuttavia la combinazione con un polarizzatore, può rendere la perdita di luce agli angoli, piuttosto drammatica.

Ma veniamo all’uso pratico. La combinazione più usata per scattare durante la mia vacanza, in condizioni di forti differenze di illuminazione tra cielo e terreno, è stata quella di due filtri GND 0.9 (ND8) che rimuovono 3 stop ognuno nella metà oscurata, variamente accoppiati nelle varie versioni a sfumatura soft o hard.  Questo nel caso di tramonti con il sole sopra l’orizzonte e all’alba, poco prima del suo sorgere; nelle ore centrali della giornata, sono totalmente inutili, vista la differenza abissale di illuminazione. Generalmente quindi, servono al loro scopo, livellando il livello di illuminazione della scena e consentendo un’unica esposizione rispetto alla tecnica HDR. I risultati sono, in linea di massima, più naturali e gradevoli di quest’ultima (sempre dopo un robusto postwork, s’intende).

Parlando dei difetti, o meglio, compromessi, che questi filtri presentano, non si può non notare una grande accentuazione del flare. Questo è stato parecchio visibile nei miei test, vista la quasi totale immunità del 17-40 in condizioni normali a questi difetti; è stato abbastanza sorprendente quindi, vedere anche nel mirino ghostling e riflessi multipli in caso di fonte di luce intensa (leggi – sole-) nell’inquadratura. Il problema non mi ha turbato eccessivamente, essendo possibile rimuovere quasi sempre i riflessi – dimensioni permettendo – durante il postwork. Se però i filtri si sporcano (a me è successo con il vento umido e salsedine..), pregate di veder ancora qualcosa nel mirino.. Prevedibile è stata invece la difficoltà di lavoro dell’AF, notevolmente rallentato dalla perdita di illuminazione  periferica (sono anzi stupito che funzionasse quasi sempre). Ad ogni modo, con live-view e treppiede, la questione è irrilevante.

Ciò che davvero invece mi ha deluso, è la neutralità dei filtri. Sapevo che i Cokin non sono il top nel campo (largamente sorpassati da Lee o anche Hitech..) ma non mi sarei aspettato una dominante magenta di questa intensità. In alcuni momenti, ho pensato di aver comprato dei filtri colorati. Non è un difetto totalmente sgradevole – all’alba o tramonto aiutano a colorare il cielo – ma è comunque grave la loro lontananza da quanto dichiarato dalla casa. Qui sotto si può vedere come la denominazione “neutral” sia tale solo nei più sfrenati sogni dei progettisti..

Graduated Neutral Density... 40D, 17-40L, f/16, 1/4 sec, +1/3 comp. esp. , iso 200.

In aggiunta, si nota una piacevole famigliola di flare variamente assortiti..

In ultima analisi, va considerata anche la necessità di qualche calcolo e tentativo per trovare l’esposizione corretta e soprattutto il numero e combinazione di filtri da usare, non sono un accessorio punta-e-scatta. Le mie impressioni finali, nonostante tutto, non sono negative, ma avrei gradito una maggiore qualità costruttiva e neutralità cromatica. Sono anche convinto che la loro resa massima si avrebbe su prospettive ancora più estreme e drammatiche, come un 14/16mm su FF, e con scenari di grande profondità e respiro. Per ovviare alla limitatezza di una focale pari a 28mm, sono spesso ricorso all’uso dei filtri e della fusione di più scatti contemporaneamente, per ottenere panoramiche ben inquadrate ed esposte.

PRO:

• facilità di uso e installazione
• scarso ingombro
• buoni risultati finali, ma solo se rielaborati accuratamente
• vignettatura trascurabile a 28mm, correggibile via software

CONTRO:

• assolutamente non neutrali, forte dominante magenta
• costruzione non eccelsa, la rotazione può portare al distacco del portafiltri

Valutazione: 6,5/10

Anext

As promised from earlier entry, here are some quick vignetting test of the Cokin Z-Pro used on the Sony 16-35mm f2.8. Here is a blank wall quick test of the setup. The Cokin-Z holder was configured to only hold 1 filter in this test.

With 77mm HOYA Slim Pro UV filter ON:

With 77mm HOYA Slim Pro UV filter OFF:

Conclusion drawn from the tests:
The Cokin-Z Pro system holder will definitely result in corner vignetting when stacked over a UV filter (slim one used in this test case). For best non vignetting(corner darkening), no UV filter at the front would be the best way to go – but as it could be seen that at 16mm without filter, the corners are still vignetting to a certain extent. How I wish I could make a beveled/chamfered edge on the 77mm Filter holder adapter – Cokin Could probably do this…ha..aha. However, based on my personal experience, do practice extra care when shooting in dune or sandy condition. Same goes to beaches with sandy fine sands and strong winds. Without UV filter on the front, the fine sand may get lodged on crevices and corners on the lens front. Be extra careful when cleaning the lens.

Another quick post.

I am currantly still waiting on UPS to bring my box containing a BG-E2N battery grip for my 30D. The box also contains a 77mm B + W Kaesemann circular polarizer and a Cokin Slim P filter holder. Hope the slim holder helps with a case of wide angle vignetting.

I stumbled across a new blog featuring Singh-ray filters, you can check it out: right here there are links scattered in for other photographers work

Speaking of filters, I have started to become interested in yet another filter, a standard neutral density filter, mostly for cutting down the light to capture movement of the clouds, as well as water. I have not decided how many stops I want yet, however.

With my recent surge of adding new goodies to my kit, my Lowepro AW nova 5 bag is stuffed to the brim, I had to evict a less used body from the bag so I had room for some of the more used objects, so I am thinking about a new bag. Actualy I think I am just going to find a pelican case to stash everything and use the nova for transport.

Photographed by annamon (Livin’ la Vida Loca)

View On Black

– License

My stuff I ordered last week came in a day earlier then predicted by B&H and UPS, which was a very nice suprise since I have to work tomorrow and the rest of the week, so I did get a chance to play around with some things, namely the Kenko extension tubes and a quick look at the Manfrotto 055xprob. I will give my thoughts a bit later when I have had more time with the but my first impressions of the tripod are, “WOW! So this is what a ‘real’ tripod feels like” The center colum is a trip since it can be removed and mounted sideways. The level is a nice touch, the little shell the level is mounted to looks a bit cheap, but its all good. The tripod is tall too, and if my camera had a grip on it, or I had a 1D series camera, I would need to shorten the legs on it. Infact I may have to shorten the legs on it just a bit anyway, since the eye piece of my 30D is just slightly above my eye level, I found my self on my tip toes trying to frame a shot. All in all, its a very nice tripod, so far I really dig what I see. I am also using the Manfrotto 488rc2 Midi ball  head with the set up. Just need to remember to HOLD THE LENS FIRST THEN release the ball

The Kenko tube set is very impressive and I was totaly caught off guard how close I needed to be to a subject. I have only test a couple combinations on the 70-200mm f/4L as well as the 50mm f/1.8 lens. So far, I like what I can do.

I also had a 77mm cokin adapter ring come in so that I can use the GND filters on the ultra wide. A 52-58mm step ring also came up so I can put filters on my 50mm f/1.8. Speaking of filters, I added a Singh-ray 2 stop REVERSE GND filter to my kit. I wanted the 3stop, but did not want to wait for weeks while I had the money burning a hole in my pocket I hope to put this filter to the test later on today.

Headington, Oxford | Minolta XD7 | MD 50 mm f/1.7 | Cokin close-up +2 filter

A macro shot taken with two +2 dioptre close-up filters – a screw-in one and a Cokin

A100 | Minolta 50 mm prime f/1.7 | 1/50 s | f/8 | ISO 200

Post-processing to reduce the red channel and try to make it more life like.

The base of what is probably “Extension Tube Set II” for the SR-T or MC/MD Minolta manual focusing system. The set comes in five parts: a bayonet base mount to camera body, three tubes (No 1, No 2, No 3), and a bayonet mount plate for the lens. No connections so everything is manual.

This picture was taken on an A100 and Minolta 50 mm f/1.7 prime with a Cokin Close Up +2 filter.

^{Slow tide receeding into the Pacific from Hungry Head (my local beach) on a cold Autumn’s afternoon. I didn’t think there was going to be much of a sunset or any colour in the sky for that fact, but then it pulled through just at the right time. It’s almost like a rainbow of its own. I hope you like it.}

Finally I have had some time to post something new. This is the first shot from my weekend down in Merimbula. It is a shot taken at short point, right near the cabin park I was staying,  just before sunrise. The sunrises weren’t that spectacular but still enjoyed getting out and taking a few shots, especially seeing as though sunrise was about 7am so it was almost like a sleep in.

I love autumn in Canberra, the weather is beautiful, there is very little wind and the light is starting to imrove greatly. It won’t be long before the colours in the leaves start to change as well which should open up some more opportunities.

Cheers

Filters are one of the benefits of owning a DSLR, but what are they, what do they do and do you need them?

Filters come in many shapes, sizes, colours types and prices but they all have one thing in common. They are all pieces of glass that you place in front of your camera lens to alter the light entering your camera. They attach via the thread on the front of your lens and most allow you to create different effects with your photos. Here are a few of the main types you will come across:

• UV and Clear – In the modern age of digital and coated lenses these are only really useful for protecting yor lens and there is a healthy debate to be had on whether they can cause more harm than good. Personally I don’t use them.
• Neutral Density – These are grey neutral filters that have no effect on the colour of the light entering the lens but do reduce the amount of it. These are mainly used to enable the effects of slow shutter speed such as motion blur to be used when there is a lot light about. I have a ND8 filter meaing it reduces the amount of light by a factor of 8 and love it for creating motion blur during the day.
• Graduated Neutral Desity – Simlar to the ND filter but only half the filter will reduce the amount of light. These are very useful when part of a scene, particularly the sky, is too bright to be exposed correctly with the rest of the scene. Great if you are a budding landscape snapper… like me! So I’ve got one of these as well.
• Circular Polorising Filter – This polarises the light before it enters the lens. I’m not going to try to explaing the science but if your are really interested this wikipedia page has all of the facts. In photography they are used to reduce refections and glare and enhance colours (particularly skys) in bright sunlight. A great tool to have, again mainly for landscapes but be prepared to shell out a few bob, I’ve got a really cheap one off eBay which creates some decidely dodgy colour casts in my photos. If your are going to buy a polarising filter make sure it is the circular type (the filter not physically) as you can get other types but they won’t create the effect you want.
• Coloured - Affect the colour of the light to suposedly enhace the photo. My view is why bother? You can create all of the effects just as well in photoshop without having to faf arround with bits of coloured glass.

As mentioned I have a ND filter, a graduated ND filter, both Cokin type P and a circlular polarising filter. I get the most use out of the ND as I’m a slow shutter speed junkie and the CPL rarely sees the light of day due to the dodgy quality.

I find filters are a really cheap and effective way to bring a bit of life and energy to your photos, allowing you to capture things you can achive with a naked lens and photoshop. At worst a bit of fun, at times absolutely indespensable.