[The Madshutter]

Hello everyone! Following to my Best Filters for Landscape Photography review, I went and tested 6 filter holders from those same brands as well. Filter holders are an extremely important piece of equipment for me, finding one that is as easy as possible to carry, that makes my workflow as easy as possible and that works well in keeping stray light off my images is paramount. This review proved truly interesting for me first; here are my results, hoping you'll find them interesting as well:

BEST 100MM FILTER HOLDER | Vieri Bottazzini

Enjoy the read, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Best regards,

Vieri

[pschlute]

No Lee filters ?

[AggieDad]

Thanks for the link. I found your write-up informative and useful.

[biz-engineer]

Very interesting, especially regarding the filter system that don't vignette.

I noticed that neither Cokin nor Lee filters were part of the evaluation.

Personally I have owned and used Cokin, Haida and Nisi, so far, my conclusions are:

Cokin:
As beginner I originally owner some Cokin creative kit, but it was very cheap (no glass), not even worth selling it used. I upgraded to Cokin Z pro with Nuance and Nuance extreme glass, and that glass is top notch, better than Lee filter glass, the best I've ever used (fully neutral, no fringing, sharp), but Z pro filter older is very cheap and vignette.

Haida:
Haida filter holders in principle should work, it's very thin, but practically not easy to use, threaded aluminium frame too thin. Haida 150mm glass is OK, quite neutral, but coating isn't great, fringes on wide angle against strong light.

Nisi:
I use the V5 / 150mm filter holder, works great to easily insert/remove filters plates, thanks to lateral springs force, unlike most other filter holders that pinch glass edges

Now, I've just seen that Cokin offer a new and magnetic filter holder + frames that can (apparently) take Nuance glass filters. Eventually I can upgrade my filter holder for not too much money and keep using Cokin Pro glass filters.

---------- Post added 19-08-21 at 08:48 ----------

A few years back , Lee filters were quite popular, but have strong color cast (big stopper), which, by today standards isn't good anymore. Especially with 10 stops filter, correcting color cast requires an extra time consuming step of long exposure with a white balance card.

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Last edited by biz-engineer; 08-18-2021 at 11:49 PM.

[pinholecam]

Really nice review, touching on all the practical and technical aspects of shooting with the filters and their holders.


I am too sunk in costs w/ my current filters (a messy mix of screw ons and Laowa holder ), but a good friend I regularly shoot with uses the H&Y and I feel that they are the best with the magnetic holding system.
I shoot mostly with 6-10 stop ND and its a pain to slot the filter into my Laowa holder (which also applies to most slot in filters).
Not only do I need to be careful with moving the setup/framing while inserting/removing the filter, I am also often afraid that the tightness of the filter insertion/removal causes the some part to fall down from the building I am taking the cityscape from (and potentially causing death/injury ).

[The Madshutter]

No Lee filters ?

No, I decided to examine only brands producing Grad ND, ND and polarizer in 100mm size in glass, and Lee is not one of them.

Thanks for the link. I found your write-up informative and useful.

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed the read!

Very interesting, especially regarding the filter system that don't vignette.

I noticed that neither Cokin nor Lee filters were part of the evaluation.

Personally I have owned and used Cokin, Haida and Nisi, so far, my conclusions are:

Cokin:
As beginner I originally owner some Cokin creative kit, but it was very cheap (no glass), not even worth selling it used. I upgraded to Cokin Z pro with Nuance and Nuance extreme glass, and that glass is top notch, better than Lee filter glass, the best I've ever used (fully neutral, no fringing, sharp), but Z pro filter older is very cheap and vignette.

Haida:
Haida filter holders in principle should work, it's very thin, but practically not easy to use, threaded aluminium frame too thin. Haida 150mm glass is OK, quite neutral, but coating isn't great, fringes on wide angle against strong light.

Nisi:
I use the V5 / 150mm filter holder, works great to easily insert/remove filters plates, thanks to lateral springs force, unlike most other filter holders that pinch glass edges

Now, I've just seen that Cokin offer a new and magnetic filter holder + frames that can (apparently) take Nuance glass filters. Eventually I can upgrade my filter holder for not too much money and keep using Cokin Pro glass filters.

---------- Post added 19-08-21 at 08:48 ----------

A few years back , Lee filters were quite popular, but have strong color cast (big stopper), which, by today standards isn't good anymore. Especially with 10 stops filter, correcting color cast requires an extra time consuming step of long exposure with a white balance card.

Glad you found it useful! About Cokin & Lee, I decided to examine only brands producing Grad ND, ND and polarizer in 100mm size in glass, and neither Cokin nor Lee are among them.

Really nice review, touching on all the practical and technical aspects of shooting with the filters and their holders.

I am too sunk in costs w/ my current filters (a messy mix of screw ons and Laowa holder ), but a good friend I regularly shoot with uses the H&Y and I feel that they are the best with the magnetic holding system.
I shoot mostly with 6-10 stop ND and its a pain to slot the filter into my Laowa holder (which also applies to most slot in filters).
Not only do I need to be careful with moving the setup/framing while inserting/removing the filter, I am also often afraid that the tightness of the filter insertion/removal causes the some part to fall down from the building I am taking the cityscape from (and potentially causing death/injury ).

Glad to hear that your friend's experience with the N&Y mirrors my conclusions - a really well thought out system, great working holder and wonderful filters as well.

Best regards,

Vieri

[biz-engineer]

Glad you found it useful! About Cokin & Lee, I decided to examine only brands producing Grad ND, ND and polarizer in 100mm size in glass, and neither Cokin nor Lee are among them.

Cokin offer a range of filters, from entry level (Creative series) to Pro series. Cokin Pro series filters are glass filters (Schott Glass B270, known for high transmittance and low reflections), the nuance and nuance extreme series available in 100mm (L) and 130mm (XL) formats, and the filters themselves are top notch (significantly better than Formatt Hitec). Cokin is a pioneer in camera filters, it's a French company that was created by Jean Coquin in 1978. They are in Paris, perhaps they could be interested to have you as their ambassador, they are Europeans like Hasselblad and Phase One.

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Last edited by biz-engineer; 08-20-2021 at 05:10 AM.

[The Madshutter]

Cokin offer a range of filters, from entry level (Creative series) to Pro series. Cokin Pro series filters are glass filters (Schott Glass B270, known for high transmittance and low reflections), the nuance and nuance extreme series available in 100mm (L) and 130mm (XL) formats, and the filters themselves are top notch (significantly better than Formatt Hitec). Cokin is a pioneer in camera filters, it's a French company that was created by Jean Coquin in 1978. They are in Paris, perhaps they could be interested to have you as their ambassador, they are Europeans like Hasselblad and Phase One.

Hello, thank you for your message. I know Cokin very well, it's the first brand of filters I used, back when they offered the (abysmal quality) resin filters only. I checked them out after your heads-up, and noticed the new NX series holder and the new line of Nuances Extreme filters, which might prove interesting. I'll definitely contact them and see if they are interested in being included in the review.

Best regards,

Vieri

[biz-engineer]

I know Cokin very well, it's the first brand of filters I used, back when they offered the (abysmal quality) resin filters only.

Yes, it's true , I had the same experience , back 10 years ago, Cokin filters were made of some kind of plastic, the creative series still are.

[The Madshutter]

Yes, it's true , I had the same experience , back 10 years ago, Cokin filters were made of some kind of plastic, the creative series still are.

Indeed. It's good to see that they are stepping up their game!

Best regards,

Vieri