Buyers’ guide
PRICE: £25 PHOTOTEQ.COM
PRICE: FROM£179.99
INTRO2020.CO.UK
Hoya ProND Filter kit
Filter experts, Hoya, recently introduced this new set of screw-fit filters aimed at giving amatuer or professional photographers a range of high-quality NDs that can help out in almost any situation. The set includes three NDs, an ND8 (three-stop), ND64 (six-stop) and ND1000 (ten-stop) filter and a tidy folding, padded case.These ProND filters aremade in Japan using high-quality glass and have Hoya’sACCU-NDmetallic coating technology applied to the front and rear to equally reduce light (including infrared, which cheaper filters don’t block) with a perfectly neutral colour balance. Like the wider range of Hoya’s ProND filters (which runs fromND2 to ND100,000), the set is available from49mm to 82mm threads, and uses low- profile aluminium frames to avoid any vignetting in pictures.With great neutrality and front-filter threads, the filters can also be stacked,multiplying the light-stopping effect.
PRICE: £199
BENROFILTERS.COM
PRICE: £142
FORMATT-HITECH.COM
Formatt-HiTech Firecrest 100mmFilter Holder kit
H&Y’s Quick Release Magnetic Filter Frame system is a great way of upgrading your existing filter set-up to improve its handling. Regular square filter systems use slots into which you insert the resin or glass filters. But with this kit you can add and remove filters using magnets, which is a lot faster and has other benefits, too. The kit comes withmagnetic adapter strips to add around your 100mmor 150mm filters, and adapters for most popular filter holders, including those from Lee Filters, Formatt- HiTech, B+W, Nisi and H&Y’s own K Series holder. Filters then attach on contact, are held securely, but slip up and down with a little pressure when you need to adjust the position of a graduated ND. Due to the magnetised design, you can stack multiple filters in a gapless way to avoid light leaks, and because the frames aren’t much thicker than the filters themselves, more can be used without vignetting. Frames cost £23 and £25 respectively, and each comes with a case and cleaning cloth. The adapter strips for the holder are £15. H&YQuick Release Magnetic Filter Frame system
This holder is aimed at preventing the kind of light leaks that can ruin long- exposure photography. Lots of holder systems, including the Firecrest 100mm, use a foamor felt gasket that sits up against filters to block any light creeping in, but the Firecrest takes it further with a matte black two- part cover, that snaps neatly over the more regular-looking holder when required. To adapt the covers between 100x100mm and 150x100mm filters, the kit has one set of solid end caps and one set of vented end caps that clip into the main covers, the latter’s vents allowing grads to be moved. The holder itself, which offers two bays, also includes an internal mount for the included 82mm Firecrest circular polariser and a geared mechanism to rotate it. The main adapter ring is for 82mm threads, but the kit includes stepping rings 67mm, 72mm and 77mm threads. And it all comes in a decent pouch to keep the kit together.
When you’re using ultra wide-angle zoom and prime lenses, you’ll often find that they have integrated lens hoods and bulbous front elements that won’t allow regular screw-on or filter holders to be used. Fortunately, there are bespoke filter holders available for these lenses, including those in Benro’s 150mm system. The front section of the FH-150 holder, which is identical on all versions, takes 150mm wide 2mm thick glass or resin filters, and has room for three filters or two when a 150mm circular polariser is in place. The latter turns easily using a dial on top of the holder. In the kit, you also get a rear section to the filter, which is adapted to fit individual models and hold the front section secure. There are versions to fit popular wide-angle lenses like the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, Sigma 12-24mm f/4, Sony FE 12-24mm f/4, Canon 14mm f/2.8L and Tamron 15- 30mm f/2.8, as well as others. You can also buy adapters to use the holder on regular lenses, so you don’t need to run two systems. Benro 150mm holder system
34 Photography News | Issue 73
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