filter adaptor rings standard or wide angle

[robinb]

Lee filters make a standard and a wide angle adaptor ring for there filter system
with the wide angle sitting the filter close to the lens
why would you not want to do this
I can't see the point of the standard adaptor ring

Also has anybody tried "Formatt" filters

thanks

Robin

[Joanna Carter]

Lee filters make a standard and a wide angle adaptor ring for there filter system
with the wide angle sitting the filter close to the lens
why would you not want to do this
I can't see the point of the standard adaptor ring

The standard adapters are usually around half the price of the wide angle ones; the WA versions really aren't necessary until you get down to somewhere like the 72mm Super Angulon XL; so you get to save money on all the rest.

Also has anybody tried "Formatt" filters

I still have most of my filters from Formatt, but that was before they started to make magenta-tinted ND filters like Cokin do. But, I have always had Lee holders, even before becoming a dealer for Lee; they are much better than the Formatt holders and can be stacked to allow for polarisers and grads to be set at different angles.

[dave_whatever]

I used Formatt/Hitech filters in 85mm size before I happened upon a load of Lee gear on the cheap. I was very happy with them and would probably otherwise be still using them. If you're using 85mm filters then Hitech are a no-brainer - they cost the same as Cokin but are a thousand times better quality. They still do have a slight colour to them but its nowhere near as bad as Cokins. For example a 3-stop cokin grad is like shooting through a purple Quality Street wrapper. On the other hand I quite often shot through 6 stops of hitechs with no objectionable effects. They do have a slight colour visible on testing, but then again so do Lee (albeit less pronounced).

One good thing about the Hitechs is their soft graduation is nowhere near as soft as Lee's. I sold my Lee softs because they had so soft a transition they were almost unusable since I don't have any wide lenses with huge front elements. If anyone else has this problem they would do well to look at the Hitech filters.

On the subject of the WA Lee rigns, they do have some downsides other than the inflated price. Because they are recessed they reduce the space between the back of the ring and the lensboard, which can be at a premium if you're using lenses which are quite short front to back - it can make it tricky to change the shutter/aperture. An alternative to the WA rings is to use a larger size standard ring on a normal cheap step-up ring. I ended up doing this with my 65mm lens (more out of accident then anything else) and I get no reduction in image circle, plus it leaves me more room to change shutter speeds etc. Although it does make the lens take up more space in my bag by about a cm compared to WA rings.

Also although not of a concern to LF users, but if you're using them on SLR lenses where the focus ring sits right at the front of the lens the Lee WA rings can prevent you focusing out to infinity. A mate of mine had this problem with a 82mm ring on his medium format tilt/shift lens.

[Joanna Carter]

They still do have a slight colour to them but its nowhere near as bad as Cokins. For example a 3-stop cokin grad is like shooting through a purple Quality Street wrapper. On the other hand I quite often shot through 6 stops of hitechs with no objectionable effects. They do have a slight colour visible on testing, but then again so do Lee (albeit less pronounced).

The amount of colour cast on Formatt filters will depend on when you bought them. The ones I bought over four years ago were fine but, according to several people, the more recent ones are a lot worse.