Cokin filter sets, yay or nay? 5 reasons why it’s a good investment and my modification

Cokin Filter Set

I have always loved Cokin filters, the high quality of the products and a mount that fits all sizes of lens makes it a great investment for all photographers who regularly use filters. The reason for this article is due to a conversation I had with The University of Winchester lecturer Richard Trebilcock who is always an interesting man to talk to about anything related to cameras, due to his experience in this field. Anyway, we began talking about filters and if there is a need for them with all the post process filters and gradients. To some extent I agree with this as colour and effects filters can usually be applied in post with more control and the ability to turn them off ( that’s always nice) BUT I tend to only really use ND, polarizing and UV filters that apart from a few stops of exposure cannot easily be mimicked in post. After this conversation I decided I would create a list of why my Cokin filter set is still a valuable addition to my kit.

1.       Control over sky exposure using ND (neutral density) filters has to be the No.1 reason for me to reach for my filter set. Tip 1 is to try pushing a standard ND filter halfway into the holder, this creates a better contrast line for your horizon (this will only work for some photos e.g. Seascapes but try it out as you never know till you try)

2.       Daytime Long exposures. Some if not all my favourite photos of rivers and the sea use long exposures to create that fluffy look. When shooting in the day this look is almost impossible to achieve without an ND filter. The Cokin filter set allows you to invest in one good filter and use it on every lens you own.

3.       fit all my lenses

4.       Custom mount. As you may know I do a lot of experimental photography and some of which requires me to mount things such as Custom Bokeh shapes to the front of my lens. I simply cut the shapes out of card and side them into the Cokin filter holder.

 

5.       Fits all my old round Filters?!?! Filter adapter!!

Universal Round Filter Mod

Yep you heard me! Before I invested in the Cokin filter set I used standard round filters and as I already had polarizing filters never got the Cokin one. Anyway I had a car shoot planned and suddenly realized my polarizing filter for that thread size was damaged. This is when I had a stroke of genius and realized that I could just mount them to my Cokin holder.

 What you need:

·         I round filter (bigger size the better)
·         The Cokin holder with the mounting ring for the lens you want to use
·         The Cokin mounting ring for the tread size of the filter

 

Universal Round Filter Mod

What to do:
Simply mount the holder on the lens then screw the round filter onto the other mounting ring. Next just slide the round filter with the mounting ring into the holder and you are ready to go with no damage to any of the products. If you own Cokin mounting rings for all your lenses the chances are you have a mounting ring for your round filter size anyway.

If you are new to Cokin filters I recommend looking at the 3rd party sets like this one. They are very affordable and a good stepping stone to professional filters.

24pcs Square Full + Graduated Filter Set + 9 Size Adapter Ring for Cokin P LF78

hope this helps everyone interested.

AlexAndrews

Aperture Shape & Custom Bokeh blur

Have you ever looked at the out-of-focus areas in an image and wondered why all objects and more notably objects like a lights blur in a round shape?  Playing with my Camera Obscura got me thinking about aperture shape and Bokeh blur.  I think it is important to know that the out-of-focus parts of an image actually acquire the shape of the aperture. This got me thinking about creating a custom aperture shape. As I don’t fancy opening a lens up, its possible to mound an aperture modification to the front of a lens much like a filter, just so long as the new aperture is smaller than the original aperture in the lens(if not the shape is clipped by the old aperture). The only real problem is that once the new aperture is mounted, the original aperture becomes obsolete, so control over the aperture is lost. It’s also important to remember the max aperture will be stopped down a few (depending on the size of your shape) as this is now your new aperture. This becomes annoying as this whole project is about creating Depth of Field and out of focus areas.

So where to start?

I wanted to start simple, so just used some card that I cut to the size of my Cokin filters. This way I was able to mount them easily. In the center for each card, I cut my new aperture shapes and then could just slide them into my Cokin Filter Holder.

Bokeh Filter and Standard Bokeh Shape

Let’s Take Some Shots

I found that my 50mm f/1.8 was the best choice of lens and simply whacked it out-of-focus and took some photos of some old Christmas lights.

What I Found

1.       The more out-of-focus an image is, the larger the shape shows. This allows you to control the size, but only when none of your image needs to be focused. Obviously ,when shooting with part of your image in-focus, depth of field controls/limits this

2.       Using a Cokin filter holder is a good way to mount the aperture filters

3.       As the filter becomes your new aperture exposure and DoF will be affected

4.       It’s worthwhile to make nice filters once and keep them in your bag

While searching online I also came across some pre made “creative aperture kits” like this one below. I Have not had a chance to try them yet but defiantly worth a look.
Lensbaby Creative Aperture Kit

AlexAndrews

Hobby Craft A1 Foam Core for Studio Backgrounds & reflector



Teddy Taken on the Red Background

Had what feels like the longest week ever but over the weekend managed to make it to Hobby Craft that’s always good for anyone creative. While there I picked up some A1 sheets of Foam Core board that I am using for product shot backgrounds. I also picked up a bit that is reflective silver on one side and white one the other that makes for a perfect bounce card reflector for the studio, they also sell a gold one. Being rigid also makes it easy for a model to hold it when shooting clamshell light portraits. All in all well worth the trip, here are 3 photos I took to test my backdrops out.








If you are new to using reflectors you really need to have a go, as manipulating natural light is a cheap and easy way to improve your photos and learn the basics of light. There is also nothing wrong with cheaper reflectors like this one. 43" Collapsible Disc Reflector for Studio or On-Site Use 

I use reflectors like this all the time and having zip on Silver, gold, white and black panels make it perfect for most situations. A transparent centre also makes it an easy flash diffuser when other options are unavailable.

AlexAndrews

Coke Taken on the Black Background

Milk Splash



Home-Made Softbox

think all photographers need to have an inventive attitude and the ability to create solutions to any problem. I have always liked making things and I am sure you will discover just how much as I develop this blog. Anyway my Uni room is small, like really small and setting up big studio equipment for little photos is a little pointless in such a small space.

Home-made Softbox

What I wanted was a small softbox for a speedlight that I could use for small product shoots. I decided I would use the same card as my Camera Obscura as it was dense and has a white side. This would be ideal for the softbox as it would reflect all usable light. I cut the card into 4 parts to make each side of my softbox and joined them using cable ties like little stiches. I them taped the joints using gaffa tape to remove light leeks. At the bottom of my softbox I left a whole that the head of my SB-900 would fit into. As a diffuser panel I used white cotton and added hooks to each corner so I could clip it to the front of my softbox. The whole product only took about an hour.

I am really happy about how this turned out and it works well as a quick light modifier when working in small spaces. Hope this helps anyone who was looking to make a softbox and please comment and link me some photos of your examples.

AlexAndrews