Login or Join Now
New to ePHOTOzine? Join ePHOTOzine for free!
Popular Pages
Contribute
Browse ePHOTOzine
- News
Browse News
- Directories
Browse Directories
- Forums
Browse Forums
- Reviews
Browse Reviews
- Photos
Contribute
Popular Pages
Awards
Browse Galleries
- Techniques
Browse Section
- ePHOTOzine
Browse Section
- Store
Browse Store
Popular Pages
Contribute
- Community
Browse Community
- Videos
Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
10 Stop Filter HiTech, LEE ? ......or both
193 (309)A bit of a departure from the recent themes... but I was a bit cheesed off with LEE today..
Back in April, I was on Anglesey when I heard that horrible sound of my LEE big stopper hitting the rocks and shattering into 1000 pieces.
I trudged back to the hotel, calling myself all the expletives you could think. But I thought oh well, just log on and order another from Warehouse Express, which I did. Well 3 months later I e-mailed them to ask for a progress report for the order (yes I know there's a waiting list) - but was told it will be a MINIMUM of another 6-7 months. Well I thought I would check with LEE - and Yes they will not be getting any new deliveries until December and are turning away all new business. Not exactly a good way of keeping business running a waiting list of 10 months.
Some are aware that I'm not a great fan of HiTech from some forum posts - I've had problems with magenta castes caused from IR contamination in the past, but I thought, oh well, most of my work will be in mono anyway so I thought I would get the HiTech one as an interim measure. Turns out they have listened to customers, they've gone back to the drawing board, and have brought out a range of "Big Stoppers" - not glass, but plastic but with IR protection in-built. And a couple of reviews I've seen to date are encouraging - on par if not slightly better than LEE.
Well I took the plunge, ordered one, only time will tell if they are any good. I've kept my order on for the LEE, whilst I check out the HiTech. The lead times are pretty good too "allow 28 days for delivery".
When it comes I will give it a quick spin close to home and post the results with a mini review here (if anyones interested).
As an aside I had just got the hang of the big stopper, and was planning a few projects that weren't strictly landscapes, so I will be using the HiTech instead.
..well thats it for today.
Comments
From LEE's website
Quote: We are in the fortunate position of having experienced an unprecedented demand for our filters over the past 18 months
I have been using LEE filters since 1995 and do not have a bad word for the quality of their filters but I just get that feeling there is a wider issue than their statement implies.
Jeff I think you are right. The quality is second to none. However when you can't get a product for over 9 months people will look elsewhere. It's such a shame. That said I will keep the order on with the Lee big stopper. I'm pretty certain they don't make it themselves so are at the behest of other suppliers.
I will give the Hitech filter a good go.
.No problem. I suppose some obvious questions really.
It would be interesting to hear how durable you think it is. Being plastic, while it should easily survive a drop, it could be prone to scuffs and scratches so an opinion on how resistant it is to these would be of help.
Also how neutral it is and if it causes a slight colour shift, either warmer or cooler.
I found a review here which reported the older type suffered from flare problems so it would be good to know if they have solved this. Also, the reviewer had an accident with his lee big stopper too. Some info on the hitec's case would be of interest.
Many thanks.
Eddie.
I'm going the Lee route because their quality is second to none, I'm waiting for delivery of the SW 150 any day now for use on my 14-24 Nikkor. It was ordered back in October, via Dale Photographic. Sadly it comes with a hard grad ND, so I've ordered an in stock soft grad (much better for landscape) as well. I also have a HiTech big stopper coming - for use on my IR converted D100 , I use a 17-35 Nikkor on that - hope to post some results early in the New Year.... Happy New Year to all. Andy.
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
