2013-06-24T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
Perfect solution for wide angle lenses
I would easily give this product a 5 star review but there is one substantial drawback...
What's Good: The Lucroit filter holder is solidly built and very easy to attach to the lens, and when it is attached it is a very strong hold (I use this on a Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 with a full frame camera). The width of the holder is perfect for the 14mm focal point and there is no vignetting. Build quality is the best of any filter holder I have used which includes Lee and Cokin.
What's Bad: The only thing holding the Lucroit filter holder back is the filter quality and to a lesser extent the filter selection. I purchased the holder with the Hitech pro10 stop ND and a 1.2 stop soft grad ND filter. The big problem was with the 1.2 soft nd grad, It looked cheap, the case looked fake, and there was a distinctive warp. The filter was clearly not flat and the gradient also looked a bit crooked. The quality looks cheap compared to my 100mm Lee and Singh-Ray filters. I sent it back to Adorama and am awaiting the replacement to see if perhaps I just got a bad copy.
The 10 stop is pretty nice and works well but there is no case for it (there is a plastic sleeve but this will scratch the filter) and I am not sure but I thought the ND filters had a gasket to prevent light leakage, which my filter does not have this. The gasket is not a deal killer as light entering between the filter and holder could be a rare problem and you only need to hold your hand up and block the light if that is the case
There is also no US customer service, I emailed Hitech twice a week ago and they have not replied yet. I emailed Singh-Ray to see if they make filters at 165mm and they replied but currently do not make a product this big. There is no polarizer that fits the holder yet but hear there is one in the works.
Overall I am happy with the Lucroit filter holder and hopefully Hitech can step up to the plate and deliver a quality filter to go with the holder. I am happy with the 10 stop though and will see what happens when I get the grad filter replacement.
LetThereBeLight
