Lee filters..........my new little habit.

The Big Stopper blocking out the sun...

After years of not owning a filter system, I started to use Lee filters.

I find the ND and the ND grad filters particular useful.

As a result I can be seen on a regular basis scrabbling round in the bargain basement bins of the camera retail world looking for that bargain.

I now have quite a collection for all occasions.

But the rare and obscure filter, which was bought to my attention on this blog by Sean Bolton, had eluded me for a few months.

The Lee filters 'Big Stopper' which as the name suggests is a big stopper of light. It is a 10 stop ND filter, yes that's right 10 stops.

 Because the filter is fixed you don't get the optical issues which can manifest themselves with a Vario ND filter, no matter how much you pay for one.

After leaving my name on a couple of waiting lists for a couple of months Robert White finally came up with the goods, though I had to pay in advance to secure the order.

I hear word that Lee Filters maybe getting on top of  the somewhat problematic matter of the supply of their filters sorted out following more staff being employed.

Let's hope so, as supply issues seem to be the only thing standing in the way of this great little company going from strength to strength (in fact I was chatting to the guys from Lee filters at 'Focus on Imaging' and yes production has gone up but demand continues to outstrip supply by some margin....sigh)

I will be using the 'Big Stopper' on a moving image shoot I'm doing combining the Canon 5D MKII, for all the cool, special detail shots, and the brilliant Canon XF305 for the rest.

It is easy to see why this video camera has been such a big hit with Broadcasters and production companies alike, and it is now on the BBC approved camera list and I hear they have bought a large quantity of them.

I will post the results of the final edit shortly.