Description

Vinny Colucci Extended Grad Filter — Specially designed by Singh-Ray Ambassador and Technical Advisor, Vinny Colucci — and developed by Singh-Ray to solve a common lighting challenge for landscape photographers.

Unlike the Galen Rowell filter, the Extended filter design is a soft grad that covers more sky and foreground area (approximately 25mm of condensed density). When the sky is large such as over an ocean, or complex with sky and foreground subjects, a soft feather from top to bottom creates a natural transition of keeping the exposure contained.

The typical soft grad filter is dark along the top end of the filter (approximately 15mm of condensed density). It is placed over the bright part of the sky to even out the exposure with the rest of the scene. This works very well in somewhat even lighting at early morning or the end of the day when you have lower warm light.

When the light is not perfect and you have a large sky area to balance with your foreground, your typical grad filter may not cover enough of the scene. The smaller strip at the top of the filter doesn’t feather down enough into the scene.

My recommendation is the 3-stop and/or 4 stop Extended Grad Filters. Because of the extended dynamic range of these filters, you have a large adjustment range. The 3-stop version goes from about 3-stops down to 1 ½ stops and the 4-stop from 4 stops at the top down to 1 ¾ toward the lower portions of the filter, just before it turns clear.

QUICK TIPS:

• I prefer to use filter holders to hold my 100X150mm filters in front of the lens. I keep the number of slots to two slots as I don’t like stacking more than two filters in a holder to minimize vignetting.
• Also using a filter holder helps you not to scratch or damage your filters. The third and most important reason to me, it slows my whole process down. This forces me to look longer at my scene improving my composition.
• Another technique is to hand hold the filter in front of your lens. This is quicker and easier to do but be aware your filter needs to be right up to the lens front element. Adjusting the filter can and will cause scratches over time causing you to have to replace the filter.

Without Filter

With Vinny Colucci Extended Grad Filter

With Vinny Colucci Extended Grad Filter

Without Filter