Lee and Hitech Filter System Preview

I finally have gotten my hand on the Lee Foundation Kit square filter holder. Lee are experiencing such great demands for the holder that warehouseexpress.com is anticipating a twenty week waiting list to get one. Fortunately after corresponding with the great people over at hawksphotovideo.co.uk I managed to get myself one before I head off to Iceland for a brief family trip. The kit seems very sturdy and well made. It comes in a nice carrying case - which actually seems a bit big for the holder if anything - and also a screwdriver and some additional plastic holders that if you install them would allow you to use 3 filters at any one time (comes installed to hold two by default). I also ordered the wide-angle adaptor which basically allows me to attach the holder to me 77mm threaded lenses.

I also just received delivery of two filters which I will use with the Lee holder. I chose to go with some 'Hitech' filters made by formatt.co.uk as they were cheaper than the equivalent Lee filters and get pretty good reviews on the web. To start with I ordered their 10stop ND (neutral density) filter and a 0.6 soft GND (graduated neutral density).

The 10 stop filter - which is closer to opaque than translucent like most filters is one of the reasons I decided to get a filter kit as it would enable me to force long shutter speeds even when it is relatively bright - perfect for smoothing out water movement in waterfalls and the sea or for producing some lovely dynamic movement of clouds. The 10stop comes with a foam gasket around the edge which properly seals it to the holder and stops any light leaks which might spoil the long exposures. It also comes in a nice little case which should help protect it a bit.

For the GND I actually went for the larger 150x100 sized filter - so it is actually rectangular rather than square. This will allow me to have a bit more control over where I place the graduation point in the picture. One thing to not is that the transition in this soft GND seems very gradual - and I remember reading that even the hard Hitech GNDs are quite soft.

One of the most important things for me was whether the kit would work on my 10-20mm lens without vignetting - and initial testing seems to confirm that it does - so very happy with that.

Now all I have to do is get out and test the kit in the field! I hope it is less rainy in Iceland than it is here in the UK at the moment.

Kata Bumblebee UL-222 Review

Now I've had a chance to use it - here's a quick review and some pictures of my new photo backpack - the Kata Bumblebee UL-222.

For a while now I've used a Tamrac Expedition 7 to cart my gear around. It's great because it fits almost all my equipment in and is pretty comfortable. However it is very bulky, quite heavy empty, and isn't so well designed for carrying other general items for day use. It also is VERY hot to wear in warm conditions.

So I was looking for a lightweight pack that could carry 80% of my gear plus had storage options for jackets/food  over long distances - and ideally I wanted an airflow back. So after much research the best option seemed to be - buy a regular daypack and build a padded insert for the camera stuff, or get the new Bumblebee UL-222. Nowhere around me stocked the Kata, but I found a decent price online and my dad's old Kata has served him well, so I decided to go ahead and order it.

All things considered it does everything I want it to. It certainly is very light and the straps and padding are very comfortable. When the bag is full it weighs upwards of 16kg and so long as you set the straps correctly it doesn't feel too heavy. The waist straps aren't the most supportive i've used but for their size and weight they do a good job at distributing some of the weight onto your hips.

The airflow mesh back does seem to work very well in helping keep your back a bit drier and cooler - though i've not yet used it in any really hot and humid conditions (waiting until tropical Queensland for that). It also acts as another layer of 'padding' for the back laptop compartment - which is quite a tight fit and might suffer from a bit of stressing if your back was pressing directly against it.

Inside there is ample room for most of my equipment - certainly enough to cater for most trips. For my USA/Australia trips I fit in:

The only real downsides so far as I have noticed is the omission of anywhere very convenient to keep spare batteries and CF cards. I keep mine in the small side pocket - but it doesn't seem very well organised when everything is in there. The second thing is the bottom 'wings' formed from the curve of the back frame. These are mildly annoying when you have your camera hang by the strap from your shoulder during use - as the camera tends to knock into them and it is a bit harder to hold the camera against your side without it doing so. It also seems like they are prone to wear. When you put the bag down the bottom of the frame on these points takes a large portion of the bag's weight - and already the material on those points is starting to wear just from the bit of rubbing you get from setting down/picking up the bag. What it needed was a bit of a plastic cover just on those points.

As for the size of the bag, it seems smaller from the outside than it's carrying capacity would suggest. I think this is partly due to the styling  (I'm still slightly split over the white and grey colour rather than something darker- as yes it has started to get a bit grubby). I've taken the bag on both large aeroplane international flights and smaller internal ones and have had no problems so far with size. It fits up in the overhead compartment fine and underneath the seat in front (a bit of a squeeze) on most flights. Just thankful no-one has asked to weigh it...

(left: Tamron Expedition 7, centre: Kata Bumblebee UL-222, right: Lowepro minitrekker classic)

Generally though very happy. Its a lightweight bag that is comfortable in tough conditions and under heavy loads. It is versatile too and can double as a decent sized daypack - especially as the camera portion can be removed and the two largest sections joined by unzipping a divider.

I didn't have opportunity (thankfully!) to test the waterproof cover which is provided as I only had a few showers whilst out using the bag. Even without the cover though the bag is pretty well sealed and for the brief rain nothing inside got damp. Even in some minor sand and dust storms the inside remained very clean.

It might be pricey, but for the general build quality and features, I think it has been worth it.