to HDF or not to HDF, that is the question.

[asaulo1]

Cheers. Just getting into the GR iii family and wanted to know, HDF or not? I see that locally there is a GRiii urban edition and a GRiii HDF currently available. Not sure which one would be good to start off with. Initially I was thinking the griiix but that seems to be pretty hard to come by even online. I normally shoot a Fuji X100s (yes, that old) and a Oly OMD EM10mkii. thanks for you thoughts.

 

[Woodman]

Depends what you want. GRiii has an incredible lens, so the point of putting over a filter that if we were using seperate filters I would hardly ever use is questionable IMHO. The standard ND filter is really useful to shoot wide open in bright light and used all the time, so much more useful for me.

 

[C_h_e_s_t_e_r]

You basically need to choose between convenient use of f/2.8 in bright sunlight (benefit of the up to 2 stop ND filter in original models) versus the look of the HDF filter in the HDF model.

The latter is something that is only subjectively useful, and depends on whether or not you like the look that a diffusion filter brings.

I don't even like the look so I didn't think I'd care for that option at all, so sticking with a model with the ND filter was an easy choice for me. For some people, the built-in ND filter is of very limited use because it's not strong enough for slow shutter speeds for motion blurring creativity, and I guess because they care less about f/2.8 in bright conditions.

I suggest you do some searches for sample photos with/without the HDF filter to see if you like the look of that.

 

[asaulo1]

thanks for your thoughts. I ended up getting the GR iii street edition. However, I haven't had the chance to shoot with it yet as I've been learning the different nuances of the camera such as snap focus, image recipes, etc. Here's an unboxing vid for those who are into ASMR. Cheers.

 

[snoopybris]

I'll bet that was very, very exciting.