I have a hiking trip to Northern AZ and Southern UT coming up in a few weeks, and that has finally motivated me to buy filters for the Nikon lens I purchased last November for my digital SLR. I've pretty well decided on the circular polarizer (72 mm Nikon CPL II) and protection/UV filter (72mm Hoya Digital Pro 1), but I'm having a hard time deciding on which graduated neutral density filter to pick up. (I've never played with one before, but I'm tired of fighting the bright sky/dark earth problem without help.) A few specific points I've been pondering:
1) Circular screw mount vs. filter glass with filter holder?
2) Which brand? I've been looking primarily at the Hoya Digital Pro 1 and the Tiffen for circular filters. The filter holder approach allows some other options, with Singh-Ray being one well regarded solution.
3) Most useful number of stops - 1, 2 or 3 (I'm leaning toward 2)
Something to consider - virtually every time I use these filters, I'm going to be out hiking. I don't want to deal with extra bulk and weight unless it is really worth it. Durability is important for the same reason, although I think I'll pick up a filter pouch to ease the transport problem.
If anyone has any thoughts, I'd very much appreciate the input. Thanks!