Dozy newbie questions....tele /wide /macro lens....do I need?

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SarahB

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I've been looking at accessories to go with my new camera (Fuji S5500) and I wondered if/when I need to invest (give a girl an excuse to shop!!)

The ones I have seen are a 2x or 3x telephoto lens; a 0.45x wide angle lens and a 10x macro lens.

Also I have seen for sale filters: UV; PL; F-DL what are these for?

Sorry to ask daft questions!!

:thankyous

Sarah
 
I guess the PL filter will be a Polariser. These are a must-have for any shots involving the sky as they deepen the colour and make it look more dramatic. Most people here will have good examples of usage. Milou's definitely got some.

The other stuff will depend on what you use the camera for. If you want to take pics of stuff far away, invest in a telephoto jobby. If you want to take pics of stuff close up, invest in a macro jobby. For landscapes a wide angle will be useful.
 
The UV filter is really just used to protect the lens, it helps keep dust etc. off the surface of it and it's always better to scratch a filter than the lens :)

The addon lenses, unless you buy very good (expensive) quality ones you will most likely be dissapointed with the results you get. The glass used in the cheaper ones is not the best quality and will make your images soft and even distorted.

If you're keen to get one, have a look for some sample images taken with it and look for user reviews, people who own one will give a better opinion than a commercial reviewer.
 
Nothing much to add there except that polarising filters do so much more than just darken a blue sky. They eliminate reflections and glare from non metallic surfaces. They're particularly useful for removing reflective glare in shots over water and of glass. Try some shots of your car with a polariser, and you'll find you can reduce a lot of the reflections from the bodywork, windscreen etc, and get much better colour saturation in the process.
 
I'm beginning to wonder if my £24.99 polariser from Jessops was one of my more unwise purchases. It does the job on the sky but I haven't noticed a huge amount of reflection benefit from it. Apologies to Sarah for the threadjack but can someone quickly recommend me a good circular polariser that doesn't break the bank, please?
 
If its the Hoya one then I suspect you've not fiddled with it enough!:D

Try pointing it at a car with reflections on it and then rotating the lens and you should see the reflections disappear.
:)
 
I made the mistake of buying a Jessops circular polarizer as well, before i knew there were different strengths ! LOL

One i got took 3 stops off ! think that was a bit high really ! lol

And yes you need to turn the filter on the lens to get effect, you should see things change as you turn !
 
My one is actually a Jessops-branded one. The box says Jessops on it.

I've tried turning it and it makes some difference to the sky but quite often I find myself looking through the viewfinder turning the polariser and not noticing anything much happening.

But it does work on the sky. There's no doubt about that.
 
Jamey, you should be able test your polariser easily enough wherever you are now. Just look for reflections off any surface in the room - rotate your filter while looking through the viewfinder and you should see a quite significant reduction. The view tends to darken a little when the filter is in the optimum position.
 
My Tiffen circular polarizer came in the £18 kit with 2 other filters and to be honest it only adds to the image, I haven't noticed any deteriation.
Remember, the angle for best results is at 90 degrees to the light source.

Mine seems to work just fine for reducing reflection as well as the obvious spectacular results on skies.

The UV filter in the kit doesn't seem to do much at all...I don't really notice any reduction in haze which is what it is supposed to be for.
I never leave it on at night as there are too many horror stories of strange things happening to images.
To be honest, with my nasty lenses, I wouldn't bother picking them up if I dropped them so I don't use the UV at all now.
It's hard enough to get enough light in without putting a bag of filters in front of the lens :lol:
 
Bachs said:
The UV filter in the kit doesn't seem to do much at all...I don't really notice any reduction in haze which is what it is supposed to be for.
Click to expand...

It doesn't do anything at all. Any half decent multi coated lens these days is already coated with a UV correction layer. I don't us one at all although I don't blame the people who do for safety reasons. If I was out in all weathers or in a hostile environment, then I would fit one.
I never leave it on at night as there are too many horror stories of strange things happening to images.
Click to expand...

I'm intriqued! :shock:
 
Ah!... you mean taking shots at night?

Exit stupido!.. :coat:
 
If the F-DL is a diffuser, what they actually do is slightly diffuse the highlights into the shadows, as opposed to a soft focus filter which slightly blurs the whole image. Diffusers can be very nice in posed portraits of ladies particularly, giving a nice flattering effect to the hair where there are highlights. They can also soften slight skin blemishes. A bit of a specialised filter really unless you have a specific need for one. :)
 
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