Filter Question

TurnipFarmer

TurnipFarmer

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Aaron
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I am thinking about buying a couple of filters for my camera for two reasons really. To help improve my photos and mainly to protect my lens.

My filters are 55mm, which are the must have filters that I should get? The reason why I ask is that I dont really know which to get.
 
for me the most usefull filters i have are a uv filter, cuts down on ultraviolet light i have one on all my lenses to protect the front element
a neutral density grad to equalise exposure when shooting some landscapes,a circular polariser to darken blue skys cuts down on reflections on water and reflective surfaces the type you choose is personal prefrance really i like lee filters hope this is of some help
 
UV filters are defunct in the age of digital.

Why put a £10-£50 piece of glass infront of £1500 worth of quality optics? What affect will this have on image quality?

If you want protection use a hood, if you want to improve your photos use the appropriate filters (Lee Frost's Photographer Guide to Filters is quite a good book to read)
 
Puting a UV filter on the front of your lens for protection, dosnt have any effect on image quality,but it would be a pity to get a scratch on the front element of that £1500, worth of glass .


Dave.
 
dizidav said:
Puting a UV filter on the front of your lens for protection, dosnt have any effect on image quality,but it would be a pity to get a scratch on the front element of that £1500, worth of glass .


Dave.
Click to expand...

Yes it does - there are several threads on here discussing this. Some evenshow clear ghosting and adverse affects from using inferior filters on superior glass.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=130960
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=122583
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=39197
 
UV filter for protection when the camera is in the bag and when there is any chance of damage, near sand for example, take it off otherwise. Make sure that you remove it if there is any chance of glare or ghosting, i.e. if there is a light source anywhere in front of the camera. A lens hood wil also protect the lens and reduce flare.
A polarizing filter will enable you to darken a blue sky while keeping the clouds white, it will also reduce reflections and darken foliage.
A neutral density graduated filter will darken skies while keeping the foreground the same. It reduces the "blank sky" effect that you can get when the sky is a lot brighter that the land.

Have a look here http://www.great-landscape-photography.com/landscape-photography-tips.html tips 8 & 10
 
dizidav said:
Puting a UV filter on the front of your lens for protection, dosnt have any effect on image quality,but it would be a pity to get a scratch on the front element of that £1500, worth of glass .


Dave.
Click to expand...


 
A straight forward answer to your question...

B+W 55mm MRC UV 010 there's an Amazon link here.

There's all sorts of pros and cons of using filters for protection and I doubt we'll *ever* agree. I'm happy to use them, others aren't. If you do use them get good ones (the one in the link is).

Use a hood as well though.

cheers
 
Bill Roberts, you're quite right, there will always be disagreements over pros and cons.
B+W also make clear glass protection filters that don't affect the light entering the camera.
The ghosting mentioned previously usually comes from light bouncing off the sensor and then actually reflecting back through the lens and off the inside of the filter on the front of the lens - always look for filters with anti reflective coating (usually referred to as MRC) on both sides of the glass.
 
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