filters

njdrumrun

what filters would you recommend for a beginner?

ziggy53

njdrumrun wrote:

what filters would you recommend for a beginner?

What camera (and lenses) and how do you normally use the camera?

Art Scott

For what purpose?? What type of shooting do you do or want to learn to do??

What gear do you already have??

I do not use filters unless it for a specific special effect.......I have had bad experiences with so called "protective" filters on my lenses so I have not had one on a lens in over 25yrs...............

So what would be recommended would be knowing exactly what end result you wish to accomplish.

njdrumrun

70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Autofocus Lens
EOS REBEL T1I
1.4 extender

thanks for the reply folks! i am shooting mostly sports(soccer, lacrosse), show jumping and cross country (horses). going to try some polo too. i played around with filters years (15+) ago. i don't even remember what i had. not sure what i am looking to do with them. i guess i figure it out when i find i've done something cool playing around so let's say..experimentation??

i always used the protective filters before. how come you don't? do most folks use or not use?

Art Scott

The reason I don't use: UV, clear or skylight "protective filters is that I have had 3 lenses severly damaged.......scratched from the broken filter as the glass was pushed back into and across the lenses. So i removed them and have never had a problem since.

Also I have purchased almost new but used lenses that had filters on and you dang near could not remove them as they were aluminum mating withthe steel of the lens and this is not a good combonation as it semifushes the 2 together and it takes one heck of a lot of pressure to remove cheap filters when they get stuck like that (cheap filters: low end Hoya, ProMaster, Sunpak, Soligor, Vivitar........any low end Aluminum filter)

Filters should be either steel or preferably brass threads............so they don't fuse together (fuse is probably the wrong term.......dunno)

ziggy53

I use protective filters as well as lens hoods on most of my lenses. I use Hoya HMC and B+W multicoated filters for those lenses. The filters can always be removed if necessary. Machined brass filters tend not to bind in my experience.

I appreciate the extra protection the filters afford the front of the lens against dust and occasional contact. The filters also protect the front threads of the lens against contact damage.

I find it a lot easier and safer to clean a protective filter than cleaning the front element of a lens. Even with careful cleaning, whenever you use a cleaning cloth or brush you risk leaving "micro-scratches" which can affect image quality. Better that should happen to a filter which can be replaced.

A circular polarizer is often helpful to reduce glare and deepen skies. It is less desirable (IMO) on super-wide-angle lenses where the FOV can create uneven skies.

A graduated ND filter is sometimes used for reducing sky or water dynamic range (DR), to get the scene within bounds.

Most other traditional colored effect filters are normally better accommodated using digital post-processing software.

zoomer

For the subjects you mentioned I don't think you should need any filters.

Mossback

Canon XSI w/ 70-200mm F2.8 lens, filter suggestions
What brand/type of filters should I get for my lens.

I will be taking nature and animal shots in Glacier and Banff national parks.

Also sports shots. Hockey and baseball.

Thanks in advance, as always, for all input.

insanefred

njdrumrun wrote:

i always used the protective filters before. how come you don't? do most folks use or not use?

I use filters for protection when I know I am going into a area that would be detrimental to the lens (windy beaches) or on my vacation lens.
Hoods I find protect the lens much better IME.
But the best protection you can have is common sense and get your stuff insured!!!
It's cheap, I get $5000 for $56 a year.

Mossback wrote:

What brand/type of filters should I get for my lens.

I will be taking nature and animal shots in Glacier and Banff national parks.

Also sports shots. Hockey and baseball.

Thanks in advance, as always, for all input.

I would stick with B+W, Hoya, and Nikon.

Animal shots (up close) protective filter (they sometimes leave a mess from being too curious )
Further away no filter is needed. Maybe a neutral grad.

base ball, no filter recommend unless it's really bright day and want to use a large aperture. So Neutral density most likely.

Mossback

I would stick with B+W, Hoya, and Nikon.

Animal shots (up close) protective filter (they sometimes leave a mess from being too curious )
Further away no filter is needed. Maybe a neutral grad.

base ball, no filter recommend unless it's really bright day and want to use a large aperture. So Neutral density most likely.

What about for mountain shots with the sky or sunsets, what kind of polarizer?

pathfinder

I carry a thin style multi coated 77mm circular polarizer made by B&W or Singh-Ray.

I also carry several 72mm->77mm step up rings, and 67mm->77mm step ring adapters as well

I carry a 77mm neutral density filter for shooting water falls.

I own, but rarely carry a 77mm UV filter - if I shot around salt water a lot, I would carry it with me as well.

For protection I prefer good, hard plastic or metal lens hoods. I never shoot without one, I know too many folks who regret leaving their lens hood off, and ended up damaging the front element of their lens.

Dust on a lens blows off easily with a bulb blower or a lens brush. Salt spray does not, and is a reason to use a UV filter.

If you understand graduated NDs, you do not want the screw in filter style at all. Graduated NDs need to be 4 x 6 inch rectangular filters with an adjustable screw in filter holder. With hdrs now, grad NDs get a lot less use in the field, by me anyway.

photogreen

njdrumrun wrote:

what filters would you recommend for a beginner?

I always protect my lenses with UV filters. I prefer Hoya - very good buy. B+W is great, too, but more expensive.