Lens filters, what is it for and why should i buy it?

[hamlet]

Why should someone use lens filters? Are there any essential filters i need to have on my lens? Are there filters that improve your picture quality?

 

[480sparky]

A polarizer is definately a must-have. Not only can it cut reflections off smooth surfaces, it increases color saturation.

An ND filter is also right up there. Allows use of slower shutter speeds in bright light.

 

[hamlet]

Is there any difference in quality between lens brands? What filter would you recommend for my lens? It says that it supports 52mm Filter diameter.

 

[480sparky]

Avoid the cheap ones listed on ebay like the plague.

B+W, Tiffen, Hoya and Singh-Ray are top brands.

 

[KmH]

I don't include Tiffen as a top brand of filter, but consider Tiffen a middle level brand.
Look for multi-coated filters, preferably made of Schott glass.

 

[hamlet]

Your help is greatly appreciated, thank you for saving me time and money.

 

[TCampbell]

For a camera that uses phase-detect auto-focus (most any DSLR) you need to make sure you specifically have a "circular polarizer". Avoid the linear polarizer or sometimes referred to as "top polarizer" -- which is just a straight polarizer. Most digital auto-focus cameras are confused by linear polarizers -- both for focus and for accurate meter reading.

I like the B+W brand and the Hoya "Pro1" filters. Singh-Ray and Lee filters are known for their square & rectangular slide-in filters (most filters screw on -- these use a bracket and they slide in). The point of the slide-in filters is that you can filters that are only tinted on one half (usually used for landscape work -- so you can dim the sky but leave the land alone) and this allows you to decide how far in you want to slide the filter.

Neutral Density (ND) filters are also common -- these don't create any special effect -- they merely change your shooting circumstances by making it appear that you have less light than you actually have. This allows you to open up the aperture or slow down the shutter speed (to create motion blur -- most of those nice dreamy looking waterfall photos are created using these filters.)

There are many many others, but the circular polarizer and a 3 stop ND are two filters that are great to start with.

Stores may attempt to sell you "UV" filters for your lenses. Virtually all modern digital cameras have a built-in UV filter -- so there's no need for it. An argument can be made that it's for protection of the lens -- but an argument can also be made that it slightly deteriorates image quality. I think if you took a poll here, probably most shooters here don't use UV filters.

 

[hamlet]

I am using the Nikon d3200, does it have a built-in UV filter?

 

[480sparky]

I am using the Nikon d3200, does it have a built-in UV filter?

Most digital cameras have UV filters built in. Some are offered with it removed, and sometimes their owners have them removed.

 

[hamlet]

Can't you turn it off in the software? What if i want a warm feeling sunny glare in my picture?

 

[480sparky]

Can't you turn it off in the software? What if i want a warm feeling sunny glare in my picture?

No... it's physically mounted into the camera. Removing it requires disassembling the camera. If you want 'glare', you can buy a UV filter to put on the lens threads.

 

[Murray Bloom]

UV light is invisible. A UV filter controls UV light, it doesn't add it. It would not interfere with a warm lighting in any event, if that's what you want. But the point is moot, because it's incorporated into your camera's anti-aliasing filter. Circular polarizer and ND filters get my vote. I prefer Hoya.

 

[hamlet]

I just bought this one for my Nikon 18-55 lens:

Amazon.com: Hoya 52mm HD Hardened Glass 8-layer Multi-Coated Digital Circular Polarizer Filter: Camera & Photo


What about ND filters? Do i need to worry about circular or anything like that? Or is any Hoya ND filter ok to use for my dslr?

 

[Gavjenks]

Filters:

1) Polarizing filter. Blocks light that's polarized in one direction more than others. This does things like make the sky contrastier, reduces reflections, and plants sometimes look more vivid, if the filter is turned the right way. The sky effects depend on angle from the sun. Be sure to get circular type only for normal DSLRs
2) ND filter. Blocks an even %age of light coming in, so that you can use slow shutter speeds if you need to for creative reasons in bright light, without overexposing the photo.
3) Graduated ND filter. Blocks more light on one side than the other. Used to essentially give the illusion of your camera having greater dynamic range in extremely high contrast sky/ground situations, like sunsets.
4) Color filters block out certain wavelengths of color. If you shoot RAW, you can entirely replicate these effects in software. Although it may be more time consuming to do so than to use a filter, depending.
5) UV filters don't do very much, although in some cases they are legitimately useful if you ACTUALLY need protection in the form of a filter, and a lens hood just won't cut it. Such as salt spray from the ocean, flying sand like at a volleyball game, or in the rain if you're using a weather-rated body and lens (many lenses aren't under warranty as weather sealed completely until they have a filter of some sort added).
4) Various special effects blurring filters. Some give you "glow" around your highlights like flare. Some make it look like there's a misty fog around your highlights, etc.
5) Contrast filters increase contrast by different amounts.
6) Infrared and UV PASS filters. Not the same as a cheap regular UV filter. Instead, these block ALL light except UV or Infrared. They will appear completely opaque black. They allow you to take photos using only light that is invisible to human eyes. However, most digital SLRs have built in IR and UV blocking filters, so if you use these filters, you're blocking IR for instance and also blocking everything except IR... which means almost no light gets into the camera. Usually the lens filter wins the fight, though, and with several minute exposures on a tripod, you can still get an IR image or UV image. But do research on this before buying these expensive filters.
7) Variable ND filters. Same as an ND filter, but you can rotate them, and change the amount of light they block. Cheap ones can make a distracting "X" shape on your image.

 

[Gavjenks]

I just bought this one for my Nikon 18-55 lens:

Amazon.com: Hoya 52mm HD Hardened Glass 8-layer Multi-Coated Digital Circular Polarizer Filter: Camera & Photo


What about ND filters? Do i need to worry about circular or anything like that? Or is any Hoya ND filter ok to use for my dslr?

For an ND that blocks a fixed amoutn of light no you don't have to worry. For VARIABLE ND filters, yes you do have to worry. variable NDs are made by just slapping two polarizing filters on top of each other, pretty much. If these are two linear polarizers, then it can mess with your autofocus. If they are two circular ones, it won't.