Noob Filter Question

[JJL77]

Guys & Gals,

Real easy (stupid) question.
Because filters come in different sizes
how do I know what size (mm) filters to buy for my camera (Nikon D50)?

I'm just getting into photography so forgive me.

 

[terri36 7]

Take a peek inside your lens cap. You'll see a number in there. Will vary from lens to lens.

 

[Big Mike]

Filters are not for the camera...but for the lens. So when you say it's for your D50...what lens on your D50 are we talking about?

Here is a tip, if you have more than one lens (or plan to have more than one), get a filter to fit the lens with the biggest diameter. Then you can buy inexpensive step-up rings that will allow you to use the same filter on each lens.

 

[JJL77]

We'll I don't have the camera yet but it will have the kit lens (18-55mm Nikkor DX ED AF-S F/3.5-5.6) and I'm probably going to buy the 70-300mm Nikkor DX ED tele lens as well.

Also, what kind of filters should I get? UV ? Polorized?
I'm going to be taking a lot of outside pictures (wildlife, landscape, etc.)

 

[Big Mike]

A polarizer lens would be a very good one to get. UV filters are good for protection on the front of the lens, I don't know how much they affect the images.

Other than that, you can simulate just about every other filter, digitally with Photoshop (or other software). So using other filters with a digital camera is not very common.

 

[JTHphoto]

I shoot primarily nature and landscapes. I have a UV filter just to protect the lens, some claim they help reduce haze in skies. I like to keep it on there to keep the lens clean, i'd rather accidentally scratch/break a $20 filter than a $500 lens. Buy a Circular Polarizer, it gives great color to skies and removes the reflections on water/leaves. I also have star/cross filters and a +3 close up, although i don't really use them that much. Filters are fun to experiment with and are usually pretty cheap, buy the ones that look like fun. I think my next one is going to be a ND (split or graduated) filter... i have a tough time with my landscapes, if the foreground has correct exposure, the sky is over exposed and vice versa (sky good, foreground underexposed) i think ND filters are supposed to help that.

 

[JTHphoto]

oh yeah, and stick to the same brand on all filters so you can stack them, i have a UV filter that is different than all my other filters and the threading was different so it would lock with anything i tried to stack on it, i had to use pliers to get them apart. I finally got frustrated with it and bought one that matched my others...