Naked?

[fimgirl]

Following on from Tywais thread on straps I never go naked on the camera body. First things I purchase for a new camera is a screen protector (Amaxx hard glass) and a half case, which, even then, I seek one with a removable rear screen protective panel. The costs are far outweighed upon resale when you have a scratch free camera to offer. I'm not into all this camera ageing look and want my gear to look "as new" for as long as possible. I apply the same attitude to protective filters on my lenses. There's much debate on the forums of the potential image degradation of filters but I've never found this so. Good filters from B+W, Heliopan, Rodenstock and Schneider are expensive simply because they do not degrade the image. But they're a damn sight cheaper than a new lens that has been scratched. Lens hoods are effective but many lenses require a filter to be fitted to complete the weather sealing.

Why pay mega bucks and skimp on protecting your gear?

[MJCM]

Sorry for OT

First going strapless and now naked

[Fiddlesticks]

Have to agree with FG on protecting your investment. The one thing I stay away from are the half cases as I find it adds more bulk to the camera. Screen protectors and good UV's are well worth the investment. Besides, who wants to be naked in the wild?

[Showbags]

Bugger...was hoping for something different.

[Tywais]

Good topic and one I was planning on starting but mainly regarding filters.

I suspect most of us who started out with SLR film cameras like I did with a Nikon FE just automatically buy a UV filter when buying a lens. I've done this also when I went to dSLR/mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. But researching more, the UV filter serves no purpose on the modern digital camera as they are already coated internally for that. Film is sensitive to UV and since UV butts up against blue on the spectrum will effect the blue portion of the film. Therefore the main purpose of the UV lens filter for digital is lens protection.

As mentioned, it needs to be a good quality both optically and mechanically. Many don't use one as their argument is if the uv filter breaks there is a good chance of scratching the main lens. As such, the best protection is the lens hood and should be on at all times. Mine are all reversible so when storing or putting in a bag it can be reversed onto the lens. I just got a new lens and ordered a Hoya UV filter at the same time before reading the articles. Even after reading them I would probably still have gotten the filter. That combined with a lens hood gives a belt and suspenders (braces for the Brits) approach to protection.

The purist will argue any thing added to the light path effects the image quality and that is true. My view point is the degree of the effect. A cheap filter can of course cause either/and geometric and chromatic aberrations. The high end filters will still have an effect but probably only measurable under laboratory examination and not even visible to pixel peepers.

And thanks for the LCD screen protector hint. Mine comes with one that looks pretty good but since it is a full time exposed LCD face would like something better. Here is the link to the one mentioned - ACMAXX LCD Armor. Now just have to figure out where I can get one.

[fimgirl]

Another factor to filter in (excuse the deliberate pun) is that with fast glass you cannot use the lens wide open in sunny/bright conditions without a ND filter. You're therefore losing a very attractive element of such lenses, i.e. differential focusing (read Bokeh also). Try shooting at 0.95 - f1.4 outdoors without such a filter. Shutter speed required is invariably outside of the cameras range. Even at f2 I need a 3x ND filter to come within the 1/4000th - 1/8000th range.

These filters really are very handy to have.

[Tywais]

Another factor to filter in (excuse the deliberate pun) is that with fast glass you cannot use the lens wide open in sunny/bright conditions without a ND filter. You're therefore losing a very attractive element of such lenses, i.e. differential focusing (read Bokeh also). Try shooting at 0.95 - f1.4 outdoors without such a filter. Shutter speed required is invariably outside of the cameras range. Even at f2 I need a 3x ND filter to come within the 1/4000th - 1/8000th range.

These filters really are very handy to have.

And ND filters were on my list next to talk about.

Useful to see your experience with them even with fast shutter speed. My shutter speed is up to 1/8000th and assumed it would handle any circumstances with fast lenses but appear I assumed wrong.

For those who may not know what circumstances they may be necessary here is an example. If you are on a beach on a bright sunny day and you really want to get a shot of that clam shell on the beach with a nice DOF then you open the aperture fully up, ISO at minimum and hope the camera can handle the shutter speed correctly. The shutter speed may not be able to reach fast enough to prevent the blowouts so you have no options except to close the aperture losing the DOF or put on a ND filter to attenuate the light to put it in the range of the parameters of the camera.

Next up - polarizing filters. Hope it's not considered too off topic.

[Tywais]

CAMERA POLARIZING FILTERS

Polarizing filters can increase color saturation and decrease reflections — and are one of the only lens filters which cannot be replicated using digital photo editing. They are an indispensable tool that should be in every photographer's camera bag. However, developing an intuition for how a polarizer might impact a photo often requires extensive experimentation. This tutorial aims to accelerate that process by demonstrating how and why polarizing filters can help — and in some cases harm — different types of scenes.

Polarizers are placed in front of your camera lens, and work by filtering out sunlight which has been directly reflected toward the camera at specific angles. This is beneficial because the remaining light is often more diffuse and colorful, but it also requires a longer exposure time (since light has been discarded). The angle that is filtered is controlled by rotating the polarizer itself, and the strength of this effect can be controlled by changing the camera's line of sight relative to the sun.

Cambridgeincolor

My input - they help with improving contrasts & blue of the sky. They also help when photographing any reflecting surface such as taking a photo through a window glass, aquarium and allow you to see through the water than the surface glare that prevents it.

[Tywais]

How to Use and Buy Polarizing Filters

Does your camera have the ability to use filters?

If so – one of the most useful filters to consider purchasing is a polarizing filter. Believe me – the ‘wow factor’ that it brings to many of the shots you’ll take has to be seen to be believed.

A lot can be said about the technicalities of how they work but to keep this post brief let me head straight to the benefits of using one.

Polarising filters change the way that your camera sees and treats light. Particularly – when using one you’ll notice a change in how your camera sees reflections and glare. As a result it also has the ability to change the vibrancy of some colors in shots.

Let’s look at a few areas where polarising filters can have have the biggest impact:

digital-photography-school

[sunshine51]

@ Tywais....nice link above. UV filters are great for one main thing...protecting the objective

end of your lens(s) from the nasties that may damage it...and they can be many...from

stones, chemicals, chemicals in the rain, dust...etc. A 25 buck UV filter sure beats having

that outer lens element replaced.

Polarizing filters come in 2 main types; a circular polarizer and either a vertical or horizontal

polarizer. When photons enter your lens they aren't always entering in one direction (angle),

they enter from almost all angles...except straight up/down & from the rear. A polarizing

filter sort of gets these photons in a straight line....hence skies may darken, smudges/flares

& glare disappears & that washed out look vanishes when a PL filter is used correctly. Mind

you a good CPL by a reputable manufacturer will cost you big $$$$ and if you have many

lenses you'll want one for each lens....but they are magical IMO. If you plan on shooting at

high altitudes, the beach on bright sunny days or in snow....PL filters are invaluable. Be

prepared to adjust ISO or shutter speed/aperture to get the effect you desire...similar

to an ND filter, PL's usually have a stop or two under what your camera likes for the shot.

Here's a Wiki link....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarizing_filter_%28photography%29

And here's another, albeit more technical link...

http://www.cameratechnica.com/2011/04/10/the-science-of-polarizing-filters/

[Fiddlesticks]

Mind you a good CPL by a reputable manufacturer will cost you big $$$$ and if you have many

lenses you'll want one for each lens....

One solution I found was to get the Lee circular polarizing filter. It is 105mm and attaches to all of my lenses using lens adapters. Now the Lee system is not cheap nor is their circular polarizer but it is far cheaper than buying separate filters for each of my lenses.

[sunshine51]

Mind you a good CPL by a reputable manufacturer will cost you big $$$$ and if you have many

lenses you'll want one for each lens....

One solution I found was to get the Lee circular polarizing filter. It is 105mm and attaches to all of my lenses using lens adapters. Now the Lee system is not cheap nor is their circular polarizer but it is far cheaper than buying separate filters for each of my lenses.

That's a good point to mention FS.

Also.....Hoya, Kenko and the Canikonpanaolyetal filters

are also good. The cheap chinese ones are shit.

I'm a Tiffen kinda guy...been using em for years.

Personal prefs for whatever it's worth but I do like

that Lee 105/adaptor idea heaps.

[Guest]

After having a discussion with a member I wish to get a polarisation filter for my Oly E-M5. Probably the circular type.

I have two lenses. 45mm/F1.8 - size 37mm and stock zoom 12-50mm size 52mm.

Both lenses have protector filter as advised before.

What is the expected cost for these lenses and would it be possible to get adapters in the way Fiddlesticks advised?

[Tywais]

After having a discussion with a member I wish to get a polarisation filter for my Oly E-M5. Probably the circular type.

I have two lenses. 45mm/F1.8 - size 37mm and stock zoom 12-50mm size 52mm.

Both lenses have protector filter as advised before.

What is the expected cost for these lenses and would it be possible to get adapters in the way Fiddlesticks advised?

You might contact Avcamera as their website may not have all they carry or can get. Also to prevent buying two polarizers you can get a step down or step up ring adapter for the other camera so the filter can fit both as they can be pricy.

[Guest]

Thanks Tywais. The 37mm Kenko was 1700B and 52mm 1500B. Step up adapters 350B, but they did not seem to have listed 37mm->52mm adapters. I'll contact them later on, but as my snail mail has not worked for an year now, I can not purchase online.

Action plan could be that I'll get the 52mm locally, which is anyway more useful with the wider angle lens. Then try to visit their shop to get the step up adapter once I visit Bangkok in one month.

[Goompa]

If I could be a bit off-beat , or on-beat I would consider what lens that you are most actually going to be using to require a CP for , given that most applications would be that of outdoor environment and not really required for a lens at 45mm that is used for indoor or low light at f1.8 .

I have overdone my requirements 2 fold and I would consider that if you have the focal length covered already in the zone that only one CP for the small zoom be of consideration imo.

52 mm is more a popular size and will be more available and cost a little less as well.

I recently purchased a set of Cokin ND filters and the set included a 52mm adaptor as the smallest , I tried them out already seem to work ok , but colour cast is a slight issue , can fix on PP though , I think I have too much gear now and not nowhere enough experience , I hold MJP to blame , partially , if only he would stop posting new gadgets !!

ps , you can use a CP as an ND filter as well, albeit a small one , I am welcome to correction though .

[MJP]

Goomps,

If you're not using really wide lenses or ones that require a filter size above 67mm I recommend the round screw in filters. B+W are perfect. The Variable ND filter gives 1-5 stops, the B+W 10 stop "Big Stopper" is great for long exposures, the Kasemann CPL is great too.

Now the trick is step rings.

You only need one filter at the largest size you use, say 67mm. Then get step rings for 67mm to 62mm, 67 to 58mm, 67 to 52mm and so on. These are pennies.

[Guest]

I'm going for 52mm, which I hope is the largest lens size I'll need. At some point I might get some faster wide angle lens, but that might not be in the near future. FR's opinions would be most welcome as well.

I visited today a branch of Big Camera, which did not have 52mm version, so I did not get one today. They had one in Phuket town. Hoya CPL with the price tag of 2180B. That is a bit much.

@Goompa funny that you mentioned MJP while you spend your money to the new gadgets. For me it's the opposite. Every single time I think of spending money to new gear I have little MJP on my shoulder reminding "Gonna get expensive now" along with a Bart Simpson laugher. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/704258-upgrading-to-micro-four-thirds-camera/#entry7434842

[MJP]

I'm going for 52mm, which I hope is the largest lens size I'll need. At some point I might get some faster wide angle lens, but that might not be in the near future. FR's opinions would be most welcome as well.

I visited today a branch of Big Camera, which did not have 52mm version, so I did not get one today. They had one in Phuket town. Hoya CPL with the price tag of 2180B. That is a bit much.

@Goompa funny that you mentioned MJP while you spend your money to the new gadgets. For me it's the opposite. Every single time I think of spending money to new gear I have little MJP on my shoulder reminding "Gonna get expensive now" along with a Bart Simpson laugher. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/704258-upgrading-to-micro-four-thirds-camera/#entry7434842

If you can hang on until I'm over next I've got three 67mm Hoya Pro1-D filters, a CPL and ND and I forget now, UV I think.

Never used them, you can have them.

Just let me know what filter sizes your lenses are and I'll find the right step rings.

[Guest]

If you can hang on until I'm over next I've got three 67mm Hoya Pro1-D filters, a CPL and ND and I forget now, UV I think.

Never used them, you can have them.

Just let me know what filter sizes your lenses are and I'll find the right step rings.

If you really don't need them, that would be wonderful. I have 37mm and 52mm lenses and a bottle best Mekong whiskey money could buy

I think that now when after the initial, one brain cell yelling "I need the filter, right now" -moment is passed, I can wait for an while. I hope. For the moment, I can simply get a pair of cheap polarised sunglasses from the local market and play with those. Otherwise I'll let you know if I can not resist buying the filter. Please let me know if the filters find another address.

More generally. The filters and gadgets are fun way to bring the spark of photography back. I lost it for some time, but even the idea of playing with new toys and technics seems to have a positive effect.

[MJP]

If you can hang on until I'm over next I've got three 67mm Hoya Pro1-D filters, a CPL and ND and I forget now, UV I think.

Never used them, you can have them.

Just let me know what filter sizes your lenses are and I'll find the right step rings.

If you really don't need them, that would be wonderful. I have 37mm and 52mm lenses and a bottle best Mekong whiskey money could buy

I think that now when after the initial, one brain cell yelling "I need the filter, right now" -moment is passed, I can wait for an while. I hope. For the moment, I can simply get a pair of cheap polarised sunglasses from the local market and play with those. Otherwise I'll let you know if I can not resist buying the filter. Please let me know if the filters find another address.

More generally. The filters and gadgets are fun way to bring the spark of photography back. I lost it for some time, but even the idea of playing with new toys and technics seems to have a positive effect.

It's going to be a while, I'm flat out on a job looks like until end of April.

I'll keep 'em by.

[Showbags]

What filter is recommended for a tamron 150-600 for mostly surf pics ? I also want to keep the salt air off the lens.

[MJP]

What filter is recommended for a tamron 150-600 for mostly surf pics ? I also want to keep the salt air off the lens.

A B+W clear filter or UV filter.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/120482-REG/B_W_66_045110_95mm_UV_Haze_010.html

[Goshawk]

the B+W 10 stop "Big Stopper" is great for long exposures

i just picked up a Hoya Pro ND 1000 for my Tokina 11-16 . . . a cool 10 stopper too, and only £56 on ebay. Bargain.

[MJP]

^^Be careful with filters and ebay. A lot of dodgy fakes out there. I get my filters direct from major retailers. B+W fakes are all over ebay.

[Guest]

I visited today a branch of Big Camera, which did not have 52mm version, so I did not get one today. They had one in Phuket town. Hoya CPL with the price tag of 2180B. That is a bit much.

I visited Photo Hut in Phuket to check their prices yesterday. To my surprise the cost of CPL for both Hoya and Kenko were about 850B after 10% discount. I got the Kenko as at this point it sounded like a good deal

As I have earlier purchased lens protector for the lens. Do you normally let the protector be 'permanently' installed to the lens or do you remove it when you install another filter to the camera? Eg. Does the extra lens protector filter affect to the photo quality so much that it's worth of removing while using another filter?

[Tywais]

I have always stacked filters as long as the protective one is of high quality. But an interesting article about this issue: Look at the summary of the tests and it says no effect with high quality filter.

Do Filters Affect the Resolution of Lenses?

August 28, 2013

By Nasim Mansurov79 Comments

Just like the old “film vs digital” or the “Nikon vs Canon” debates, lens filters often create endless discussions on the Internet. Some people argue that one should never use protective filters, since it is another piece of glass in front of the lens that reduces resolution and emphasizes other optical problems such as ghosting / flare, while others argue that filters make it easier to protect the front element of the lens and make it easier to clean that element. I personally have been recommending use of protective filters for years, as long as they are of high quality. The filters that I have been using do not seem to affect the resolving power of lenses they are mounted on and mostly do not seem to heavily affect ghosting / flare either. Having spent the last couple of weeks in a lab testing many lenses, I wondered if I could actually measure the resolution of a lens with and without a filter. I recently purchased a used lens that came with a crappy plastic filter, so I decided to run two separate scenarios – one without a filter, one with a high quality B+W filter (more on B+W products below) and one with a cheap plastic filter. The results of the study came out very interesting!

Read more here - Photographylife

[Tywais]

A dpreview article - Should you use a UV filter on your lens?

Of course when I was using flim SLRs that was the 2nd thing I would buy after or with a lens. The UV part is less important in the digital age as UV filtering is often incorporated as a film on the sensor. With film cameras, the emulsion was sensitive to UV and could effect it without filtering.

A discussion going on here - What really are the effects of UV/protection filters on images. http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00aMT2

[MJP]

I found the Singh-Ray Gold 'n Blue does impact image quality at the pixel peeping level. B+W filters have no discernible detrimental effect.

[Tywais]

Singh-Ray

Had to look that brand up to be sure we weren't talking about beer glasses which does distort one's images.

I'm guilty of using Tiffen filters on my GH2 and migrated them over to the Olympus 12-40 f/2.8 lens and will probably replace that with a higher quality brand. You seem to go for B&W, what about Rodenstock? I can get both brands at Avcamera.