So what are some good filters to have then? I have a UV filter on all of my lenses right now. I'm looking for a filter for landscape photography. I've looked at some of the circular polarizing filters, or neutral density filters, but can't really decide which would be best. Any suggestions?
For landscape photography, the holy trinity of filters is:
Circular polarizer
2 stop graduated neutral density filter
3 stop graduated neutral density filter
I take thousands of landscape shots each year, probably use one of these on 95% of them.
A polarizer cuts out light that isn't entering the lens in a straight line (meaning that light reflected off objects is removed). This is useful when shooting near water as twisting the polarizer allows you to see beneath the water (rather than what's reflected in it). The same thing is true of reflections in glass windows. It's great when shooting wet leaves and grass for example, as it will eliminate the reflected glare caused by the drops of water on the leaves/grass.
Also, when you shoot at around 90º to the sun, it will really saturate colours and make the sky a deeper blue, giving greater contrast against white clouds. This effect gets stronger the closer the sun is to the horizon, so it's a great filter to have on when the sun is close to the horizon.
It also cuts out about 2 stops of light, meaning you need a longer shutter time at any given aperture.
This makes it great for shooting streams for example. The filter will give you a slow enough shutter time to blur the water, and also cut out all the reflected light bouncing off the stream.
Graduated filters are used for landscapes when you want to control the brightness of the sky. It's a rectangular filter where the top half is dark (the amount depends on the strength of the filter...they come in 1, 2, 3 and 4 stops) and the bottom half is clear.
The sky is almost always brighter than the land, so in order to get detail in any land/foreground, but not let all the sky fade to over-exposed white, an ND grad filter will cut the light down across half the dark part of the filter, which you put over the sky, but the other, clear half allows for the light that the camera is exposing for to come through.
I use 2 stops and 3 stop filters in every sunset shot I ever take.
I've written an article on using them for ND Magazine, which you can see here
http://www.nd-magazine.com/articles/art1.php
Most people start with Cokin P series filters, which are cheap and OK, but they do tend to leave a colour cast.
The best filters are Lee or Singh Ray. They are expensive, but in my experience, worth the money. The give better image quality, no colour cast and are less prone to scratches.
007MIKE said:
I like to know what Israphel uses.
Grad filters I use Lee Filters.
http://www.leefilters.com/camera/products/finder/ref:C475674155E58E/I've tried most brands and for me they have the most neutral effect, leaving no colour cast at all. I've got one Singh Ray reverse grad, which I use because they're the only people who make 4 stop filters, and it's useful when the shooting right into the setting sun.
My polarizer is also Singh Ray, and I use a Hoya ND400 (9 stop neutral density screw in filter) for really long exposures. It does leave a cast, but they're the only people who make this density filter.
I don't use UV filters.
One thing I've learned about buying equipment is that buying cheap is often a false economy. For example, so many people go out and buy a cheap tripod...and after a while they realise that it's not as secure as they'd like, not as sturdy, not as tough, so they spend a little more on something slightly better. That's OK for a while, but as the person improves their photography, they realise that it's still not as dependable as they'd like. Eventually they bite the bullet and splash out on a decent tripod like a Manfrotto/Bogen or a Gitzo with a decent head.
Moral of the story is, it would have been cheaper to buy the expensive one in the first place. Same is true with filters.
Hope that helps, all the best
Andy
