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stradale33

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 27, 2010
64
0
Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (iPhone; Opera Mini/5.19802/25.677; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

Hey

I would love to hear from all you DSLR users about the filters you use snd why.

I live in the Middle East and its often sunny and very bright when I'm out and about taking pictures so I guess a polarised filter is the go?

Other wise I often end up shooting indoors under artifical light. Do you guys use any thing in particular in situations like this?

Lens wise I will be using a kit lens and a 35mm prime.

Lastly, price and quality wise what kind of minimiums do you recommend? I understand spending as much as you can afford is usually a good idea but there seems such a huge range in price I'm a bit lost. So bearing in mind I'm taking pictures for fun some advice based on your experiences would be appreciated here.

Thanks
 

Ruahrc

macrumors 65816
Jun 9, 2009
1,345
0
A CPL would be useful for outdoor shooting yes, it helps suppress reflections.

This is one of the few cases in which I might explicitly recommend something like a clear or UV filter, if you are in the desert parts of the middle east and are shooting in conditions with a lot of blowing sand. But a good quality filter can cost almost as much as a cheap lens, so the economic tradeoff may not be worth it.

Indoors you don't really need or want filters because they reduce the amount of light (a polarizer can sub as a 1-2 stop ND filter in a pinch). The only filters you'll really "need" indoors are the color filters you put on a flash to balance the flash color to the ambient, or for special effects.

For quality, I'd stick with well known brands. And always, always get multicoated filters. If it's not multicoated, it's junk. Good brands would be something like B+W, or Hoya Pro series, etc.
 

compuwar

macrumors 601
Oct 5, 2006
4,717
2
Northern/Central VA
Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (iPhone; Opera Mini/5.19802/25.677; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

Hey

I would love to hear from all you DSLR users about the filters you use snd why.

I live in the Middle East and its often sunny and very bright when I'm out and about taking pictures so I guess a polarised filter is the go?

Get up earlier, stay up later- the best light is early and late- you'll get better images if you take your pictures in the "golden hours." A filter isn't really going to help much- except in giving you slower shutter speeds, the lighting will still suck.

Paul
 

flosseR

macrumors 6502a
Jan 1, 2009
746
0
the cold dark north
Get up earlier, stay up later- the best light is early and late- you'll get better images if you take your pictures in the "golden hours." A filter isn't really going to help much- except in giving you slower shutter speeds, the lighting will still suck.

Paul

Agreed and for those golden times then, get a quality Circular Polarizer. But yes, get up earlier and stay up longer. It is the same problem I have here up north. Around this time of the year we have daylight until 10-11pm and in June it goes 24 hours without night. You just have to adjust your shooting times.

I just went to greece for a vacation and I only shot in the afternoon when the light was better. At some point it was so bright during the day that I had to dial of f22 in order to get a shutter speed of 1/2000. Crazy.. Of course the white buildings didn't help :)
 

compuwar

macrumors 601
Oct 5, 2006
4,717
2
Northern/Central VA
I just went to greece for a vacation and I only shot in the afternoon when the light was better. At some point it was so bright during the day that I had to dial of f22 in order to get a shutter speed of 1/2000. Crazy.. Of course the white buildings didn't help :)

f/22 is going to introduce diffraction- that's where you should be shooting with an ND filter.

Paull
 

flosseR

macrumors 6502a
Jan 1, 2009
746
0
the cold dark north
Ok- I'm just self-justifying my Lee Big Stopper ;)

Paul
wow.. lucky you.. you actually got a big stopper. they are backordered to h*ll all over... I would love to have one for my collection but i still have not gotten a real confirmation if it will fit into the cokin holder that i have :)
 

Ruahrc

macrumors 65816
Jun 9, 2009
1,345
0
wow.. lucky you.. you actually got a big stopper. they are backordered to h*ll all over... I would love to have one for my collection but i still have not gotten a real confirmation if it will fit into the cokin holder that i have :)

If it's the Cokin Z-pro, it won't. Or at least not nicely. The glass is thicker than the holders are comfortable fitting, and the foam gasket kind of gets in the way. Or at least it did on my "modified" Cokin holder when I tried to mount it flush with the holder surface. It may fit better with the holder in standard configuration, but the thickness issue still remains.

Ruahrc
 

flosseR

macrumors 6502a
Jan 1, 2009
746
0
the cold dark north
If it's the Cokin Z-pro, it won't. Or at least not nicely. The glass is thicker than the holders are comfortable fitting, and the foam gasket kind of gets in the way. Or at least it did on my "modified" Cokin holder when I tried to mount it flush with the holder surface. It may fit better with the holder in standard configuration, but the thickness issue still remains.

Ruahrc

Nah, I am poor and an amateur so I have a Cokin P system
 

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,541
1,653
Redondo Beach, California
Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (iPhone; Opera Mini/5.19802/25.677; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

Hey

I would love to hear from all you DSLR users about the filters you use snd why.

I live in the Middle East and its often sunny and very bright when I'm out and about taking pictures so I guess a polarised filter is the go?

A polarised filter is usfull but it only has any effect at all in certain directions. For example you try it nd like the result but if you turn around 180 degrees the effect will be gone. In other words it is not something you can use with every shot. You'd use them to make the sky look darker, to make cloads stand out and to remove reflactions form things like water or even leaves on trees

Bright mid day sun does make for some poor images but mostly a polerized filter is not the answer. Buy a powerful flash. At first it seem counter intuitive to use a flash in bright sun, but the purpose is to reduce lighting contrast, that is to reduce the difference between light and shadow, the flash fills in the shadows.

Along the same line, you could get a big reflector. They work better than a flash if the subject is small and close by. White cardboard works but the folding kind are easier to carry and stor
 

flosseR

macrumors 6502a
Jan 1, 2009
746
0
the cold dark north
A polarised filter is usfull but it only has any effect at all in certain directions. For example you try it nd like the result but if you turn around 180 degrees the effect will be gone. In other words it is not something you can use with every shot. You'd use them to make the sky look darker, to make cloads stand out and to remove reflactions form things like water or even leaves on trees

Bright mid day sun does make for some poor images but mostly a polerized filter is not the answer. Buy a powerful flash. At first it seem counter intuitive to use a flash in bright sun, but the purpose is to reduce lighting contrast, that is to reduce the difference between light and shadow, the flash fills in the shadows.

Along the same line, you could get a big reflector. They work better than a flash if the subject is small and close by. White cardboard works but the folding kind are easier to carry and stor
I would go with a reflector in this case. The flash has a certain huh speed sync max and in bright sunlight you will need shutter speeds WAY over that.. at least in my experience..

YMMV
 
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