Lens filters are an essential part of photography. They add depth and dimension to your photos. In fact, without filters, your photos would look flat and lifeless.
But there’s a lot to learn before you start using filters. If you’re new to camera lenses, here’s a guide to lens filters for beginners.
Use Of Lens Filters In Photography
So, what is the purpose of lens filters? Well, it really depends on the type of photography you plan on using them for.
There are different purposes for camera lens filters in digital photography. They can be used to capture scenery in extremely difficult lighting conditions, they can enhance colors and reduce reflections, or they can protect the lens.
Most professional photographers have lens filters in their photography kits and will use them according to what time of photography work they are shooting.
For example, if your goal is to capture a landscape with beautiful sunsets, then using an ND filter will help you achieve this objective. On the other hand, if you are shooting portraits under harsh light, then it would make sense to use a polarizer instead. In addition, there are many different types of filters that have specific purposes.
Now that we know why you should use lens filters, let’s take a closer look at the various categories of filters.
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Lens Filter Systems
1) Circular Screw-On Lens Filters – This type is frequently used for UV filters, circular polarizers, color filters, and ND filters. The most common type of lens filter is a circular screw-on. A screw-on filter is easy to attach and swap out, and some can even be stacked on top of one another.
2) Square Lens Filters – Square lens filters are attached to the front of the lens with a filter holder. To be able to use one or more filters of different sizes, you’ll have to get a lens filter holder that is compatible with the ones you want to use. This type of filter is widely used for landscape photography.
3) Rectangular Lens Filters – Rectangular lens filters are used with a filter holder system, similar to square lens filters. They are another popular lens filter used by landscape photographers.
Filter Factor
A filter factor is a number that tells you how much exposure you need to increase with a particular filter. Each filter has a specific filter factor.
Types of Graduated Neutral Density Lens Filters
A neutral density filter is often used by photographers to maintain a shallow depth of field in bright light.
The ND filter has a variable effect on your images. It can be used as an artistic tool, or it can help you capture some great photos in low-light situations. For example, you can change your exposure time by slowing down your shutter speed in order to blur a waterfall.
Graduated neutral density filters transition between clear and dark areas of the filter. They can vary in darkness and are measured in “stops” of light. There are three main Graduated Neutral Density Filters:
- Hard-edge filters – With hard-edge ND filters, a clear boundary exists between the transparent and dark areas. To create an evenly exposed image, it is mostly used to balance out high-contrast scenes like a flat horizon with bright skies and a dark foreground.
- Soft-edge filters – Soft-edge ND filters have a gradual smoother transition from light to dark. When there are obstacles in the landscape that obstruct the horizon line they’re a good choice. If the horizon is not straight or flat, it’s best to use these filters.
- Reverse filters – When the sun is closer to the horizon, landscape photographers will use this time of filter to shoot the sunrise or sunset. This type of filter is similar to the hard-edge filter. The difference is that the bottom half is clear, it has a darker in the middle that fades as you near the top half.
- Drop-in Filters – Drop-in filters are also known as “bayonet-style” filters. A drop-in filter slides into place over the back end of the lens barrel. Drop-in filters are primarily used with telephoto lenses.
Polarizer Lens Filter
Polarizing filters are useful for lowering glare and improving the saturation of photos. Linear polarizer and circular polarizing lens filters are the two types of filters. Circular polarizer filters are used for digital photography, and linear for film photography.
Attaching the circular filter to the end of your lens allows you to keep rotating it. The direction you rotate the filter determines the light that will be polarized.
These work like sunglasses. When placed in front of the lens, they let only polarized rays pass through. The result is that objects appear brighter against darker backgrounds and vice versa.
Be aware that vignetting may occur with some thicker polarizers on some lenses. They also aren’t as effective on very wide-angle lenses.
Color/Warming/Cooling Filters
Color Correction, warming, and cooling filters are used to alter the white balance of an image.
These types of lens filters are more commonly used for film photography. They normally aren’t used for digital photography because you can use post-processing software such as Photoshop or lightroom to achieve the same effect.
Clear/Haze/UV Filter
UV filters are primarily used to protect the front of a lens, as well as cut down atmospheric haze. These filters were used in the past to block UV light. There is no need to use UV filters on DSLRs because the digital camera sensor has a UV/IR filter. They are primarily used as a protection filter since it is less expensive to replace a filter than to replace a scratched lens.
Skylight Filter
Skylight filters are very similar to UV filters, however, unlike UV/Haze filters, which have a warm amber tint, skylight filters have a magenta tint and are preferred when photographing skin tones.
Soft Focus filter
Soft focus filters blur parts of the picture selectively. By doing so, they create interesting effects such as blurring the background or softening sharp edges. To soften the edge between foreground and background, you must first set the focal length of your lens appropriately. Then, adjust the amount of diffusion applied to the filter accordingly.
Close-up Filters/Macro Filters
Close-up filters attach like filters, however, they are actually a type of lens. They allow your camera to focus more closely on a subject than it would normally be able to. If you are thinking about investing in a macro photography lens, you might consider trying a close-up filter first. It’s much less expensive, especially if you do not intend on frequently using a macro lens.
Special Effect Filters
Special effect filters primarily are used for film photography. Most of the effects they create can be produced in post-processing software for digital photography. If you are going to shoot with film, the most popular special-effects filters are:
- Starburst Filter – A star filter will add a twinkle effect and flare to light sources.
- Infrared Filter – The best-infrared filters cut out visible light, allowing infrared light into your lens, and help you capture striking images.
- Diffusion Filter – Diffusion filters are used to soften an image or to create a dreamy look with a glowy haze. A diffusion filter diffuses strong light without affecting the sharpness of the image.
Lens Filters Quality
Always get the best quality lens filter you can afford. There is no point in attaching an inferior product to an expensive lens. You will reduce image quality and will be disappointed with the results, to say the least. So while cheaper filters may initially save you some money, you’ll be better off investing in some more expensive filters.
Conclusion
A world of possibilities is opened up by using a photography filter. Filters can be used for all types of photography. So, no matter what type of photographer you are, your images will improve as you learn how to enhance them with different types of lens filters. They are an essential tool for any professional photographer to add to their photography kit
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