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This is the only lens filter you cannot replicate behind a computer

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When I took on photography, there were a lot of filters to consider. ND, Haze, warming, cooling, grad-ND, polarizers. Heck, I had so many filters that sometimes they needed a little bag of their own inside my photography bag. Today though, most of the filters can be mimicked with photoshop.

Landscape photographer Mark Denney makes an interesting point, he shows three of the more common filters, ND, Grad-ND and a circular polarizer and while two of those filters can be replaced with photoshop-work. Mark asks a simple question, would you rather be spending your time editing in front on a computer, or hiking and shooting behind a camera.

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Use welding glass as a 10 stops ND filter

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Neutral density filter reduces the amount of light going into the lens, so you can take long exposures even when the light is bright.

Long exposures blur anything moving, like water, clouds, or people. This can be very useful for making choppy water look smooth, making clouds streak, or getting rid of people at a tourist attraction.

These types of filters usually cost up to $200 (especially on big diameter lenses), but with this simple hack, you can make it for only $5.[Read More…]

21 UV & protection filters are put to the test and the results are rather surprising

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The “protective” filter debate rages on as always, but whether for them or against them, how do they all stack up? The folks over at Lens Rentals wanted to know. The man assigned to the task, Roger Cicala, didn’t really want to know, though. He’ll “get around to it some day”, he said. “Some day” came when he was told that it would involve lasers.

The test is to essentially see which filters will, theoretically, degrade your image the least. Which causes the least amount of light loss, reflection, refraction and distortion. So, 21 popular UV & protective filters were put to the test. It’s not entirely scientific, but it does involve lasers. The results are in and some of them are quite surprising.

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DIY solar filters for the great American eclipse

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With the Great American Eclipse on Aug 21 only a few weeks away, I decided to put together some solar filters.  With the high travel costs to get to the eclipse from Southern California, I saved some money through purchasing the solar filter sheets instead of the pre-made filters.  To facilitate a fast detachment during totality, compared to a screw on filter, I made some cardboard holders that fit into my Lee filter holder.

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Are cheap ND filters really any good?

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Using ND filters is a great way to get creative with your photography, creating motion in your images with long exposures, being able to shoot wide open in full sun, producing smooth silky waters are just a few ways to have fun with them. In this blog I show you how I used a cheap eBay variable ND filter to produce these images below and then compare the images using more expensive and excellent quality B+W filters.

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This guy shot a lens and UV filter with an airsoft rifle to see just how much “protection” they offer

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It’s one of those debates that’s been going on since the dawn of digital photography. To use UV filters or not? In the film days, a UV filter was often a wise choice, depending on what film stock you were using. In the days of digital, it didn’t really offer the advantage it once did. But, many still choose to use them. The common reason is for “protection”. In the event that something bangs into it, or the lens is dropped “I’d rather replace a UV filter than a front element”.

But just how tough are front elements, really? And just how strong are the UV filters? Are they really protecting the element from impact as much as most people think? That’s something YouTuber Vaes Joren wanted to find out. After his Nikon 18-55mm kit lens broke, he decided to shoot both it and a UV filter with an airsoft rifle to see just what would happen.

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Are filters even necessary for landscape photography anymore?

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This is a topic that seems to come up every few years. As sensors increase in dynamic range, ND grads sometimes aren’t so essential. Raw processing software becomes more capable with each new release. Even filters that cut through haze aren’t always needed. But what about things like circular polarisers and big ND filters for super long exposures?

In this video, landscape photographer Thomas Heaton offers his insight and thoughts on the question. When it comes to polarisers, Thomas is of the opinion that they absolutely are necessary. It’s an opinion I share. The function that they serve just cannot be reproduced in post. But what about the rest? Watch the video to find out.

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Heliopan will now replace your UV and protection filters if they shatter

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Screw-on filters are designed to be a protective cover for the front element of your lens (in addition to any aesthetic alteration they provide). But just because they’re meant to take the brunt of an impact in the event you drop your lens doesn’t mean it’s any less hurtful to watch them shatter to pieces.

No need to worry any more though. Filter manufacturer Heliopan has announced it will start offering the industry’s first drop protection warranty on all of its UV and protection filters.[Read More…]

How to adapt Large Lee filters to the Nikon 14-24mm (and other wide lenses)

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I love my Nikon 14-24mm lens but it has one drawback; you can’t put filters on it. Not that one needs to use a huge selection of filters on ultra-wides but if you’re doing certain kinds of photography being able to use an ultra-wide combined with ND filters makes the composition or time lapse more interesting. Lee filters, the company that makes really cool kind of pricey large resin filters, has developed a holder for the 14-24mm lens and it’s equivalent in the Canon world. The downside of this is, the basic holder is $200 which needs a lens adapter, for another $100, to which you add the actual filter, around $150. So what you have is a filter and a holder that costs about a third as much as the lens to begin with, $450.

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