Filters for Lenses

[pilotkid]

Hey everyone hows it going? I have a quick question for you guys. I'm planning on going to the Red Bull Air Races in San Diego in about two weeks and plan on taking lots of pictures. My question is, is there a filter for my lenses that I should get? I know pretty much nothing about filters however I know that there are filters out there that will help in hazy conditions or sunny conditions(to help eliminate that washed out pic you get sometimes). What filters if any should I get to try and get good pictures? Also, in your recommendation can you explain what that specific filter does and why it would benefit me? That was I can start to learn these things. Thats for all your responses! Have a good night.
PS. My camera is a Nikon D40x with the 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses.
Thanks again!

 

[Macanadian]

I know pretty much nothing about filters however I know that there are filters out there that will help in hazy conditions or sunny conditions(to help eliminate that washed out pic you get sometimes).

This is not a filter.. But adding a lens hood in sunny conditions will prevent lens flare. If you don't have a lens hood and have a skylight filter on. In sunny conditions try removing the skylight filter. This will actually reduce some lens flare.

Don't forget to put the skylight filter back on.

 

[sjl]

I know pretty much nothing about filters however I know that there are filters out there that will help in hazy conditions or sunny conditions(to help eliminate that washed out pic you get sometimes). What filters if any should I get to try and get good pictures? Also, in your recommendation can you explain what that specific filter does and why it would benefit me? That was I can start to learn these things. Thats for all your responses! Have a good night.

Look into getting a good circular polariser. You lose 1-2 stops of light, but it can help dramatically in bright sunlight. (The polarising sunglasses you can buy are linear polarisers; that sort of filter also works, but you lose AF and metering abilities in the process. Circular polarisers are designed to avoid this issue.)

 

[ChrisA]

Look into getting a good circular polariser. You lose 1-2 stops of light, but it can help dramatically in bright sunlight. (The polarising sunglasses you can buy are linear polarisers; that sort of filter also works, but you lose AF and metering abilities in the process. Circular polarisers are designed to avoid this issue.)

It's all a trade off. The pol. filter can darken the sky but you loos light and need to use a slower shutter to make up, so more motion blur. Also hoods are great. Use them but to 18-55 Nikon lens is designed such that using a hood and a pol. filter at the same time is not so easy. (The filter ring rotates.)
It can be done f you are willing to put the hod on and off 1000 times.

The Pol. filter is only effective at some sun angles at others it does nothing but rob you of light. Use it when you need it and take it off otherwise. It is worse then useless whaen you don't need it.

Other then the Pol. with digital cameras we don't need so many filters. We can color balance after, on the computer.

 

[JDN]

It's all a trade off. The pol. filter can darken the sky but you loos light and need to use a slower shutter to make up, so more motion blur. Also hoods are great. Use them but to 18-55 Nikon lens is designed such that using a hood and a pol. filter at the same time is not so easy. (The filter ring rotates.)
It can be done f you are willing to put the hod on and off 1000 times.

The Pol. filter is only effective at some sun angles at others it does nothing but rob you of light. Use it when you need it and take it off otherwise. It is worse then useless whaen you don't need it.

Other then the Pol. with digital cameras we don't need so many filters. We can color balance after, on the computer.

Surely this isn't a problem with a circular polariser? Or am i misunderstanding something?

I use a Hoya Pro-1D CP with my nikon D40x and 18-200VR with the lens hood on, and it works really well.

 

[sjl]

Surely this isn't a problem with a circular polariser? Or am i misunderstanding something?

A rotating filter ring means you lose the polarising angle you set when you change the zoom or focus (more likely to be zoom than focus, but both are possible.) Try this experiment some time: mount a CP, and hold standard linear polarising sunglasses in front of it. Rotate the CP slowly - you'll find that there comes a point where the image through the sunglasses becomes black. (Unless I've misunderstood how CPs work, in which case I'm giving up and going home before I dig myself in even deeper.)

This is why a lot of higher-end lenses plug their "non rotating front element" - it means that pros can almost set and forget the CP at the start of the shoot (unless they're switching between landscape and portrait holds, in which case all bets are off.)

 

[Westside guy]

A rotating filter ring means you lose the polarising angle you set when you change the zoom or focus (more likely to be zoom than focus, but both are possible.)

This is only true if the lens barrel rotates during zoom or focus. The low-end 18-55mm lens does rotate during focus (according to Thom Hogan); but many/most better lenses don't.

Edit: Ah, now I see your second paragraph. But it isn't just pro lenses - even my 18-200 doesn't rotate. It's mainly the cheapie lenses that have this problem.