Filters - The Next Step

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So you've gotten your brand new DSLR and hopefully one or two not-so-expensive but nonetheless excellent lenses, what's the next step? For some people, it may be another lens, but for those of you who don't have loads of money to spend, some filters may help you a long way! Now I'm not talking about those UV filters you put in front of your lens to prevent physical damage - I'm talking about filters that actually change the ways your camera sees the world.

I went to a used camera trade show a few weeks back. They had everything from really old folding cameras to rangefinders to SLR and DSLR. After spending a good 2 hours in there, I acquired the following for a grand total (including admission fee $5) of $37!

1. Filter Adapter and 2 Graduated Chromofilter (or grad ND)

Price: $10 (adapter) + $6 (2 filters) = $16

What does it do?
The graduated chromofilters serve the purpose of reducing the brightness contrast within a photo in a very specific manner - block more light on the tinted part and less on the clear part.

Where to use it?
This is probably the most useful filter I have used. The most obvious application is the photographing of sunset. With the tint-clear edge on the horizon, the filter will reduce the brightness of the sky while leaving the land (foreground) unaltered. This will enable you to keep the land/ocean (foreground) while not washout the sky (background).

I also found this very useful when you are taking portrait with a very strong side light. By rotating the filter with the tint toward the light, you can reduce the contrast on your subject's face - and hence avoid wash out of features. (will post examples when I have some)

You can get something similar on Amazon: Cokin Graduated Neutral Grey G2-SOFT ND8 0.9 Filter - Cokin P121S

2. 4 Point Cross Filter (Star Filter)

 Price: $6


What does it do?
This filter will scatter the light of any point light source (eg. Sun, Christmas light) into a "4 point star".

Where to use it? 
This is more of a effect-adding, fun filter. I wasn't entirely happy with the result sometimes as the stars get rather distracting, but sometimes it works! One of the application I found was taking photos of a lake on a sunny day. As you can see in the photo to the left, it turns the reflection of the ripples into stars which was quite glamorous and cannot be reproduced in post production (at least to my knowledge).

Another obvious application is obviously taking a cityscape at night (which I have not tried). I was told that it would produce nice and creative effect.




You can get something similar on Amazon: Polaroid Optics 58mm Rotating 4 Point Star Filter

3. Soft Filter
Price: $10

What does it do?
This filter will essentially "softens" the image, rendering the light more diffused.

Where to use it?
Now, I understand the "soften" function is very common in post production software. But since I don't really like doing post-production and I like to see the effect when I take the photos, I bought this for portrait use.

You can use this filter whenever you are taking a portrait and are going for the "flattering" look. Especially when taking photos of ladies, this filter will reduce wrinkles, blemish. A comparison of filter not used (left) filter used (right) is posted below.

 

You can get something similar on Amazon (along with 4 point star and warming): Polaroid Optics 52mm 3 Piece Special Effect Camera/Camcorder Lens Filter Kit (Soft Focus, Revolving 4 Point Star, Warming)


That's all! for 37 dollars including admission. I felt that was an awesome deal! Filters will give you more magnitude of creativity and versatility.

If you liked the review please help me by either buying the tripod from the links on my website (help me the most), or click on the google ads to the side, or even just coming back from time to times to check my new blog posts!