{"id":964,"date":"2015-07-06T07:10:55","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T07:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/?p=964"},"modified":"2018-04-06T15:58:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T15:58:10","slug":"the-one-filter-every-outdoor-photographer-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/the-one-filter-every-outdoor-photographer-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"The ONE Filter Every Outdoor Photographer Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Clockwise<\/a>
Clockwise from top left: Singh-Ray cir.pl., Tiffen cir.pl. (77mm), Rodenstock Digital HR cir.pl., Hoya pl., Tiffen HT Digital cir.pl.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We need polarizing filters and I am not going to explain why.\u00a0 Many other photographer-authors have already done that and I see no need to put my own spin on it.\u00a0\u00a0 But there may be differences between two polarizing filters, either from two different manufacturers, or from the same manufacturer.\u00a0 That is what we\u2019re going to look at here.<\/p>\n

Frankly, choosing a polarizing filter from a dozen or more options is a pain.\u00a0 If you have a limited budget, you might select the cheapest filter.\u00a0 If you have used filters before, you will likely stick with a brand that you know and trust.<\/p>\n

The photo above shows five polarizing filters. All attach to the front of a camera lens; four include a screw thread to attach directly to the lens and one is designed for a filter holder. \u00a0Most are constructed from a glass element and a metal ring, but the most expensive filter is mostly plastic.<\/p>\n

Clockwise from top left: (1) Singh-Ray LB Neutral Circular Polarizer for Z-Pro holder, (2) Tiffen circular polarizer 77mm, (3) Rodenstock Digital HR circular polarizer, (4) Hoya polarizer, (5) Tiffen HT Digital circular polarizer.<\/p>\n

In true Sesame Street manner … which one of these does not belong with the others?\u00a0 While Singh-Ray does offer standard screw-in filters, this version shown here is designed specifically for a Cokin Z-Pro filter holder.\u00a0 Filter holders such as this allow the use of rectangular graduated filters.\u00a0 If you need both grad filters and polarization, you have two choices: attach a polarizing filter to the lens and then add the filter holder onto that, or use a special filter that fits directly in the holder.\u00a0 The Sing-Ray LB series (LB = lighter and brighter) isn\u2019t quite as dark as most polarizing filters \u2013 you lose less light compared to others.\u00a0 And, while some polarizers have a color tint, the LB Neutral does not.\u00a0 This filter is ridiculously expensive.<\/p>\n

Next, consider the silver-ring filter, which is a Tiffen Digital HT circular polarizer (HT = High Transmission).\u00a0 Like the Singh-Ray LB, this filter is not as dark as most polarizers, so you lose less light through the filter.\u00a0 Unlike the Sing-Ray LB Neutral, this filter has a color tint.\u00a0 This filter is low-profile; however, while \u201clow profile\u201d usually implies there is no female thread on the front, this filter does have a front thread.<\/p>\n

In the specific case of the Digital HT, the front threading and the rear threading are both shallow, allowing the filter to be thinner. But after eight years of use, the rear thread has worn and this filter sometimes does not stay attached to the lens – that\u2019s a problem.\u00a0 I recently replaced this filter with the Rodenstock HR Digital filter.\u00a0 The color is more neutral compared to the Tiffen Digital HT.\u00a0 However, it is not HT or LB, and I do miss that.<\/p>\n

What is a low-profile filter?\u00a0 It is simply thinner than usual, in order to solve a particular problem.\u00a0 The problem with adding filters to the front of a lens is that they can cause vignetting, particularly if you stack multiple filters together.\u00a0 Low-profile filters often omit the female thread on the front, meaning you cannot attach another filter in front of it.\u00a0 The thinnest filters I have seen are from Vu Filters (http:\/\/www.vufilters.com<\/a>).\u00a0 Frankly, unless you are experiencing a vignette problem, I suggest avoiding low-profile filters.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Tiffen Digital HT, the photo here shows another Tiffen.\u00a0 This is a basic circular polarizing filter.\u00a0 It is good quality and I have relied upon frequently.\u00a0 However, I am replacing it with a B+W F-Pro circular polarizer (not shown), which I think is a bit better.<\/p>\n

Just as lenses often have optical coatings on the glass, the same can be true for filters.\u00a0 The second photo (below) shows a telephone pole reflected on the filters.\u00a0 You can see that some filters are less reflective than others, which is achieved through coatings applied to the surface of the glass.\u00a0 From the top of the photo, first is the Singh-Ray, followed by the 77mm Tiffen, and then the 67mm Rodenstock Digital HR.\u00a0 See how the Rodenstock is a bit less reflective than the others? It has multiple coatings on the surface of the glass.<\/p>\n

(Click on the image below to view it larger size.)<\/p>\n

\"Singh-ray,<\/a>
Singh-ray, Tiffen cir.pl., Rodenstock HR Digital cir.pl., Hoya pol., Tiffen Digital HT cir.pl.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The one polarizing filter that I have not yet mentioned is an old Hoya filter, which is a linear polarizer, not a circular polarizer.\u00a0 Any linear polarizer can interfere with electronic auto-focus.\u00a0 Circular is generally preferable because you can always use a circular polarizer in place of a linear polarizer, but the reverse is not true.\u00a0 None-the-less, I did use this filter quite recently in a situation where I was relying upon manual focus. \u00a0I have owned this filter for twenty years \u2026 since before I owned autofocus lenses.<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, photographers needed an array of color-correction filters to compensate for peculiarities in the light.\u00a0 However, with the advent of digital cameras that include a color temperature adjustment, color correction can be done in-camera, largely eliminating the need for such filters.\u00a0 So, today, I carry only three types of filters, polarizing, neutral density, and graduated neutral density.\u00a0 While ND and grad ND are rather specialized devices that many folks do not need, the one filter every outdoor photographer needs is a polarizing filter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We need polarizing filters and I am not going to explain why.\u00a0 Many other photographer-authors have already done that and I see no need to put my own spin on it.\u00a0\u00a0 But there may be differences between two polarizing filters, either from two different manufacturers, or from the same manufacturer.\u00a0 That is what we\u2019re going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[182,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-filters","category-photo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=964"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":969,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions\/969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevindavisphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}