COMBINING LENS FILTERS

[thrash_273]

HI EVERYONE! IM GLAD I FOUND A SITE TO HELP ME SHARPEN MY SO CALLED PASSION:). ALRIGHT IM A NEWBIE, AND I EXPERIMENT ALOT OF STUFFS JUST TO GET THE SHOT THAT IM LOOKING FOR. SO HERE IS MY QUESTION, I JUST BOUGHT A CIRCULAR POLARIZER FILTER, CAN I COMBINE THIS FILTER TO MY ULTRAVIOLET FILTER? IF YES, WHICH ONE WILL GO FIRST TO THE LENS????

[SkipD]

You should completely avoid double-stacking filters if at all possible (and it's almost always possible to do so unless both filters are special-purpose and both are really needed for some reason). That's just asking for problems with your image quality.

The UV filter is one which can stay off the lens most of the time, in my opinion. However, I feel that you should always use a properly designed (for the particular lens you are using) rigid lens hood. The lens hood will help keep stray light from degrading your image and it will provide a lot of physical protection (keeping your fingers off the lens/filter, warding off damage from the everyday impact a lens will take, etc.).

By the way - all capital letters is considered SHOUTING on a forum. 'Twould be a good idea to make sure the Caps Lock is off.

Welcome to the forums. There's a lot of information and camaraderie here.

[thrash_273]

ohhh i see.:) were going to the ocean this weekend, i wonder if you can give me some tips. is it true that battery drains faster at dawn?

[SkipD]

is it true that battery drains faster at dawn?That's a new one on me ;).

[Jon]

No, it's not true. A longer exposure will take more battery power, but just photographing at dawn won't necessarily. A long-enough exposure to drain the battery would require you to have the camera firmly attached to a solid tripod.

If you're going to the ocean, a polarizer is good if it's sunny; otherwise you'll want that UV filter since it'll help keep salt spray off the lens. Unlike Skip, I always use filters; I use hoods too, but hoods only protect against things coming from the side, not from in front, and I get all sorts of stuff coming at me from straight ahead. But you don't need both at once.

You don't say what camera you have though - that can make a difference in answers to some of your questions.

[thrash_273]

No, it's not true. A longer exposure will take more battery power, but just photographing at dawn won't necessarily. A long-enough exposure to drain the battery would require you to have the camera firmly attached to a solid tripod.

If you're going to the ocean, a polarizer is good if it's sunny; otherwise you'll want that UV filter since it'll help keep salt spray off the lens. Unlike Skip, I always use filters; I use hoods too, but hoods only protect against things coming from the side, not from in front, and I get all sorts of stuff coming at me from straight ahead. But you don't need both at once.

You don't say what camera you have though - that can make a difference in answers to some of your questions.

so you keep your uv filter all the time even if its night?? i have a canon xti, im a newbie on slr's.:) so far, i have hood,tripod, rc1, uv and pol.cir filter. i use a ef 70-300mm lens.

[sapearl]

Take some sort of small camera blower with you like the Rocket Blower. Being at the beach it will be a good idea at the end of each day to use it to blow any sand particles off your camera body or lens. It's also a good idea to wipe the camera down, AFTER blowing, to get rid of any salt spray or other film that may have accumulated.

You probably have a strap, so try to keep the camer a little higher on your body when walking the dunes or beach. The farther away you have it from the sand, the less likely it is to accumulate on it. Have fun, and welcome to the forum :D - Stu

[thrash_273]

Take some sort of small camera blower with you like the Rocket Blower. Being at the beach it will be a good idea at the end of each day to use it to blow any sand particles off your camera body or lens. It's also a good idea to wipe the camera down, AFTER blowing, to get rid of any salt spray or other film that may have accumulated.

You probably have a strap, so try to keep the camer a little higher on your body when walking the dunes or beach. The farther away you have it from the sand, the less likely it is to accumulate on it. Have fun, and welcome to the forum :D - Stu

can you give me some hints on how to use filter?:) or how you use yours?

[Mike R]

Take some sort of small camera blower with you like the Rocket Blower. Being at the beach it will be a good idea at the end of each day to use it to blow any sand particles off your camera body or lens. It's also a good idea to wipe the camera down, AFTER blowing, to get rid of any salt spray or other film that may have accumulated.

You probably have a strap, so try to keep the camera a little higher on your body when walking the dunes or beach. The farther away you have it from the sand, the less likely it is to accumulate on it. Have fun, and welcome to the forum :D - Stu

Great advice. I would just add to use care when changing the lens.
Make sure you are protected from blowing sand and point the camera downward when doing so.

[thrash_273]

does ritz camera store on malls sell rocket blowers?

[Mike R]

In my area, the size of the Ritz store determines what they carry. I prefer B&H when time is not a factor

[thrash_273]

thanks mike. i have one more question though, how do you use your filter? ex. uv,cp etc. and how often?

[sapearl]

Sure thing thrash - Lately I've been doing a lot of urban landscape photography using my circular polarizer. Normally I will keep the UV filter on the lens for protection, but I switched to the CPL for my latest project.

With the CPL mounted, I simply look through the viewfinder and rotate the CPL until I get the most dramatic sky/cloud/contrast effect. In bright situations it will also reduce glare to a degree, darken the sky and water, and add saturation to the colors. Here is an example that I shot last week.

==>



can you give me some hints on how to use filter?:) or how you use yours?

[Mike R]

thanks mike. i have one more question though, how do you use your filter? ex. uv,cp etc. and how often?

It depends. If I am at the shore, I will keep my CLP on the lens until the sun begins to set. It is also useful for removing or decreasing reflections from glass when shooting windows. I have a CLP for each lens diameter. It's more expensive than using a step up ring but this way I can put them on the lenses and not have to swap it each time I switch lens. I don't use a UV filter but it does offer lens protection and some people would never leave home without one on each lens. That is personal preference. I also have a set of GND filters (rectangular which fit in a holder in front of the lens) which I use often for my landscapes. They, along with the CLP are the only filters I carry.
I have a "star" filter for my 50mm f/1.8 but that filter is only used in the winter around Christmas. (The family likes the look :confused: I think it is sometimes too much)

[sapearl]

Thrash, you can more examples of using a CPL at:

http://www.pbase.com/sapearl/cleveland_flats

[FatCat]

Hi Trash,

Just a note of warning... a PL filter usually cuts you about 2 f stops, and a IR filter on top of that will take enough light to make your shots about a day and a half long.

[Jon]

so you keep your uv filter all the time even if its night?? i have a canon xti, im a newbie on slr's.:) so far, i have hood,tripod, rc1, uv and pol.cir filter. i use a ef 70-300mm lens.Right - UV won't cut the light any, like a polarizer would. (well, somewhat less than 1%, maybe, which is well within the range of shutter or aperture variance).

[Jon]

Hi Trash,

Just a note of warning... a PL filter usually cuts you about 2 f stops, and a IR filter on top of that will take enough light to make your shots about a day and a half long.
An IR will, in combination with the camera's anti-IR filter, but nobody's mentioned IR filters so far. Filter factor for a UV is 0 stops or 1x.

[thrash_273]

you guys are great! thanks alot!

[thrash_273]

Sure thing thrash - Lately I've been doing a lot of urban landscape photography using my circular polarizer. Normally I will keep the UV filter on the lens for protection, but I switched to the CPL for my latest project.

With the CPL mounted, I simply look through the viewfinder and rotate the CPL until I get the most dramatic sky/cloud/contrast effect. In bright situations it will also reduce glare to a degree, darken the sky and water, and add saturation to the colors. Here is an example that I shot last week.

==>
nicely done. i have use my cpl last weekend on the ocean but i didn't get the shot that i want, it was foggy also.

[sapearl]

I've been in similar circumstances too with fog. If the fog is solid I have not been able to achieve any beneficial effect with the CPL. But if it is partially "rolling in" with some intermittent light sources or even blue sky behind, the CPL can add some dramatic effect.

If you go out to my blog at the following link and look at the two photos in the article "Interpretations of Black & White and Color, you'll see an example of what I mean:

http://pearlphoto.blogspot.com/

The lakefront shot was done at 5 PM, it was a hot and brightly sunny day with this strange fog that just kept on rolling through.

nicely done. i have use my cpl last weekend on the ocean but i didn't get the shot that i want, it was foggy also.

[thrash_273]

I've been in similar circumstances too with fog. If the fog is solid I have not been able to achieve any beneficial effect with the CPL. But if it is partially "rolling in" with some intermittent light sources or even blue sky behind, the CPL can add some dramatic effect.

If you go out to my blog at the following link and look at the two photos in the article "Interpretations of Black & White and Color, you'll see an example of what I mean:

http://pearlphoto.blogspot.com/

The lakefront shot was done at 5 PM, it was a hot and brightly sunny day with this strange fog that just kept on rolling through.
your right. that was a nice and clear explanation. the situation i had was all foggy, i mean i cant see a ray of light from it,and twas around 5:20am. ohh well, probably i expect to much on that trip to the ocean but there's always next time.:)

[sapearl]

Yeah - I can't tell you how many duds I've generated when the sun didn't want to cooperate :lol:. And that was pretty darn expensive back in the day, when I had to use film, and not know how crappy a job I did until a few days later when the lab work was done.:cry:

We continue to live and learn. I may understand the basics of photography but there's still plenty about digital that is new to me.

your right. that was a nice and clear explanation. the situation i had was all foggy, i mean i cant see a ray of light from it,and twas around 5:20am. ohh well, probably i expect to much on that trip to the ocean but there's always next time.:)