ND Filter question

Hello all, I am new to this site and I absolutely love it! There is so much information floating around the forum its unreal.

I have a question about filters. I am interested in purchasing some ND filters for my Tamron 28-300mm lens. What is the difference between the no name brand filters and B&W filters? Why is there such a price difference?

Also are the filters universal? If I were to purchase a new lens would the filters work on them?

Also I have been seeing .2 .4 .6 .8 filters and from my understanding the closer to 1 the number is the darker the tint, which one would you recommend or would it be smart to get several for different types of light?

I am new to this DSLR and I am learning a great deal, so any help you guys have to offer will be appreciated. Thanks

-Jay

PS. random question- If i wanna post pictures on the site and i shoot in RAW how to i post. Thanks again, look forward to learning more.

quality of materials and time spent on engineering and manufactoring.

Like in any other product area...cost plus preceived value in the marketplace for the brand. You may for a Bimmer than a Chevy.

Filters are either round and screw on to the front of the lens or, are rectangular and held buy hand or by a purpose-built holder. The screw on ones have to be the right size in mm to fit the lens. A common size for many Canon lens is 77mm. If you have lens with different sizes, then you can get filters for the largest one and use stepdown rings to mount the filter on the smaller lenses. For your first filter, consider a very good circular polarizer (CPL). Personally I would go with a B+W Kaisemann unit. Are they inexpensive? No...but neither was your DSLR. A good filter, like a good lens is an investment that can last for many years.

Remember that filters by their nature keep light (which in the sensor becomes data) out. But our job is to gather all the data we can. So use filters as little as possible. Nothing in postprocessing (LR, PS, Aperture, DPP) replaces the effect of a CPL. And nothing can give you the milky water at a waterfall compared to using a serious ND (such as 8-10 stops). But those are about the only times I use a filter. For the other effects, I use LR or PS features.

You tell your post processing software (LR, PS, DPP, Aperture) to export as a jpeg. You typically use jpeg format for posting on web pages, email attachments...etc.

thanks for the response, i will look into the polarizer filter

since i plan on buying a few more lenses to add to my collection is there a way for me to use the filters on multiple lenses, i dont want to spend a lot of money on a new filter every time i buy a lens.

if i have to then thats what needs to be done im just looking and wondering if there are other options.

thanks again

Jay

All filters will degrade your imagery slightly. The amount of image degregation depends on the quality of the filter. I have not found very many objective tests of various brand filters. These reviews from Poland seem to be fairly in-depth and comprehensive but, I cannot say whether they are totally accurate or not:

UV filter test:
http://www.lenstip.com …icle-UV_filters_test.html

UV filter test supplement:
http://www.lenstip.com …rs_test_-_supplement.html

CPL filter test:
http://www.lenstip.com …arizing_filters​_test.html

CPL filter test supplement:
http://www.lenstip.com …rs_test_-_supplement.html


I for one believe that the advantages of a CPL filter of high quality would far outweigh the slight loss in IQ. As mentioned above, the CPL is one filter for which the effects cannot generally be duplicated in post-processing. As an example, when shooting through windows or into water that has reflections, the CPL will eliminate or significantly reduce the reflections allowing the sensor "to see" what is behind the window or under the surface of the water. Since your camera had never captured the images without the filter, you cannot bring them out in post-processing.

jbino7 wrote in post #10777964
thanks for the response, i will look into the polarizer filter

since i plan on buying a few more lenses to add to my collection is there a way for me to use the filters on multiple lenses, i dont want to spend a lot of money on a new filter every time i buy a lens.

if i have to then thats what needs to be done im just looking and wondering if there are other options.

thanks again

Jay

Buy the largest filter for what lens you expect to get. For instance, if you're planning on getting a 24-105, it takes a 77mm thread. You then find step-up adapters so you can use your 58mm, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm, etc, lens with the 77mm filter. If you have a 58mm lens, you need a "58mm-77mm step-up adapter".

It's a little bit more annoying to use step-up adapter, but you'll save money on buying duplicate filters for each lens size.

Also, you may want to get a filter wrench as well as ocassionally, the filter could bind in the step-up adapter.