Specifications:
- Enables slow shutter speeds to be used, especially with high-speed films, allowing film to record movement in subjects such as waterfalls, clouds, or cars
- The camera lens filter decreases depth of field by allowing wider apertures to be used, in turn helping to separate subjects from their background
- Decrease the effective ISO of high-speed film and allow it to be used outdoors in bright situations
- The camera lens filter allows picture and video cameras (which have fixed shutter speeds) to film subjects such as snow, sand or other bright scenes that can cause overexposure
- Fit for SLR camera / digital camera / camcorder DV with a 82mm diameter lens
- Grade: ND4
- Material: Alloy & Optical Glass
- Size: 82mm / 3.2in(Dia.)
Details:
- Camera lens filters still have many uses in digital photography, and should be an important part of any photographer's camera bag
- The camera lens filter is ideal for reducing bright light in large aperture situations when a narrow depth field is needed
- ND4 digital cameras filters are often used to achieve motion blur effects with slow shutter speeds
- The cameras filter allow picture and video cameras (which have fixed shutter speeds) to film subjects such as snow, sand or other bright scenes that can cause overexposure
Size in Detail:
What's the Camera Lens Filters:
- Camera lens filters still have many uses in digital photography, and should be an important part of any photographer's camera bag. These can include polarizing filters to reduce glare and improve saturation, or simple UV/haze filters to provide extra protection for the front of your lens
Lens Filter Type:
- The most commonly used filters for digital photography include polarizing (linear/circular), UV/haze, neutral density, graduated neutral density and warming/cooling or color filters
- Example uses for each are listed below:
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Filter Type
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Primary Use
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Common Subject Matter
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Linear & Circular Polarizers
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Reduce Glare Improve Saturation
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Sky / Water / Foliage in Landscape Photography
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Neutral Density (ND)
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Extend Exposure Time
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Waterfalls, Rivers
under bright light
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Graduated Neutral Density (GND)
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Control Strong Light Gradients Reduce Vignetting
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Dramatically Lit Landscapes
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UV / Haze
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Improve Clarity with Film Provide Lens Protection
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Any
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Warming / Cooling
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Change White Balance
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Landscapes, Underwater, Special Lighting
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Linear & Circular Polarizing Filters:
- Polarizing filters (aka "polarizers") are perhaps the most important of any filter for landscape photography. They work by reducing the amount of reflected light that passes to your camera's sensor. Similar to polarizing sunglasses, polarizers will make skies appear deeper blue, will reduce glare and reflections off of water and other surfaces, and will reduce the contrast between land and sky
- Note how the sky becomes a much darker blue, and how the foliage/rocks acquire slightly more color saturation. The intensity of the polarizing effect can be varied by slowly rotating your polarizing filter, although no more than 180° of rotation is needed, since beyond this the possible intensities repeat. Use your camera's viewfinder (or rear LCD screen) to view the effect as you rotate the polarizing filter.The polarizing effect may also increase or decrease substantially depending on the direction your camera is pointed and the position of the sun in the sky. The effect is strongest when your camera is aimed in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of the sun's incoming light. This means that if the sun is directly overhead, the polarizing effect will be greatest near the horizon in all directions
- However, polarizing filters should be used with caution because they may adversely affect the photo. Polarizers dramatically reduce the amount of light reaching the camera's sensor-often by 2-3 f-stops (1/4 to 1/8 the amount of light). This means that the risk of a blurred handheld image goes up dramatically, and may make some action shots prohibitive
- Additionally, using a polarizer on a wide angle lens can produce an uneven or unrealistic looking sky which visibly darkens. In the example to the left, the sky could be considered unusually uneven and too dark at the top
- Linear vs. Circular Polarizing Filters: The circular polarizing variety is designed so that the camera's metering and autofocus systems can still function. Linear polarizers are much less expensive, but cannot be used with cameras that have through-the-lens (TTL) metering and autofocus-meaning nearly all digital SLR cameras. One could of course forego metering and autofocus, but that is rarely desirable
Neutral Density Filters:
- Neutral density (ND) filters uniformly reduce the amount of light reaching the camera's sensor. This is useful when a sufficiently long exposure time is not otherwise attainable within a given range of possible apertures (at the lowest ISO setting)
Usage:
- Smoothing water movement in waterfalls, rivers, oceans, etc.
- Achieving a shallower depth of field in very bright light
- Reducing diffraction (which reduces sharpness) by enabling a larger aperture
- Making moving objects less apparent or not visible (such as people or cars)
- Introducing blur to convey motion with moving subjects
- photo with a smoothed water effect from a long exposure
- However, only use ND filters when absolutely necessary because they effectively discard light-which could otherwise be used to enable a shorter shutter speed (to freeze action), a smaller aperture (for depth of field) or a lower ISO setting (to reduce image noise). Additionally, some ND filters can add a very slight color cast to the image.
- Generally no more than a few f-stops is need for most waterfall scenarios, so most photographers just keep one or two different ND filter amounts on hand. Extreme light reduction can enable very long exposures even during broad daylight
Problems with Lens Filters:
- Filters should only be used when necessary because they can also adversely affect the image. Since they effectively introduce an additional piece of glass between your camera's sensor and the subject, they have the potential to reduce image quality. This usually comes in the form of either a slight color tint, a reduction in local or overall image contrast, or ghosting and increased lens flare caused by light inadvertently reflecting off the inside of the filter
- Filters may also introduce physical vignetting (light fall-off or blackening at the edges of the image) if their opaque edge gets in the way of light entering the lens (right example). This was created by stacking a polarizing filter on top of a UV filter while also using a wide angle lens-causing the edges of the outermost filter to get in the way of the image. Stacking filters therefore has the potential to make all of the above problems much worse
Note on Choosing a Filter Size for a Camera Lens:
- Lens filters generally come in two varieties: screw-on and front filters. Front filters are more flexible because they can be used on virtually any lens diameter, however these may also be more cumbersome to use since they may need to be held in front of the lens. On the other hand, filter holder kits are available that can improve this process. Screw-on filters can provide an air-tight seal when needed for protection, and cannot accidentally move relative to the lens during composure. The main disadvantage is that a given screw-on filter will only work with a specific lens size
- The size of a screw-on filter is expressed in terms of its diameter, which corresponds to the diameter usually listed on the top or front of your camera lens. This diameter is listed in millimeters and usually ranges from about 46 to 82 mm for digital SLR cameras. Step-up or step-down adapters can enable a given filter size to be used on a lens with a smaller or larger diameter, respectively. However, step-down filter adapters may introduce substantial vignetting (since the filter may block light at the edges of the lens), whereas step-up adapters mean that your filter is much larger (and potentially more cumbersome) than is required
- The height of the filter edges may also be important. Ultra-thin and other special filters are designed so that they can be used on wide angle lenses without vignetting. On the other hand, these may also be much more expensive and often do not have threads on the outside to accept another filter (or sometimes even the lens cap)
Package Included:
- 1 x Glass 82mm Neutral Density ND4 Filter
