A camera is a composite friend. From hardware equipment to software editing tools, mastering the art may not be a walk in the park. But one thing stands out that makes a beginner produce veteran-quality ocular outputs once mastered — camera lens filters.
To achieve specific visual effects as told in pictures and videos, professional photographers, videographers, and cinematographers use camera lens filters for light modification. These accessories offer advantages such as exposure control, color correction, and reflection reduction.
This guide will help young camera-users understand what lens filters are, when to use them, and how they help produce stellar photos and videos; a head start for aspiring shutterbugs.
What are camera lens filters?
Camera lens filters are circular transparent or semi-transparent pieces of glass or resin, outlined with protective covering often made of high-quality plastics. Photographers screw these onto the front of the lens to modify the amount and intensity of light before it enters.
A seasoned camera-user strategically selects certain camera lens filters that are capable of color correction to control and boost image colors. The deliberate choice of hues, shades, and tints successfully conveys the desired color story.
More than light adjustments, lens filters also serve as protective paraphernalia for your camera’s lens. Manufacturers often design the most affordable lens filters as clear glasses used simply for protection, since camera lenses usually attract scratches, cracks, and dust.
What are the types of camera lens filters?
UV Filters
The most common camera lens filters are UV filters, used for lens protection primarily from harsh ultraviolet waves of light, especially for outdoor shooting. They can also prevent moisture, dirt, and scratches. This camera lens filter — essentially a lens protector — also alleviates haze and fogginess.
Polarizing Filters
Acting as a rotatable lens, polarizing filters reduce unwanted reflections. They operate by blocking vibrating perpendicular light waves in the same direction. These are often used in shooting landscapes with defined colors such as with water, foliage, and bright skies. Moreover, these can also be used for removing reflections from surfaces of water or from windows.
Neutral Density (ND) Filters
Shooting in broad daylight can be very annoying when the output becomes nothing but brightness. ND filters are dark-tinted lenses perfect for reducing the amount of light captured by the camera without affecting the color grade. Surfeit sunlight and harsh flashes are muted by this lens.
Graduated ND Filters
Also known as ND Grad or GND filters, these lenses have vertical transitions from dark to light ideal for balancing bright skies and darker landscapes. These lens filters vary in darkness, measured in “stops” which indicates the amount of light blocked by the filter.
Color Filters
From the name itself, these camera lens filters are translucent materials that reflect specific light wavelengths and absorb the rest. These come in a plethora of colors, perfect for color photography and black-and-white contrast enhancements. Recommended: Hoya 82mm Red Starscape Glass Filter.
Special Effects Filters
For the creative and experimental shutterbugs out there, this may be your best companion. Ranging from star filters, to soft focus, to infrared filters and everything in between, these special effects filters create streaks of light, diffuse the amount of light, and even provide kaleidoscopic filters to bring that imagination to life.
Camera lens filters vs. digital editing
Photo and video editing software are capable of mimicking certain feats in order to arrive at the desired visual outcome, but often, these provide limited editing choices that compromise other facets of photography and videography. One may need a miracle to recover a blown-out colored sky. Unwanted reflections may not be removed digitally as well as a polarizer can.
Why chase the hassle of editing photos, as well as purchasing expensive editing software when one can use affordable and sustainable camera lens filters?
Post-production may lag productivity compared to using lens filters. The juxtaposition sits right in front of our cameras: small lenses create enormous improvements in your outputs. Learning the imperative and advantages of using lens filters helps amateurs improve, and we cannot wait to see you produce your own masterpieces!
