bnsf

I am using a Polarizing filter when I shot from a vehicle window. I am going to remove the UV on my next photo and see how they turn out with the UV and without the UV and decide if I should keep the UV on when I use the Cir-PL filter.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Many of us use ND filters to allow the use of wider apertures in bright sun. When I record video, at 24 frames per second for "that cinema look," I'm using a 180° shutter angle (1/48 second, or double the frame rate). That means, with a base ISO of 200, I would be recording at ridiculously small apertures. I'd have nearly infinite depth of field combined with significant diffraction limiting of sharpness! So I use ND 8 and ND 64 filters when filming outdoors on my GH4. That gives me three or six stops of light reduction. I use ND 8 on cloudy days and ND 64 in bright daylight.

Others use ND to slow the shutter, so they get the cliche "silky waterfall" effect like you see on souvenir felt paintings.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

That is true, but he mentioned "No glare from the windshield", which made me wonder what he was actually using...

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Should is relative.
Much simpler to just add the polarizer to the UV, less work.
But like I said, just be careful stacking multiple filters. Doing so will work with some lenses/focal lengths, but not all. I doubt you'll see a discernible difference without the UV.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

That is NOT an ND filter. If you ask bad questions you’ll get bad answers.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Frankly, you should remove all the filters and only use them when they actually serve a purpose... one filter at a time, if at all possible.

It makes absolutely no sense to leave an ND filter on a lens! That forces you to use slower shutter speeds (more susceptible to camera shake) and/or higher ISOs (more digital "noise" in images).

Some people like to leave a UV filter on their lens to "protect" it. Personally I think that's silly. How much protection can a thin piece of glass be expected to provide? A lens hood (while shooting) or a lens cap (while storing) do a MUCH better job of protection. That said, I do have and use them at times... such as at the shore to keep salt spray off lens optics or if out shooting in a dust storm or a paint ball battle! These are pretty rare occasions, so my UV (or clear protection) filters don't see very much use.

Assuming you're shooting digital, no UV filtration is needed. It was necessary with film, a lot of which was overly sensitive to UV wavelengths (made for a blue "haze" in images). This was the original and actual purpose of UV filters. They were never intended to be used "for protection". But because they appear clear, that's how folks use them now. And camera stores are only to happy to sell you UV filters, even if they serve little to no purpose with digital.

I have no idea what a cross screen filter is or what it does.

Do you mean a polarizing filter? If so, most modern cameras require Circular Polarizers (C-Pol). Those don't interfere with the autofocus (or, more rarely, the metering system), as can occur with "old school" linear polarizers.

A C-Pol is one of the most useful filters with digital imaging. Almost all other types of filters can easily be replicated and applied in post-processing. Not so with some of the effects of C-Pol filters.

However, there also are plenty of times to NOT use a C-Pol. Never use one (or any filter) when shooting a sunset or sunrise. Also don't use when shooting a rainbow (the filter will make it disappear). But because a C-Pol "costs" at least .75 to as much as 2.5 stops of light lost to the filter, it's usually best to only install a C-Pol when the filter's effects are actually needed.

Neutral Density (ND) filters are another type that can be useful with digital, though for most shooters they would be rarely used "special effects" filters... only used when wanting an extra long shutter speed to cause deliberate motion blur effects... or wanting to use an extra large lens aperture for shallow depth of field effects in bright sun.

Red filter? Are you shooting B&W film? That was the only time I used colored filters, other than occasional "special effects". With digital those aren't really necessary any more. The same filter effects can be applied to black & white conversions in post-processing. Even the special effects of colored filters are very easily replicated in post-processing.

Not to mention, if you use a digital camera set to Auto White Balance, that will cancel out any colored filter's effect!

Never "stack" filters unnecessarily. Each additional filter is farther from the lens, more likely to have detrimental effects on image quality, with greater risk of vignetting occurring. There are extremely rare times when stacking is a "necessary evil"... But just being too lazy to remove a useless UV "protection" filter is most certainly NOT one of those times. A rare example for me is I carry 3-stop and 6-stop ND filters... and every once in a great while I want a stronger 9-stops so will use them together (doesn't happen often enough to justify buying a 9 or 10-stop ND filter). Aside from that, I don't think I've stacked any filters since I switched to digital 15 or 16 years ago.

EDIT: OMG! You're shooting photos THROUGH a windshield? that's like putting the world's worst filter in front of your lens. Automotive glass is not "optical quality" by any means. Not to mention, dust, dirt, bugs, etc.

If the filter is reducing reflections, it's not an ND (neutral density). It must be a polarizing filter. (Note: There are combo filters... circular polarizing and ND, all in one... so photographers can avoid stacking filters.)

If the "cross screen" filter you mention is one that's designed to cause flare effects like "sun stars", you definitely should use that filter by itself. To get the effects you'll be shooting toward strong light sources... that's a time when a polarizer has no positive effects, only detrimental ones. Same with an ND filter.... you want to stop down the lens a bit to make sun stars, while the ND causes you to do the opposite and open up the lens aperture. Stacking a cross screen filter on top of a UV positions the filter a little farther from the lens where it's effect is likely to be degraded.

If I had to guess... I would say my most used filters... my C-Pols... are on lenses and in use about 10 or 15% of the time. I only use ND filters on a couple specific lenses and those filters see much less use... maybe 1% of the time. My least used are my UV/clear protection... they probably are on a lens less than 0.1% of the time! Those are the only types of filters I use, shooting digital. Filters of all types combined find their way onto one or more of my lenses about 16.1% of the time, by my rough estimates. The other 83.99% of the time my filters are stored in my bag and my lenses are used filterless (but always with a lens hood or lens cap).

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Except for specific situations, I have a UV filter on all but one of my lenses. When using multiple filters, I removed the UV filter and will add a colored filter (or CP) + ND, etc. The glass of the added filters will filter an UV in addition to producing the filter effect desired.
--Bob

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

My thoughts, too. With digital, you can do many things in post - like alter colors.

hrblaine

Back in the day I used a protective filter, no more though. If I think that I need to protect a lens I use a hood so now I use no filters of any kind. Harry

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

My choice, too! The only filters I might consider are NDF and polarizer.

User ID

Stackem up. The more the merrier. If there are any negative aspects they will be rather minor. Don’t worry. Be happy. Bang away !

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Won't know until one tries.
One can always compose for and crop the corners off if need be.

User ID

You check your finder, you check your playback, and life is good ... or not.

There’s no reason to worry about six extra glass surface when two of those surfaces belong to a cross star filter.

As always an enormous amount of information is unknown so there’s no point in posting lofty “expert” advice (altho I notice that the usual culprits simply cannot help themselves).

Again, just bang away and judge the results on their own merit (or maybe absence of merit).

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yea, I found that my zoom set at 18mm picks up the rims from extra filters.

rwww80a Loc: Hampton, NH

[quote=bnsf]I need your help when it comes to using multi filters on my camera. I currently have a UV and a ND filter on the camera lens
Why on earth would anyone keep a ND filter on their lens?