Filter
Oct 10, 2022 17:40:12 #
bbradford
Loc: Wake Forest NC
So I would like advice on the best filter for sunrises and sunsets. I want to get just the sun without all the flair. Any advice will be appreciated
Oct 10, 2022 18:10:01 #
bbradford wrote:
So I would like advice on the best filter for sunrises and sunsets. I want to get just the sun without all the flair. Any advice will be appreciated
Maybe a Graduated Neutral Density filter would be of help.
Oct 10, 2022 18:50:02 #
dsnoke
Loc: North Georgia, USA
Getting flair without flare is tough. When shooting into the sun, I find I use both bracketing (which means blending images in post-processing) and a very small aperture so the sun is not blown out. But if you do just a single exposure, you may not be able to avoid lens flare. One option I sometimes use is to have the sun just out of frame, so the light is there without very bright sun itself.
Cheers
Cheers
Oct 10, 2022 18:54:16 #
Flare in your sunrise or sunset shots is more a factor of the flare-reducing coatings and optical characteristics of the glass elements in the lens you are using, and the angle of the sun to your lens, and that varies widely.
Try using a lens hood to avoid extra scattering light. Use lenses less susceptible to flare, like prime lenses. Block light and adjust angle of camera to light source.
In case you still want to use filters and avoid flare, you can buy coated filters. They cost a little more but they are usually effective at preventing lens flare. You can easily find UV, neutral density and polarizing filters with anti reflective coating for any types of lens.
Even the best quality, and most expensive and coated lenses can produce some flare if the light hits them at just the right angle.
Cheers and best to you.
Try using a lens hood to avoid extra scattering light. Use lenses less susceptible to flare, like prime lenses. Block light and adjust angle of camera to light source.
In case you still want to use filters and avoid flare, you can buy coated filters. They cost a little more but they are usually effective at preventing lens flare. You can easily find UV, neutral density and polarizing filters with anti reflective coating for any types of lens.
Even the best quality, and most expensive and coated lenses can produce some flare if the light hits them at just the right angle.
Cheers and best to you.
Oct 10, 2022 19:02:30 #
13
Loc: I am only responsible to what I say..not what
I use a ND 10 filter or more but, at times you might still get a flare. I use a K&N Concept filters.
Oct 10, 2022 19:58:08 #
bbradford wrote:
So I would like advice on the best filter for sunrises and sunsets. I want to get just the sun without all the flair. Any advice will be appreciated
I tend to use a coated CPL (circular polarizer) filter for most of my sunrise and sunset shots. If I want sun stars I use a small aperture like f16 or f22.
1) A Engagement couple's shoot along the Atlantic Ocean in the cove area of Cape May, New Jersey, USA. Sunset.
2) Sunrise over famed Monument Valley, scene of countless movies, TV shows, Commercials, Navajo Lands, Arizona/Utah border USA. f22 used to give me the most sun stars.
3) sunset over the Caribbean Sea off the coast of the island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin
4) Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA
Oct 11, 2022 04:16:26 #
Mac wrote:
Maybe a Graduated Neutral Density filter would be of help.
Almost always, if you want some foreground detail (and even if you dont).
The other good advice so far was using a simpler lens (no zooms and no ultra wides even if primes).
Remove your lens hood if sun is in the frame. It cant reduce flare, but it can limit scatter light from the sky area beyond the frame. Scatter light reduces contrast, which youve already got too much of. It can enhance the foreground tones and open up the shadows.
Oct 11, 2022 05:39:30 #
tcthome
Loc: NJ
bbradford wrote:
So I would like advice on the best filter for sunrises and sunsets. I want to get just the sun without all the flair. Any advice will be appreciated
Take a look at reverse grads for sunrise/sunset photos if you decide to purchase filters. Keep in mind the reverse grad filter is for when the sun is at the horizon & would need to change to a grad nd when the sun is higher than the horizon line. There is soft grad hard grad filters. The hard grad is good for sea scapes with no mountains or sea stacks in them. Breakthrough, Polar Pro, Lee all make grad nd filters which will be rectangular most likely & need a square/rectangular filter holder.
Oct 11, 2022 06:15:33 #
Orphoto
Loc: Oregon
If you want the sun in the frame and the least degree of flare, then your best option is no filter at all.
Oct 11, 2022 08:01:20 #
"If you want the sun in the frame and the least degree of flare, then your best option is no filter at all."
Very good advise. I have shot hundreds of sunrise and sunsets and I have always been very comfortable without using a filter. The filter can introduce more flare.
Very good advise. I have shot hundreds of sunrise and sunsets and I have always been very comfortable without using a filter. The filter can introduce more flare.
Oct 11, 2022 08:14:34 #
Contrary to all the filter supporters, don't use a filter. Light reflected by the front surface of the lens will be reflected back to the lens by any filter placed on the lens.
--Bob
--Bob
bbradford wrote:
So I would like advice on the best filter for sunrises and sunsets. I want to get just the sun without all the flair. Any advice will be appreciated
Oct 11, 2022 11:25:33 #
rmalarz wrote:
Contrary to all the filter supporters, don't use a filter. Light reflected by the front surface of the lens will be reflected back to the lens by any filter placed on the lens.
--Bob
--Bob
Oct 11, 2022 11:29:32 #
Every sunset or sunrise is unique and dynamic. Rapidly changing colors, angle of the sun, visibility of the sun (behind clouds? Haze? Ultra-dry and clear?). Along with the experts recommending NO filter, my inexpert but ample experience with sunrises is to work with what you see in front of you.
Oct 11, 2022 11:50:52 #
If you can reduce the brightness of the sun (and adjacent bright area) without affecting the overall exposure for the scene, you will reduce flare at its source.
To accomplish such magic you need a graduated filter. In our zeal to avoid filters, sometimes we hafta think a bit more broadly. You cant be avoiding flare "at any cost" if that cost is the failure to compress dynamic range as is desirable for most sunsets.
The real culprit is not the filter but is the holder that holds the filter perpendicular to the lens axis, thus sending reflections back into the lens barrel. Fixing that is, AFAIK, a DIY job. I have never seen any commercially made versions.
To accomplish such magic you need a graduated filter. In our zeal to avoid filters, sometimes we hafta think a bit more broadly. You cant be avoiding flare "at any cost" if that cost is the failure to compress dynamic range as is desirable for most sunsets.
The real culprit is not the filter but is the holder that holds the filter perpendicular to the lens axis, thus sending reflections back into the lens barrel. Fixing that is, AFAIK, a DIY job. I have never seen any commercially made versions.
Oct 11, 2022 12:01:51 #
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