MtnMan Loc: ID

Very nice.

I recently learned that you need to use daylight white balance on sunsets. Nikon auto white balance doesn't do a good job on them. These look pretty rich so you may have done that?

I also use the Nikon Landscape picture control. It makes them a little more vivid than the Vivid picture control.

I actually apply the white balance and picture control now in Lightroom because I have gone to shooting RAW most of the time.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

A circular polarizer is easily the most useful filter you can get, for use on digital cameras. It can be used to deepen the blue of the sky and make clouds "pop". It also can be used to control reflections off water and glass. Works on overcast days to reduce reflection off foliage, making for richer colors. Also good for portraits if your subject has oily or shiney skin, or wears eyeglasses. You simply can't replicate many of the effects of a C-Pol in softwares.

Virtually every other type of filter can be replicated with software.

A popular type of filter for landscape photography, to balance brighter sky with darker foregrounds, I have a set of Graduated ND filters. But honestly I hardly use them anymore. I can do a more accurate job in most photos with Photoshop (either dual processing from a RAW file or taking two shots at the time of exposure - such as one for the sky and one for the foreground - then combining the "best" from each image with layers and masks). Graduated ND are "old school" and work, but always have a straight line (though it might be soft and gradual)... while very few of my images have a straight horizon line. There's nearly always a building or a mountain or something interrupting the horizon line. No filter can be made to handle each and every horizon. For simpler, straight horizons, Lightroom and Photoshop both have graduated filter effects that are quick and easy to apply, and infinitely adjustable.

If you get Graduated Neutral Density (Grad ND or GND) filters, you need the rectangular type with the holder, to allow you to reposition the horizon as needed for each image. Round, screw in Grad ND's are available, but the horizon line is always right at the middle and there's no adjusting them up and down.

The rectangular Grad ND filters are not multi-coated and most are made of optical plastic, which is okay but gets scratched over time. Protect them in storage, clean as seldom as possible and plan to replace them every so often. It's also not possible to shade them particularly well with a hood... though there as some options. I use an adjustable "bellows" type Lee hood with Cokin P series holder, that works fine except with very wide lenses, where it tends to vignette.

Lee are good rectangular Grad NDs... iondividually or in a set. You'll need to choose a size. Cokin P series fits up to 77mm diameter lenses and there are a wide number of manufacturers making filters and accessories for it. There is also a rather cheap Cokin kit offered. At the other extreme are Singh-Ray, which are very high end. Tiffen makes some glass Grad ND filters, too, in limited sizes (I think maybe only 100mm).

All the rectangular filters use a holder, sold separately or in a kit... and adapter rings for different size lenses. Buy filters in a size large enough for your largest diameter lens, then adapters to use them on your smaller diameter lenses.

Another useful type of filter is a Neutral Density (ND). These are entirely gray, to reduce the light entering the lens, and come in various strengths: one, two, three stop to 10 or more stops. These are helpful with modern DSLRs if you are shooting in too bright light to be able to use a slower shutter speed and/or larger aperture. With film, we could just use a lower ISO film (some were as low as 25, 12 and even 6 ISO). But modern DSLR mostly don't go below ISO 100. So if you want to get special effects such as blurred flowing water, or very shallow depth of field portrait in broad daylight, or are shooting video where your frame rate is a limiting factor, an ND filter might be needed.

There are variable ND filters, too... which you turn to adjust the same way you do a polarizer (in fact, vari ND are essentially double polarizers)... However, these aren't without problems. They tend to cause color casts and/or uneven effects, especially on wide angle lenses... especially the more affordable ones. But even the better and very expensive vari ND's don't entirely solve the problems.

Some people like to use "protection" filters on their lenses. I have them for all my lenses, too. They stay in my camera bag until actually needed. Any filter on a lens degrades the image to some degree... a high quality, mult-coated filter under good conditions costs very little IQ... a cheap, single coated or uncoated filter is almost sure to have negative effect on images... even a high quality filter will increase flare and cause loss of contrast and color saturation in extreme lighting conditions (such as shooting a sunset or sunrise directly... normally it's best to not use any filter in that circumstance).

While there are times when a "protection" filter is called for (I use them when shooting in risky situations such as right beside a race track, at the beach in salt spray, during paintball), it's generally foolish to expect a thin piece of glass to provide much real protection. A lens hood does a better job (and, sort of ironically, a hood is even more important to use when using a filter).

A Zeikos "protection" UV filter is probably quite good as a coaster under your iced tea, to protect your coffee table... or maybe used as a puck for air hockey.... It might make a nice, small Frisbee or shooting clay, too. Last thing I'd do with it is put it on my lens... assuming I wanted to take decent photos with the lens. $35 for one is an utter rip-off. You can buy a set of three (UV, CPL and FLD) on Amazon, in the largest 82mm size, for $10. They claim to be "multi-coated"... probably with cat pee, spilled coffee and motor oil, I'm guessing. They are among the cheapest filters anyone anywhere offers... and probably worth every penny :roll:

If using a filter, any filter, to minimize image quality issues, get a good, multi-coated one. I use mostly B+W MRC (multi-coated) or better. Their new "Nano" coated are easier to clean. Their Kaësemann C-Pol is top of the line. I've also used and have no problem recommending Hoya's better quality multi-coated filters. Their "HD" and "HD2" are easier to clean, like the B+W Nano. Heliopan, Schneider and Rodenstock are all excellent, too, but are pricey. So are Singh-Ray. Marumi get a lot of top marks and positive feedback, but I haven't used them so can't say from personal experience.

Most manufacturers, B+W included, make various quality of filters ranging from inexpensive, uncoated or single coated, to better mult-coated to premium multi-coated. Last time I looked, Hoya had 6 or 8 quality "tiers". B+W had 4 or 5. There are some excellent, high quality Kenko and Tiffen filters, too... even though both of them are more often seen offering cheaper entry level products (Kenko and Hoya used to be the same company, dunno if they still are).

Most camera and/or lens manufacturers don't make their own filters, either. For example, I'd wager that Canon's filters are made by Kenko... decent glass and accurate tint free coloring or shading, but they definitely aren't multi-coated, so are very overpriced for what they are. I've found similar true with Sigma filters. I can't comment on Nikon or Pentax or others from personal use, but would imagine they all do similar.... outsourcing for mid-qualty and significantly marking up prices on accessories such as filters.

I want better, if I'm going to stick a piece of glass between my lens and my subject, so I mostly stick with the higher end B+W and Hoya filters. Quality filters aren't cheap, but with reasonable care are a good investment and will last a lifetime.

I don't use "step rings"... well at least not on my lenses. The reason I don't use them is because they make it impossible to use the proper lens hood. And the hood is more important than any filter.... And even more important when using a filter!

I do use step rings only as part of my filter storage... to make up a single "stack" of the different sizes (I carry 58, 72 and 77mm UV and C-Pol, plus a couple ND). Stacked all together these are about the same size as a small lens and fit neatly into my camera bag. Stacking filters also protects them and helps keep them clean, better than keeping filters individually in some pouch that also takes up a lot more space.

RichardJohn Loc: Huntington Beach, CA

Thanks guys, really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Nikon filters do not work on North American beaches in summer months!

cntry Loc: Colorado

The key being "don't tighten them too much"...barely snug is good, finger tight is too tight...if it's hard to get off, you put it on too tight.