What is a lens protection filter and what is it for? Why are filters needed?

Nothing in our life lasts forever, we must try to preserve those things that are dear and necessary to us. To keep your lens safe and sound, you definitely need a protective filter.

Dust, dirt, water - all this very quickly destroys the lens. Protecting the lens at any cost is the most important task of a protective filter! Sometimes even at the cost of his life:

This is how an unsuccessful airsoft ball hits the lens. If it weren’t for the filter, my Tokina and I would cry along with her :)

To find out which filter is needed for your lens, it is enough to know just one parameter - diameter, it must be written on the lens and on inside lens caps. There is one logical pattern here: the larger the filter diameter, the more expensive the filter. And if you spend $10-15 on a 52mm filter, then on a 77mm filter you will spend at least $30-40.

Buying a filter will not be difficult; any photo store will provide you with a wide range, but that’s the problem! It is so wide that the buyer is often lost and does not know what to buy. The seller, in turn, cannot really explain how one filter differs from another, and when you ask the question: which manufacturer’s filter to buy, they are completely stunned, because they themselves don’t know it, the main thing for them is to sell it and preferably at a higher price.

So that you don’t get lost, I’ll explain to you what’s what. There are three main types of protective filters: ultraviolet (UV designation on the filter), skylight (SKY), and neutral (N), some manufacturers indicate it as Normal.

The most common ultraviolet protective filters (UV), they supposedly protect the matrix from ultraviolet waves, but in reality you won’t be able to check this, so we’ll leave big words about their colossal protection for sellers.

Skylight filters (SKY) have a light pink tint, due to this your photos will go into warm colors, I don’t see the point in this, because...

This is not always necessary and not everyone likes it. They have two markings 1A and 1B, the second is even “warmer”.

Neutral protective filters (N) are filters without any bells and whistles, ordinary transparent clarified glass.

I advise you to buy either ultraviolet or neutral density filters. Their prices are approximately the same. They do not spoil your photos with different shades and do their main task - protect the lens from drops of water, dirt and various mechanical damage.

If you have a wide-angle lens like or, it makes sense to buy a protective filter with a thin frame, otherwise you will get a slight vignetting at a wide angle. Here is the actual difference in thickness between them:

You can also come across the designation water proof coat (WPC - water protective coating), again, I had both such filters and ordinary ones, but I didn’t feel any difference between them when I photographed in bad weather. For myself, I decided that I would not overpay for something that does not bring benefits.

As for brands, it doesn’t really matter what brand you buy, the filter is consumables, like a battery, and I don’t see the point in spending a lot of money and paying for the name.

Thanks for reading, stay safe!

Greetings, dear readers! With you again, Timur Mustaev. If you are the happy owner of a SLR camera and use it not only for home photography, then sooner or later you will think about buying both new lenses and filters.

Why are lens filters needed and how does a particular specimen differ? We will talk about this today.

A little educational program

Light filter is an optical device whose direct purpose is to suppress unwanted effects or, on the contrary, their acquisition.

In other words, light filter is an attachment to the lens lens used to adjust brightness, contrast, and color saturation directly during shooting. Usually they are also simply called a filter.

To know for sure which filter is suitable for your lens, you need to remember single parameter– its diameter. It is always indicated on the lens or on its protective cover.

Main types of filters

There are eight main types of filters for a SLR camera, which differ from each other not only in purpose, namely:

Protective, as you understand from the name, protect the lens from unwanted mechanical damage.

Dust particles and excess moisture very quickly degrade the quality of the optics, so installing a protective filter is important immediately after purchase.

This type does not in any way affect the quality of the final images, because by its structure it is ordinary glass, a little better than the window one.

Ultraviolet- are the most common among amateurs and professionals. If you believe the loud words of the sellers, then this type protects the device matrix from UV waves. In fact, it is not possible to confirm or refute this information.

Skylight- have a pale pink tint, which is why the pictures take on warm tones, I think that their purchase is inappropriate, this result can be achieved in a matter of seconds when processing the photo.

Polarizing- used mainly during landscape photography.

They completely eliminate unnecessary glare on reflective surfaces such as water or glass.

Neutral- somewhat similar to sunglasses, only they can have variable darkening density.

They are used when there is a need to shade the frame or some part of it without making any color changes. Designated as ND.

They do an excellent job when taking long exposure photographs of moving objects, such as water, clouds, cars with headlights on, people.

Using this filter, you can get rid of passing people; to do this, you need to expose the photo for two minutes. This opportunity is often used by photographers who photograph architecture in places infested with tourists.

Gradient— create a multi-colored overlay on the photo, changing the natural shades.
Infrared- used for artistic photography, they record the ability of objects not to emit, but rather to absorb infrared waves.

In fact, elements that absorb IR waves will look darker in the photo, and, for example, the greenery of trees that reflects the rays, on the contrary, will become winter white. This effect is somewhat reminiscent of a negative frame.

Fluorescent— balances the light emitted by fluorescent lamps to the level of incandescent lamps. Designated as FLD.

Filters for creating various effects on photos

Diffuse— create a pleasant blurring of objects, resulting in the photo looking like a cutout from a dream.
Radiation, as a rule, are used to stylize a photo to look like a picture. With their help, you can create star highlights around a luminous object, such as a street lamp or various LEDs. In this case, the size and brightness of the “star” depends on the size of the light source.
Foggy— reduce the contrast of the frame, creating a whitish haze.
Colored and multicolor— change the color of the entire image or a separate part of it.
Rainbow— create a rainbow effect around light sources.

As you understand, there are a huge variety of light filters; they differ from each other in structure, purpose, and price. By the way, as for the latter, it directly depends on the diameter of the lens; the larger it is, the higher the price.

The brand also affects the cost; original attachments from Canon and Nikon are quite expensive, but are not better than many analogues.

Therefore, approach your long-awaited acquisition wisely without spending money. Focus on customer reviews for a particular model, and also monitor prices in different stores.

You can easily find something on Aliexpress, for example, the same one - Polarizing filter. Be sure to read the reviews, based on them you can already draw conclusions whether to buy or not. I buy a lot of things there, for example, it turned out to be very good lens cleaning pencil And microfiber cloth.

If you are interested in light filters, then you are no longer just a person who sets the mode to auto and, without any knowledge of photography, presses the shutter button. You want something more. Do you want to learn how to take photographs like a pro? That’s why I recommend that you definitely watch the video course - Digital SLR for a beginner 2.0. This is a really good course that will give you a good head start in your endeavors as a photographer. All in your hands!

All the best to you, Timur Mustaev.

There is an opinion that a modern photographer does not need to use light filters, because often finished photographs are subject to careful post-processing in a graphics editor. However, photo editors are unlikely to correct blown-out images and ensure the lens itself is protected. Of course, powerful, multifunctional photo processing programs and digital filters greatly facilitate the photographer’s work. This is also evidenced by changes in the photographic equipment market. Colored light filters are gradually losing popularity, and the most popular ones are still neutral light and polarizing filters. Why light filters are needed, what they are, and why a professional shouldn’t give them up, we’ll look at this in our article.

The light filter is a special attachment to the camera lens and is designed to achieve special effect during photography. For example, remove unnecessary things from the frame, add an interesting shade to the picture, eliminate unnecessary overexposure, soften the bright sunny color etc. Light filters – important elements optical system, they allow you to easily achieve the desired effect, while creativity and imagination are not limited by the capabilities of the graphic editor. Photos taken using light filters further demonstrate the photographer's individual vision and have a certain artistic charm. The ability to work with these lens attachments will be useful for both professional and novice photographers - all those who want to get an original and unique image as a result.

By the way, among the main functionality of the light filter is not only image adjustment when shooting, but also reliable protection fragile camera lens from accidental mechanical damage: cracks, chips, scratches. This is especially true if you often shoot on the street, in unfavorable weather conditions, in a crowd of people, where you can be accidentally pushed, touched, etc. Agree, it is much more convenient and profitable to replace only the protective glass attachment in case of damage, rather than buy a new expensive lens.

However, there are certainly some nuances in working with light filters. It is important to choose and use this accessory correctly in the future: with an unsuccessfully selected filter, the picture can be completely ruined and you will get an unsatisfactory result.

It is best to use light and protective filter attachments if necessary, knowing exactly what effect you will need at the output. We must not forget that an additional “layer” between the lens and the subject itself can negatively affect the quality of the photograph. Incorrect or too frequent use of the attachment will certainly affect the contrast, add unnecessary highlights or an inappropriate vignette effect, darkening the image at the edges. The wrong combination of a color filter on a sunny day will give a completely unpredictable result. That's why professional photographer must have a clear understanding of the purpose of a particular light filter and understand all the varieties of this useful accessory. Below we will look at what types of filters there are, and how not to get confused in the complex classification.

Basic types of filters

To begin with, we note that there are filters exclusively for lenses - they are screwed into the mount thread or placed in a special holder on the lens (called a compendium). There are also camera filters designed to create pulsed light. They are installed in a mount at the flash point and are easily secured with a regular rubber band. Thus, according to the type of fastening and design, filters for SLR cameras are divided into two types.

Based on the type of purpose, the following types of light filter elements are distinguished:

protective;
ultraviolet;
polarizing;
infrared;
gradient;
neutral;
with a specific effect - color correction or conversion, softening or enhancing color.

Let's look at each type in more detail.

Protective filters

Perhaps the simplest and most understandable type of filters. They are designed to protect the front lens element from scratches, cracks and other damage. They also do not allow dirt, dust, and small particles to pass through, which sooner or later get clogged inside the lens, especially during shooting in difficult conditions. weather conditions. In essence, these filters play the role of a kind of cover or lens attachment. Protective filters are easy to find by special marking "Protector". They can be installed immediately when purchasing a camera or a separate lens; they cannot be removed later.

Important! A protective photo filter does not perform color correction functions and does not work with reflected light, because by and large- This is an ordinary glass nozzle, although it is very durable and reliable.

Ultraviolet filters

UV filters can also be used as protective filters, but their main function is to reduce excessive UV radiation. Usually it is invisible to the human eye, but at the same time it is perfectly recognized by the camera matrix. The matrix easily perceives ultraviolet rays, and, as a rule, this appears in the finished photographs in the form of a faint bluish tint or a slight haze, like "fog" effect. A similar effect is especially often observed when shooting on location, among wide landscapes. For example, in the mountains or at sea. In such places, objects are located at a great distance from the camera, and on bright, fine days they receive simply a huge amount of sunlight. As a result, the resulting image acquires a bluish tint or is heavily overexposed. Here the photographer is greatly helped by those same UV filters. They make the sky a little darker, add blueness and density to the image, but do not increase the contrast. In specialized photographic equipment stores, such filters can be easily found at characteristic “UV” marking.

Advice! An ultraviolet filter can also be used in cloudy weather, changing the color balance: for example, adding warm pinkish tones to the future image.

Polarizing filters

Polarizing filters are considered one of the most expensive, but at the same time extremely popular among photographers. They are considered quite effective and make the tones and light of the future photo more uniform. These filters are largely reduce the level of reflected light flux, which hits the lens. As a result, glare from water or sunlight no longer spoils the picture or obscures the subjects. Also, thanks to polarizing filters, the strong contrast between the sky and the terrain is noticeably reduced, which is a real boon during landscape photography. Such filters are designated by the following encodings:

PL, which stands for ordinary polarizing filter;
C-PL, circular polarizer.

The main advantage of a polarizing filter is considered to be competent work with color in the frame. So, when on a bright sunny day color saturation is lost behind the rays of the sun, the filter adds the necessary shades and the result is an excellent balanced image.

The filter consists of two lenses: the first is static and motionless, the second rotates. Using such a device, you can easily adjust color saturation, glare brightness, and contrast. Often there is a scale or small dots on the frame of the polarizer for setting correct angle when shooting.

There are 2 types of polarizing light filters.

Linear- these filters have a fairly low cost and basic functionality, but do not reflect polarized light much compared to circular ones.
Circular filters adjust autofocus and exposure metering, more strongly suppress the light spectrum unnecessary for the image.

A polarizing filter will change the hue of the sky to a deeper and bluer, make the summer green landscape lush, and the color of sea water bright and saturated. However, this attachment is still recommended use with caution: Because it automatically reduces the amount of light entering the lens, in low-light areas, the finished image will be unclear and blurry. In addition, if the filter is used incorrectly, you can overdo it with color saturation and intensity, resulting in an unnaturally bright picture, often in “acid” tones.

Infrared filters

Infrared filters are highly specialized. They block the entire visible spectrum of rays, leaving only the infrared part. Modern models Digital cameras are also capable of capturing the infrared part, so the use of such filters is not always justified. It is quite difficult to focus on the subject with the infrared attachment, so during the shooting process it is preferable to use a tripod and shoot with a very long shutter speed using manual mode. Despite all the attendant difficulties, the effect of using the filter is quite original: for example, the colors of a winter landscape are enhanced, the sky seems darker, some objects are bizarrely changed color scheme. You can find a filter in a store using the standard letter marking “IR”.

Gradient filters

These filters are divided into two types:

rotating– create a darkening of half the image, while the lens can rotate;
ordinary– these filters are made in the shape of a square and are installed in a special mount on the camera lens.

Gradient tips are designed to create uniform exposure in the process of landscape photography. So, the top part of the frame becomes darker, the bottom part becomes lighter. The result is a well-exposed image with exquisite detail.

An alternative to this photo filter is the HDR effect in the editor or the panoramic shooting mode.

Neutral density filters

The main purpose of this type of filter is lengthening exposure frame. In this case, no color correction occurs. The filter is similar in functionality to sunglasses - it dims both light and shadow as needed. If you use an ND filter that is too dark, the shadows in the image will appear washed out. The use of neutral density filters is justified when it is necessary to take a portrait of a person in excessive daylight and with an open aperture. Darkening is also useful when capturing the surface of water in a frame at sunset or dawn, when the play of sunlight is a key factor in success. Thus, it is best to buy this filter if you like to shoot at long shutter speeds with an open aperture and the lighting is not favorable enough. Filter marking – “ND”

Filters with a specific effect

Color correction or conversion filters are needed in order to reproduce the color of the original image as accurately as possible, especially when shooting in unfavorable lighting conditions. The filter makes a shift in color balance and changes the temperature of the image (from cold to warm shades).

Advice! To correctly use these filters in your work, it is recommended to purchase a colorimeter or specialized tables of colors and shades.

Choosing the right lens filter

Any type of filter changes the optical design and sometimes gives the most unpredictable results. It can not only correct the image, but also spoil the finished picture: for example, significantly reduce detail, add unnecessary highlights, illuminate the frame, or minimize contrast. Therefore, before you buy a particular attachment, make sure that it matches the parameters of your lens and the recommended shooting modes. pay attention to manufacturer reliability and quality of work with reflected light. After all, if you are going to shoot objects in poor lighting conditions, then a high-price segment filter will be able to cope with the problem.

It is worth noting that when choosing photographic equipment you should not save much, otherwise it will certainly affect the quality.

If you have top-end wide-angle or ultra-wide-angle equipment in your personal arsenal, you should pay close attention light filter frame. A frame that is too thick will create dark corners in the frame, thereby creating an unintended vignetting effect. As a rule, expensive professional filters have a lightweight, thin frame, therefore, by purchasing them, you have a much lower risk of ruining your future photo.

Conclusion

Whatever one may say, even in the era of digital photography and powerful computer programs light filters are still popular. Many types are still in demand, especially among professionals. However, progress does not stand still: Newest technologies added special properties to filters. For example, nano-coating of protective filters completely prevents the smallest particles of dust and dirt from getting onto the glass. Well, modern circular polarizing filters B+W KSM HTC POL-CIRC transmit one third more light than standard types. This way, you can shoot at the fastest shutter speeds and low ISO settings. The most important thing is to choose the right filter based on your shooting goals, the desired result and the type of optics you have.

When the camera was invented, people didn’t care much about the quality of the image - after all, it was just nice to see your face, albeit terribly blurry, on some surface, because in this way your face was preserved at the age when it was taken, but a person rarely has anything -enough is enough, and perfectionism simply doesn’t give you peace; you want to quickly move from good to better. Gradually, lenses appeared on cameras, resolution increased and, eventually, color appeared, and then it became clear that colors do not really correspond to what the eye sees. There was a need to correct these same colors, which was further complicated by the fact that each film also had its own shade.

No, don’t think about it, in the days of black-and-white photography, filters were also necessary: experience has shown that warm filters are quite helpful in portrait photography, red makes the face more legible and the sky more contrasty - anyway, the result was a monochrome picture, so what’s the difference? , what color glass to put, because with the absence of color, the final frame did not receive unnecessary tones.

At the end of film photography, digital began to rule everything, and with the advent of convenient editing programs and powerful processors, editing cards becomes easier and faster every year. This situation has led to the fact that color filters have practically ceased to be used; they have long been replaced by digital filters, which have become almost a standard tool in editing programs. Of the filters sold and produced today, only those that have a neutral color remain. However, there are also color filters for portable light, but their need has never disappeared.

What types of filters are there?

First of all, there are filters for lenses (screwed into the thread of the filter mount or inserted into a special holder on the lens) and filters for pulsed light, installed in the mount for the filter in the flash or simply secured with an elastic band for money. We'll talk about everyone.

Lens filters:

protective, the simplest type of filter, they simply protect the front lens from scratches, are installed upon purchase and cannot be removed, as they have similar mounting threads for other filters with reverse side. In structure it is an ordinary piece of glass, just a little best quality, compared with window glass. Labeling usually uses " protector».

ultraviolet, which are often used as protective ones, also reduce the flow ultraviolet radiation, which the human eye does not see, but the matrix sees perfectly. In the final image, UV and some of the polarized light causes a cyanide tint to appear in the sky and can even overexpose it. Using a UV filter can often reduce this effect, making the sky a little darker and a little bluer. Usually designated as " UV».
infrared On the contrary, filters are very specific. In contrast to ultraviolet, which block only the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, on the contrary, they filter out the entire visible spectrum, leaving the infrared. Modern digital cameras They capture part of it, so they can record information under very specific conditions. Since the filter covers the entire visible spectrum, you won’t even be able to focus or measure exposure - the viewfinder will be completely dark. Therefore, you must definitely use a tripod (you will definitely use a long shutter speed), manually, and focus on the subject in advance. The result of applying the filter is very unusual: the trees turn out to be winter-white, the sky is black, and some objects change their color in a glitchy way. Filters are designated as " IR».

, which are of two types, linear and circular - the first do not very effectively reduce polarized light, invisible to our eye, but across the entire field of the filter and at any angle, the second are much more effective in reducing this flux only at right angles to the optical axis, any of them is necessary rotate before each frame, controlling the effect in the viewfinder. The latter are much more popular than the former (naturally, because they put more pressure on unnecessary spectrum), which makes the former much more difficult to buy. In fact, the effect of applying the filter looks like a more contrasting picture: the sky is very blue, the shadows are deeper, and the water is almost transparent, with a minimal amount of glare; at this angle, even our eyes cannot see the bottom, and in the frame the layer of water will be absolutely transparent, depending from its purity, of course. Due to the fact that the filter actually consists of two rings, it turns out to be very thick and wide angle lenses cuts off the corners of the image by vignetting, which is why many manufacturers have switched to thin polarizing filters (marked “ slim" and a higher price). Filters are marked as " P.L."(linear) and " C-PL"(circular).Good lesson on the polarizing filter.
, which also come in two types, rotating 50/50, which have a half-frame darkening and rotate like polarizers, and regular ones, square in shape for installation in a special mount on the lens. They are needed to equalize the exposure when shooting landscapes, to darken it a little top part images, and the bottom, accordingly, is better exposed. As a result, you get an image with a correctly exposed sky (blue with beautiful clouds) and land or water (no shadow gaps, with sufficient detail). Both types of filters are inconvenient: round ones divide the frame, contrary to the canons of framing, exactly in half, and square ones require a special adapter, so they are far from compact and efficient. As an analogue of using a filter, panoramic or HDR stitching is now often used.

, which are of the same type, but differ in density. They are all there to lengthen the exposure without introducing any color effects. These are simple lens “dark glasses” that darken the image by 1/2 stop or more. Their effect is usually indicated in the marking, for example, ND2 (two stops, i.e. a shutter speed four times longer is available, all other things being equal) or 400x (nine stops, rounded up - these can make the sun set manually). Remember that shadows darken more than highlights, and in most cases, if you use too dark, the shadows will fail. The effect of their use is visible when you need to shoot, for example, a portrait in bright sun, but with an open aperture, and with a full-function flash, or blurry water when shooting a sunset or dawn, when the sun dominates the exposure; many also shoot waterfalls in sunny places - in general, all cases when you need to forcibly lengthen the shutter speed or open the aperture if the lighting conditions do not allow you to do this. They are designated, as can be understood from the above, “ ND", followed by a specific number.
colored, which were relevant in the film era for working with black-and-white and color films.

Light filters for flashes

With these, everything is much simpler, because they come in only one type, colored. It would seem, why are they needed in our time - after all, it’s so easy to correct the color with the white balance slider in the converter?! Nothing like that - after all, with a slider you edit the entire image at once, and repainting it locally can be quite expensive in terms of time, so isn’t it better to do everything right away and correctly?

Flash filters come in different types: plastic, glass, and even gelatin (popularly called gel filters, which is completely wrong - anyone who has seen them will confirm that they have too little to do with gel). Their essence is the same - to adjust the color of the flash, also called color temperature.

To understand the need for this, turn on your brain and turn to the color temperature scale (open Lightroom or at least the monitor settings panel - there is a generally accepted Kelvin scale), you can also twist the presets to see how things change (experiment and shoot one object with one lighting in JPEG, changing the white balance, you will understand everything). Converters have made white balance and color temperature generally a relative thing: you can assign any parameter to a frame shot in , within the Kelvin scale. It doesn’t matter what this leads to, but the point is that, for example, an incandescent light bulb, which is assigned the corresponding white balance parameter, will be white in the frame, and the flash pulse in the same frame will already be bluish, if the same is shown with When set to “day”, the light will turn yellow and the flash will turn white. But the real fun begins next: when set to "fluorescent lamp", there will be a distinct orange tint to the bulb and a red tint to the flash.

Such fluctuations from blue to red and back, in principle, are not scary when you do not suffer from perfectionism, and when there is only one light source in the frame - you just poke a gray eyedropper into a neutral place in the frame, and everything becomes beautiful... but once you get carried away by the strobe subtleties, how everything around is changing. The color of the flash is compatible only with daylight - everything else will cause persistent rejection. That is why all good flashes are sold with some minimum set of color filters - they are needed not for special lighting effects, but to equalize the color temperature to the available sources, so that the light bulbs in the frame do not seem glitchy - after all, the brightness of the flash will outshine any of them in brightness, and only objects illuminated by it will have correct colors.

It turns out that it’s not enough to just bring it into the frame - its light must also be given an appropriate shade if you don’t want a terrible mess. Quite seriously, all your objects on one side can be white, on the other yellow, and by trying to cool the “hot” side, you will make the other even colder, so the correction must be local, either with light filters or masks in the converter - the latter usually requires much more time.

Color filters have two parameters: color and density. The color is selected to match the shade of the lighting that interferes with us in the frame:

red - under “warm” fluorescent lamps and sunset color
orange - under “warm” fluorescent lamps or incandescent lamps, can partially replace the missing yellow or red
yellow - for incandescent lamps
green - under “cold” fluorescent lamps
blue - partly replaces green, you can add yellow to it for effect

Don't forget also about color displacement (or color shift) - then you can get others from one.

It is also worth remembering about color contrast, which is sometimes necessary in the frame, in addition to brightness contrast, for example, a dark blue sky can be contrasted with a warm face in yellowish or orange tones. Naturally, this does not mean that against the background of a crimson sunset, the face must necessarily be green.

However, let's return... the second parameter of the light filter is density, expressed in the number of brightness steps that it steals; accordingly, it will be necessary to increase the brightness of the flash. The marking is written on the filter itself, like 1.2 EV, etc. A denser filter, naturally, adds more color into the frame, i.e., it should be applied depending on how brightly the frame is illuminated with an “alien” color. It’s like with paint - if you put an additional layer, the surface will become darker and more saturated.

A lens filter is perhaps the most incomprehensible accessory for a beginner in photography. On the one hand, all photographers of the past used them in one way or another. And the consultant in the store will most likely strongly advise you to purchase a light filter. On the other hand, for last years a lot has changed in the technical side of photography: some types of filters are simply no longer needed.

Nevertheless, a number of scenes will definitely not be possible to film without a properly selected filter. And the most banal task - protecting the front lens of the lens from mechanical damage - has not been canceled. In this article we will talk about what filters are really needed for photography today and how to choose the best filter.

What filters are not needed for digital cameras?

WITH beginning of the XXI century, many photographers switched from film cameras to digital ones. Of course, this simplified the process of shooting and processing images. In the same way, the transition to digital technology affected the work with filters. For example, all modern digital cameras themselves are able to select white balance, adapting to lighting conditions - incandescent lamps, sunlight and other sources. But quite recently, to ensure correct color rendering, glass filters, rather than white balance presets, were used different shades and density, they were also called conversion. So, you can forget about this type of filter if you are shooting with a digital camera.

In addition to conversion filters, simple color filters were also widely used: red, yellow, blue, green. They were used for black and white photography. Thanks to such filters, only the rays reached the film unhindered. a certain color, and the remaining colors were weakened. For example, a red filter allowed black and white film to look almost black, very dramatic and beautiful sky. Today, the same effect is easy to achieve both digitally and directly in camera.

NIKON D810 SETTINGS: ISO 100, F2.8, 1/2500 s, 70.0 mm equiv.

Soft filters that reduce the sharpness of the frame to obtain a certain artistic effect- smoothing the texture and unevenness of the skin in portrait photography, glowing contrasting edges in other scenes. They have been replaced by digital retouching. However, not everything is so simple here. Some proprietary soft filters produce a unique effect, just as each lens has a unique background blur pattern. So you shouldn’t completely abandon soft filters.