The Fab Four

There are literally dozens of filters out there that will do everything from adding rainbows to your photo, turning everything bright pink, to making one image into six and... Well you get the idea. But, if you don.t want to carry another 100 pounds of gear in the form of filters, there are four that you should really consider investing in.

Ø UV/Skylight/Haze filter

Ø Polarizer filter

Ø Split neutral density filter

Ø Warming filter

Any one of these three filters can be used interchangeably. They are designed to filter out ultraviolet (UV) light. In addition, they are a great filter to put and leave on the front of your lens as they make extremely good protectors. They protect against grit and grime scratching your lens. They help keep water off of your lens in wet conditions. They also take the brunt of the bumps and bangs that occur as you carry your camera around. The Skyline 1-A filter provides a slight warm tint in addition to absorbing significant amounts of UV light. which gives a nice pep to shots taken outdoors in shade and on overcast days.

If you shoot much outdoors, you will soon find that a properly used polarizer will deliver more benefit any other filter. Polarizers come in two main types, linear and circular. They are identical in use and effect. Linear polarizers work with most cameras. You need a circular polarizer if you.re camera uses auto-focus and optical metering.

When used properly, polarizers make colors pop and add drama to a scene. Polarizers can darken the blue of the sky, highlight clouds, suppress unwanted highlights and improve the general color saturation of your photograph. They can remove the color-robbing reflections off water, glass, sunlit foliage and even bald heads. The effect of a polarizer on the sky varies depending on the angle of the sun. Polarizers only work on light perpendicular to the lens. One thing to remember, polarizers give you more than you see. The rich blue sky you see through your viewfinder, will be even darker on film. Once you get the sky color you like, back off just a bit with your polarizer. This way you will get the effect you want in your picture. Polarizing filters require exposure compensation. A polarizer can easily block 2 to 4 stops of light.

While you want to keep your Skylight filter on your lens most of the time, it is never a good idea to stack filters. Stacking filters, especially on wide-angle lens can cause vignetting (darkening of the corners of your image). Be sure to take off any filter before you use your polarizer.

This filter is a must for getting striking exposures in difficult lighting situations, especially where the scene contains a wide range of light. Basically, a split neutral density filter transitions from light to dark. One half is clear or lightly tinted while the other half has a darker tint. The filter should gradually transition from light to dark for best effect. Their primary use is to balance out the exposures between the bright and darker sections of the picture. The dark side of the filter will darken the too bright areas of the photograph while the clear side of the filter will not change the exposure of the darker areas. Say you.re trying to photograph a scene with a bright sky and a dark foreground, bushes or rocks. You would "tone down" the sky by putting the darker side of the filter over the sky. The clear portion of the filter would be over the darker area of the photograph. The tricky part is positioning the transition line on the filter. Try to put the transition line on the horizon or in the darker area so that it is not obvious. Split neutral density filters come in several densities (darkness) and shapes. A rectangle, two-stop, soft transition split neutral density filter will handle most of the high contrast situations you will run into. You must hand-hold a rectangle filter but that lets you place the transition exactly where you need it.

Warming filters reduce excess blue tones and create warmer, brighter colors, especially on overcast days or when shooting with a flash. They greatly improve flesh tones as well. There are several versions of the 81 warming filter. The 81A is the mildest, with 81B being slightly stronger. The 81C warming filter has twice the warming effect of the 81B filter. The 81EF has an extremely strong warming effect. These filters require approximately a half stop extra light.

In addition to these filters, there are several ways that you can get a soft focus effect without a filter. One way is to stretch a panty hose leg (avoid any seams) over the lens. The tighter you stretch the hose, the less of a softening affect that it has. Another easy technique is to breath on your front filter. This effect only lasts a few seconds. Be sure to set up your shot, presetting your focus and lens settings, before you breathe on your lens. Shoot your shot immediately. The condensation tends to clear from the center out so you get a nice vignette effect as well.