Re: Can filters enhance a picture? (sorry for of topic)


Message posted by lone wolf on March 14, 2005 at 18:42:49 PST:

Not knowinge what kind of camera you have, lets assume you can stand to lose two stops (a linear factor of 4). You can use a polarizer to reduce the brightness of the sky if the sun is behind you and somewhat low in the sky. You need a camera where the lens does not rotate as the image is focused. You first adjust the polarizer to get the maximum darkening of the sky. Autofocus cameras need circular polarizing filters.

If you can't lose two stops, you can warm the image a bit, especially if it is a photo of a plane in the sky, Tiffen 812 is good for starters. Hoya 80c is about as far as you should go. These filters reduce blue a bit, increasing the contrast of the image. Too much warming and the sky goes green.

If the lens is achromatic, which most are, a violet reduction filter helps.
http://www.lumicon.com/mvf.htm
Lumicon items can be returned, so the cost is just the shipping both ways provided the filter size is correct. If there is no filter in your size, you need to buy an oversized filter and a reducing ring. Most likely you will be stuck with the ring since few companies have nice return policies. Minus violet filters are agressive, so you will have to touch up the image or use the automatic white balance of your camera (assuming you have that feature).

William-Optics has photos on their website that show the violet being remove from a high contrast object. Their sizes are only good for astronomy, so you need to use the Lumicon product if you want to go that route

http://www.william-optics.com/accessory/vr-filter.htm


In Reply to: Re: Can filters enhance a picture? (sorry for of topic) posted by BT on March 14, 2005 at 18:16:44 PST:

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