The Phoblographer Answers: Why Do SLR Film Cameras Need Filters?

Yes, I know; if you’re an experienced photographer then this sounds pretty crazy. But this question was typed into our search bar a number of times and so I decided I’d take a stab at answering exactly what’s going on here. The question comes from the idea that digital cameras don’t need UV or other filters but instead only film cameras do. It’s something easily misunderstood by many people who are just starting out. In fact, digital cameras do indeed sometimes need filters, but by and large they are much more necessary with various film cameras.

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Photographer’s Toolbox: Landscape Photography Gear Essentials (Besides Cameras and Lenses)

Let’s be real here, if we are honest the only truly essential gear for a landscape photographer with passion and commitment is simply a camera. These days great results can come from utilizing just about any camera. That said, there are definitely some highly recommended items that all – if not most – landscape photographers will agree make landscape photography that much easier and fun to enjoy. Continue reading…

How to Shoot Better Photos That Need Less Post Production

I want to get something very clear before I begin this article: there is absolutely nothing wrong with post processing and photographers should always shoot with RAW modes if possible. But at the same time, there is something absolutely very liberating about not needing to spend more time on your computer or any device working to get the images you ultimately want in the end. Some photographers are better at processing while others are better at shooting. I’ve personally spent a lot of time working in Capture One and felt it to be therapeutic–but I also acknowledge that too much time staring at a computer screen can be bad for your eyes.

So instead, shooting an image perfectly in-camera is always an option.

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Useful Photography Tip #172: Don’t Forget About Graduated Filters in The Editing Process

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Ask any landscape photographer and they’ll tell you that one of their most valuable tools is a graduated ND filter. But sometimes they’re just not available on you when you’re shooting. Luckily though, you’ve got them built into Lightroom and Capture One Pro 10. And you can use them to get a whole lot more detail from the skies when you go shooting, and later on when you’re editing.

The best thing to typically do in post-production is first ensure that your exposure was taken as low contrast as possible or by underexposing to get more details from the highlights in your sky. Then pull the graduated ND filter down, nerf the exposure, and adjust the contrast and highlights as you see fit.

When you’re done, just go back to editing the entire photo and have fun.

The key here: have fun just like I said. I don’t usually shoot landscapes but the photos after the jump will show you what I was able to do in the editing process.

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Hoya Launches New Solas IRND Infrared Neutral Density Filters

Today, Hoya USA is introducing Solas, a new series of IRND (Infrared Neutral Density) filters for photo and cinema cameras. According to their claims, the SOLAS series maintains neutral color transmission throughout the 1 to 10 stop density range while suppressing infrared contamination on the image.

Imaging digital sensors are sensitive to all forms of light, hence it is necessary to use neutral density filters to create certain desired creative effects during exposure. Using a ND filter that maintains a consistent color balance throughout the density range is critical to the post-production process, saving time and money for photographers and cinematographers alike. Furthermore, The Solas series suppresses infrared radiation which often presents itself in the form of red noise or difficult to correct color-shift in the shadow areas of the exposed image. Continue reading…

MacPhun Releases Free Filters for Apple Photos

Don’t forget about our Kickstarter Campaign!

Bored with your current photo filters? MacPhun just released 30 free ones if you’re a user of the Photos application for Mac. It’s called Filters for Photos; and it allows you to not only apply different filters but also lets you do it in selective amounts, fine tune them, selectively apply them in certain areas, etc.

Granted it’s not necessarily for the Lightroom crowd–though it would be amazing as either a Lightroom Plugin or on the iPhone. Either way, it’s fun just to experiment in your JPEGs if you’re bored this weekend.

MacPhun also created Aurora HDR and Noiseless Pro–the latter is one of my favorites. More sample screenshots are after the jump.

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The New Sigma Ceramic Filters Are Water Repellant

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While Sigma is better known for their lenses, today the company is announcing a brand new filter that offers protection for many of said lenses. This new filter is a Water Repellant ceramic filter made with a special heat treatment that evenly precipitates microcrystalline spinel throughout the materials. To that end, Sigma is claiming that the Clear Glass Ceramic is 10 times stronger than a conventional protective filter and three times the strength of a chemically strengthened filters. The lens protector also contains a WR coating which they state repels water, dust and oil, and allows fingerprints to be easily removed.

Again, this doesn’t give you perfect and 100% weather protection, but it’s a start.

More details are after the jump.

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