Hi all! This saturday I'm going with my wife to SeaWorld in San Diego, CA. I've never shot photos outdoors before, believe it or not, except one day when I first got my camera. It will be a nice warm day. I want to buy filters, or whatever, that I need to make my shots nice from that day. What are the essentials, and what are they used for?
Also, what filters do people usually leave on their camera all the time?
What other filters are good/produce desireable effects?
I use the UV and circular polarizer filters. Generally, leave the UV on all the time (to protects the lens....). I've been known to leave the polarizer on all the time instead if I forget to change the filter. The polarizer is good on sunny days - makes the sky bluer. Will also reduce reflection if you are shooting through glass, etc. I think the UV filter is supposed to reduce haze, but I'm not sure.
this might not be what you want to hear , but here goes :
just try your camera without adding any extraneous STUFF to it :) .. the manufacturer made it 'as is' for a reason, and you know it might just surprise you by doing a good job. after all sounds like the situation you're going to be in isnt some sort of 'extreme conditions' ... :)
Also try using the fill flash, this will fill in some shadows that might be caused by harsh sunlight.
I personally don't have a filter on my camera unless I want to get a certain effect. I feel that the extra glass might degrade the image a bit, I am super careful with my equipment and the chance of my lens being damaged is very small.
Ha, that's interesting. I've NEVER taken an 'indoor' shot!
I keep a # 2 ND filter and a hood on my lens at all times, both mainly to protect the lens. A # 2 ND certainly won't suffice to cut out the kind of glare I expect you'll encounter from water surfaces, grass and foliage between, say, 10 am and 3 or 4 pm.
During these hours I'd substitute a low grade polarizer (preferably a manual one, so you can water reflections on or off). All in all, I don't believe in putting too much between camera and subject. I prefer to discover what's there in the first place rather than slating a preconceived result.
I don't know what your fastest shutter speed is but a polarizer, in addition to cutting glare will also allow you to use a slower shutter speed since it reduces the amount of light getting into the camera by about 2 stops. ND filters also reduce the amount of light getting into the camera but without the glare reduction. They are useful in bright conditions.
Depending on the conditions, if you use them or not. I would definitely make sure I brought a lenshood, polarizer and at least 1 ND filter, perferable a .6(Tiffen). Cameras, digital or film can't compensate for extremes. UV(Clearglass) filters are your friend. I've never had problems with keeping a clearglass filter on my lenses.
