What filter for landscapes?

[Utemad]

Hi folks,

Just a quick question.

We have a Canon 450D. Not camera buffs but it does take nice pictures.

I want to get something to help get rid of the problem when you take landscape pictures where you either get a picture of the sky and the foreground is dark or a picture of the foreground with a blown out bright sky.

Should I get a polarising filter or some of those graduated neutral density filter?

Any other options or ideas?

I've had Hoya filters before including a polarising one (doesn't fit this camera/lens) but what brands do you guys like?

Any online shops I can look at that are trustworthy?
There is only one camera shop in town and they only had really cheap stuff.

Thanks

[abaddonxi]

For overexposure/underexposure of sky and ground you want an ND grad.

[Fade]

If you are doing a lot of daytime shooting then ND Filters to stop overexposure, if you are looking to cut down reflections, take away some exposure, and boost a little colour Polarising Filters.

Also filter systems like the Cokin system that allow you to use Gradual ND filters where you can position the filter just on the section above the horizon etc... This sort of system will address the issue you have brought up directly, the other two can help depending on your shooting style.

Can always shoot in HDR :D but thats a whole other aspect :p

I prefer a quality brand I know like Hoya for my everyday filters like UV and CPL, but no harm in trying some of the cheaper ones for experimentation like coloured filters.

Hope this helps a little

[Chucaro]

gradual ND filters are the best to take shots when the sky is to bright.
You have a good reading HERE (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-grads.shtml)
THIS (http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lens-filters.htm)site is an excellent place to learn many things about photography including exposure and filters
I would no go for the Cokin range beacause they put a cast on the image however the Cokin holders are ok and can be used with any brand.
I prefer hand holding and go for the bigest size.
IMO what it s good to have are the 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9
Hitech filters (http://www.formatt.co.uk/default.aspx) are excellent and not expensive like the awesome Singh-Ray (http://www.singh-ray.com/grndgrads.html) range

Cheers

[Utemad]

Thanks. After reading this and googling some of the ideas I think I'll go with something like the Cokin P Series ND filters. You can get the ND2,3,4 and holder in a set with a 58mm ring for $150 delivered. This seems okay. However I'll look around for other brands in that style before I commit to anything.

I prefer the idea of the above setup than the Hoya screw on ones for this due to positioning of the clear/dark line on the glass.
Hoya don't seem to make them in this style but maybe I wasn't looking in the right places.

[Chucaro]

I have a Hoya Pro polarizing filter in my Tokina 12-24 and it is Ok.
Remember that Cokin filters produce a very strong magenta cast.
The colour cast can be partially removed in post processing but then then you will spending lots of time removing it can be very, very aggravating. Lee, B+W, Hitech and Singh–Ray filters are reported to be neutral in colour.
if you use Cokin make sure that you take shots in raw ;)

[300+]

Hi folks,
I want to get something to help get rid of the problem when you take landscape pictures where you either get a picture of the sky and the foreground is dark or a picture of the foreground with a blown out bright sky.

Should I get a polarising filter or some of those graduated neutral density filter?

Any other options or ideas?


HDR Dude. Shoot naked!

Steve

[Chucaro]

HDR Dude. Shoot naked!

Steve

Not so sure Steve, a waterfall in HDR will be no much good and you need the filter to cut the glare on the leafs is the photo is taken in the forest.
HDR have a lot of applications but some times cannot be used.

[300+]

Yeah, these HDRs suck :cool:

Steve

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/09/690.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/09/691.jpg

[Chucaro]

Steve, I said "HDR have a lot of applications but some times cannot be used"
If the photographer would like to freeze the motion using a high shutter speed then HDR is not good.
If there is wind and the branches are moving, then with HDR there will be a motion blur on them.
If it is cluody and windy then the sky will be not good.
By the way, you have posted very nice images :)
Here is one in HDR and the sky is reasonable good because there was little wind.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Cheers

[300+]

Steve, I said "HDR have a lot of applications but some times cannot be used"
If the photographer would like to freeze the motion using a high shutter speed then HDR is not good.
If there is wind and the branches are moving, then with HDR there will be a motion blur on them.
If it is cluody and windy then the sky will be not good.
By the way, you have posted very nice images :)
Here is one in HDR and the sky is reasonable good because there was little wind.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Cheers

The trick to it is to load all the base images into PS as layers along with the HDR. Then create layer masks to burn through to the single image with the frozen motion that you are after. That way you don't have to have the movement which would otherwise be an issue.

Cheers, Steve

[Utemad]

HDR looks interesting (had to google it) but I am not particularly into editing images at the moment. Just trying to get the best photo I can at the time and maybe try my very limited PS skills on one or two images that I really like.

Wikipedia mentioned that some newer cameras will do the HDR stuff for you which would be useful but no doubt not as could as a pro could do afterwards.

[300+]

Hi, the best info on HDR is here: HDR Tutorial | High Dynamic Range Tutorial (http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/) It explains the whole layer process.

If you don't want to create the images in software you will need a graduated filter. That is the only way you can have one exposure which will capture the extreme brightness of the sky and the relative darkness of the ground.

If you shoot in RAW (which I always recomend) you have the option to apply a graduated ND filter in lightroom, or whatever you use to manage your images.

There are a few stops more dynamic range in RAW that in JPEG so you can often recover cloud details that way. See here for a quick tutorial: Jao's photo blog: The new grad ND tool (http://lagemaat.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-grad-nd-tool.html)

The Lightroom method is manipulating the poor capture and can often produce very good results, but is bit of a bodge if the scene really needed a grad ND. A grad ND will mean getting the capture right, which is more likely to result in better results. But you need a rectangular filter holder for them, which is a bit of a faff.

I've never tried the in camera HDR, but my assumption is that they just blend three images and don't offer any layer burn through features. This is very limiting. It might be fun to play with, but I doubt you'll love the results.

Cheers, Steve

[abaddonxi]

You can use a polariser, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarizing_filter_%28Photography%29