5 Must have filters

Owen · Mar 10, 2011

I need to order some filters for my shoot in Indo. Bright sunny location shooting objects, landscapes znd people portraits, shooting on 5d II with 24, 50, 85 and matte box. I can only afford 5 for this trip so which 5? Sneider 4x5.65 horizontal. I will not buy less quality than these so no cheap alternatives please.

I was thinking
.6 solid
.9 solid
.6 grad
.9 grad
Linear polarizer

What are you thoughts? I've heard mixed things about ir filters, some say important for red but not 5d others a must?
What about a skin tone filter for portraits?
Or 1.2, 1.5 solid or .3

Thanks

Gonzo_Entertainment · Mar 10, 2011

I use a wide variety on film cameras. I don't use any except ND and maybe a circular polarizer on digital. The rest can be done in color grading.

Owen · Mar 10, 2011

Ok so skin tone and anything colour do in post. Just buy as many grad and solids as possible hey? And a polarizer

Gonzo_Entertainment · Mar 10, 2011

Owen said:
Ok so skin tone and anything colour do in post. Just buy as many grad and solids as possible hey? And a polarizer

Yeah the general philosophy is you want the image as "clean" as possible straight from the camera so you have the maiximum flexibility in post.

CamVader · Mar 10, 2011

I think we brushed upon this before, but consider a 1.8 ND (6 stops) for bright sunlight and an infrared cut filter which will help keep a CMOS sensor color honest. Tiffen makes a combo of both.

Owen · Mar 10, 2011

CamVader said:
I think we brushed upon this before, but consider a 1.8 ND (6 stops) for bright sunlight and an infrared cut filter which will help keep a CMOS sensor color honest. Tiffen makes a combo of both.

Yeh mate I am considering something like the 1.5 But thought I could just stack .6 and .9 if need be, I won't need a too shoot wide open that much, the sneider dealer reckons I don't need a ir on a dslr, only reds and other high end cameras? Eventually I'll buy all but I only can afford 5 for this first trip.

Owen

PaulGriffith · Mar 10, 2011

UV should be on every lens. There's a few situations where you might take it off, but it's a great "protection" filter. Dirt cheap, so you let it get scratched instead of the lens.

Variable ND would be next for me. Instead of carrying a batch if different grads, one filter can adjust from very little to almost blacking out the image.

A CPL is handy in some situations.

Finally, some ND Grads.

CamVader · Mar 10, 2011

Owen said:
Yeh mate I am considering something like the 1.5 But thought I could just stack .6 and .9 if need be, I won't need a too shoot wide open that much, the sneider dealer reckons I don't need a ir on a dslr, only reds and other high end cameras? Eventually I'll buy all but I only can afford 5 for this first trip.

Owen

Understood. Opinions on IR cut vary widely. Canon has all kinds of layers on top of the CMOS sensor (http://www.canon.com/technology/canon_tech/explanation/large_cmos.html) to reflect and absorb as much infrared as possible, but not all. That's why people are still able to use the 5D for infrared photography. A seperate IR cut filter is supposed to limit the sensor to only recording what the human eye can see (assuming you are also using a UV filter) and not record data that isn't needed.

...at least that's the theory.