Have you ever been out shooting pictures and looking at your LCD thought, “I would like to make this look different.” Then lens filters are for you. Of course there are as many reasons for using lens filters as there are filters.
First to buy a filter for your lens you have to know what size to buy so that it fits your lens when you receive it. Take off your lens cap and look at the backside of the cap. You will see something like 72mm or 52mm. This is the size you will need to buy so that the filter will thread onto your lens.
WAIT! Don’t order that filter so fast. If you have a few lenses and you want to save some money and have a few sizes of filters needed I have a trick for you. Buy the largest filter and also order a step down ring. With a step down ring you can use the larger filter and reduce it to fit the smaller lens.
As I said there are more filters then I could write about this morning. But the few that I have and truly love are these.
UV Filter: I leave this attached to my lens all of the time. If you ever drop your lens and shatter the glass you would rather it be the filter then the lens glass.
Circle Polarizing: This filter is handy when shooting sky’s and water. I took this filter on a cruise to enhance the blue waters of the ocean. It spins around allowing you to either cool the sky or the ground?
Neutral Density: This filter comes in many different levels. The reason it does is it acts as sunglasses for your lens. This filter is great when shooting outside. If you can’t knock down enough sunlight with your shutter speed, you add this filter to your lens and it will knock it out for you.
There are of course many different types of filters on the market. I don’t spend a ton of cash on them. I do buy the middle of the road as far as pricing. Don’t buy the filters costing hundreds of dollars. It is better to put your money into other gear. But do buy a few filters and keep them in your bag. And remember place a UV filter on all of your lenses to keep them safe.
