The Effects of Different Lens Filters on Digital SLR
Photographers have long used lens filters on their cameras to improve the quality of their shots. Usually attached to the front of a camera over the lens, filters are glass fittings that can be used to adjust the color that reflects off the light source, so that you get a more balanced color level, or exaggerate the colors for artistic purposes. They can also be used to control the amount of light that the lens is exposed to when you need to make a longer exposure.
UV/Skylight Filters
When you're taking outdoor pictures on a bright, sunny day, a UV filter can reduce the haze that might appear in your photo, as well as the bluish tint that you could see. This can help increase the quality of the photo by increasing the color saturation. Due to being colorless and not reducing the amount of light that enters the lens, UV filters can be kept on your camera all the time to help protect the lens from being scratched. (They only cost about 10 percent of what a new lens would cost you.)
Polarizing Filters
Polarizing filters work by selectively filtering certain light waves. They can help reduce reflections, such as those from waves or glass, help remove haze from the image and also increase color saturation. Polarizing filters block a lot of light, so they're definitely not all-purpose lenses--they're much better suited to bright, sunny days.
Natural Density filters
Sometimes, you want a shot, such as an action shot that will show movement with a blurry image, that requires you to have a wide aperture setting (the f-stop settings that determine how much light is let in through the lens), and a slow shutter speed (the amount of time that the film or sensors is exposed to the image). A natural density filter would be ideal in this situation. Natural density filters are designed with the intent of stopping light from entering the lens. This prevents the image from being overexposed and washed out.
Grey Graduated filters
Grey graduated filters are clear at one end, and slowly become tinted as they approach the other side. These filters are used to reduce the intensity of brightly lit areas of the shot, giving more light balance in the shot, while retaining detail in both the brighter and darker areas.
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