Stringent quality precision machined crafted metal rings to ensure optical flatness. Professional filters for all imaging applications.
| Rodenstock Standard Filters |
| |
Protection Filters -
Ultraviolet Filters
Your camera won't allow you
to develop clear, crisp photos if your camera lens is
damaged or dirty. You can protect your thousand dollar lens
with a $20 filter if you use a UV or haze filter. These thin
glass filters are designed to screw onto the end of your
camera lens and you can just leave them on to protect your
lens. UV filters can help protect your lenses from dust,
moisture and scratches. If your lens is damaged it could
cost you quite a bit to repair or replace it. The filters
can also give you added benefits of correction for
Ultraviolet light which can show on your film as a bluish
cast and can sometimes distort distant details. UV filters
let you correct for the UV effect to varying degrees. They
are also useful if you are shooting mountain and marine
scenes, as the haze could affect the color and clarity of
the photos. UV filters can be bought for about $20.
Haze Filters Haze Filters
do just what they sound like, they filter out haze which is
created by minute particles of vapor and dust. Haze settles
in the atmosphere and can affect distant photographic
scenes. Haze forms when sunlight is scattered by minute
particles of matter that exist in the air. Atmospheric
conditions have an effect on the amount of haze in the air.
Mist, fog, smog, smoke and clouds are all different than
haze. Green and red light are scattered by haze, but not as
much as ultraviolet radiation, violet and blue light. If you
use filters to absorb scattered sunlight you can penetrate
the haze. Any filter that can absorb scattered sunlight can
be considered a haze filter.
|
 |
|
| |
Polarizing Filters
These filters are used to reduce or eliminate reflections. They are ideal for photographing through glass or water as the glare from water tends to be white. Polarizing filters can also reduce the effects of haze and darken the blue sky image in black and white and color photography. There are various polarizing filters available to increase color saturation in a photo without altering the hues of image colors, but there are only two principal styles. One style fits over your camera lens, while the other is made to be used over the source of light. They don't affect color, that's why polarizing filters and screens are used in both black and white and color photography. There are two pieces to a polarizer. The front part rotates so you can change the angle of polarization. If you look at the blue sky through a polarizer and rotate it, the sky appears to get darker and then lighter. These filters range in price from about $15 to $800. They come in various sizes. |
 |
|
| |
Neutral Density Filters |
| |
|
| |
Graduated Filters |
| |
|
| |
Cooling Filters |
| |
|
| |
Soft Focus Filters |
| |
|
| |
Color Enhancing Filters |
| |
|
| |
Filters For Black & White Film |
| |
|
| |
Black & White Film Contrast Filters |
| |
|
| |
Infrared Filters |
| |
|
| Browse Rodenstock Lens filters at
Adorama, Amazon,
B&H Photo Video
|
Camera filters are transparent or translucent optical elements that alter the properties of light entering the camera lens for the purpose of improving the image being recorded. Filters can affect contrast, sharpness, highlight flare, color, and light intensity, either individually, or in various combinations. They can also create a variety of "special effects." It is important to recognize that, even though there are many possibly confusing variations and applications, all filters behave a reasonably predictable way when their properties are understood and experienced. Most of these properties related similarly to filter use in both film and video imaging. The following will explain the basic optical characteristics of certain types of camera filters, as well as their applications. It is a foundation upon which to build by experience. Textual data cannot fully inform. There is always something new out there.
In their most successful applications, filter effects blend in with the rest of the image to help get the message across. Use caution when using a filter in a way that draws attention to itself as an effect. Combined with all the other elements of image-making, filters make visual statements, manipulate emotions and thought, and make believable what otherwise would not be. They get the viewer involved.
Filter Planning
Filter effects can become a key part of the "look" of a production, if considered in the planning stages. They can also provide a crucial last-minute fix to unexpected problems, if you have them readily available. Where possible, it is best to run advance tests for pre-conceived situations when time allows.
Filter Factors
Many filter types absorb light that must be compensated for when calculating exposure. These are supplied with either a recommended "filter factor" or a "stop value." Filter factors are multiples of the unfiltered exposure. Stop values are added to the stop to be set without the filter. Multiple filters will add stop values. Since each stop added is a doubling of the exposure, a filter factor of 2 is equal to a one stop increase. Example: three filters of one stop each will need three additional stops, or a filter factor of 2x2x2= 8 times the unfiltered exposure.
When in doubt in the field about compensation needed for a filter that you have no information on, you might use your light meter with the incident bulb removed. If you have a flat diffuser, use it, otherwise just leave the sensor bare. Aim it at an unchanging light source of sufficient intensity. On the ground, face up at a blank sky can be a good field situation. Make a reading without the filter. Watch out for your own shadow. Make a reading with the filter covering the entire sensor. No light should enter from the sides. The difference in the readings is the compensation needed for that filter. You could also use a spot meter, reading the same bright patch, with similar results. There are some exceptions to this depending on the filter color, the meter sensitivity, and the target color, but this is often better than taking a guess.
Filter Grades
Many filter types are available in a range of "grades" of differing strengths. This allows the extent of the effect to be tailored to suit various situations. The grade numbering range can vary with the effect type, and generally, the higher the number, the stronger the effect. Unless otherwise stated, there is no mathematical relationship between the numbers and the strengths. A grade 4 is not twice the strength of a grade 2. A grade 1 plus a grade 4 doesn't add up to a grade 5.
If you buy photo gear, video products, software,
electronics, etc. and you order by using any
links from this site, I get a small credit no matter what you buy, and you do not pay one cent more, and usually
you pay much less than retail. By clicking the links on this site helps me have the time to keep building this site.
I've been using Adorama,
Amazon or
B&H Photo Video for years and have
nothing but good things to say. I strongly recommend them You'll be glad you use them too.
