Filters for motorsport photography

[RichardC27]

I'm just after a bit of advice regarding which sort of filter (if any) I should be using for motorsport photography.

I have tried a UV filter in the past, but this was on a poor quality lens, and the filter was a cheap, Jessops own brand item that resulted in worse images with the filter in place than without. Would splashing out £80-£100 on a decent Sigma or Hoya Pro-1D UV filter give me a marked increase in quality in bright sunlight?

Or should I be looking at a circular polariser to cut down on reflections and increase saturation. My shots are fine as they are, but I have a nagging feeling that they could be a little better through something as simple as investing in a decent filter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[desantnik]

UV filter... hmmm not really unless you are in a real nasty dirty place... say Motocross and you are trying for a dirt flying rear shot of a start.

Others... well, ND's are useful if you want to slow the shutter right down on a bright sunny day. There is only so far you can get with the lowest ISO setting and minimum aperture (and thats assuming you don't mind the defraction you will be getting).

CPL's... a blessing and a curse... yes you will be able to eliminate glare from glass windows... but most windows and screens will be plastic not glass. The plastics can take on strange effects with a CPL, you can get what looks like oil slicks on clear perspex and coloured panels can end up with a very weird colour change effect.

[david1701]

decent uv to protect the front element when needed

[Gary]

i dont use any.. they have a nasty habit of making head lights repeat on the photo.

[desantnik]

Ahhh yes, I forgot to type that Gary!

[HoppyUK]

A UV filter will do nothing for image quality - except possibly make it worse.

A polariser is very effective for cutting reflections off windscreens if you want to see the driver. They show stress marks on toughened glass used for side windows, but windscreens have been laminated for the last twenty years.

Edit: get a good multicoated one. Cheap ones can also degrade sharpness with long lenses. Hoya HD only loses 1.2 stops of light, which helps keep the shutter speed up.

[RichardC27]

Thanks, I think I'll save the cash and just stay filterless :lol: