Polarising filter and lens hood?

kitschenalia

kitschenalia

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I have a Canon EOS 500D and Sigma 18-50 lens for my second freebie wedding on Saturday. It's for my best friend and I want to do well. Is this a good price for a lens hood?

http://www.1stcameras.com/pd-sigma-lens-hood-1770mm-18200mm-os--1850-f28-macro.cfm

Also, should I invest in a budget polarising filter? (I really can't stretch to a pro priced one) - will it improve outdoor wedding shots even at budget level? Can I get any filter with a thread of 67mm - will any fit? Can you recommend one at under £20?

Thanks!
 
I sometimes use a CPL for wedding shots, particularly on bright days ........ I can't recomment on under £20 though
 
I bought a lens hood for £ 3, delivered on Ebay, but as there is less than a week you'll have to pay more for it, and genuine Sigma ones will be more expensive than Chinese crones.

Polariser, pay a few groats for for a decent one.
 
andrewc said:
The cheap Hoya ones are about £ 50

Get one to suit the biggest diameter lens you have, and step down rings for smaller lenses (but sometimes this means the hood can't be fitted...)
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Which is why it is a bad idea to buy a 'cheap' Hoya filter new. There are loads on ebay for a fraction of the cost. When you no longer like it, sell it on. Try to get at least HMC version, after that IQ diffrence is minimal.

Step down rings are OK, but they can be a bit fiddly. For low use I'd get one, otherwise buy more filters.
 
kitschenalia said:
thanks guys - will look on ebay for a second hand hoya HMC at least....

My friend said an interesting thing - she said that with her film SLR she used one, but with digital so much can be done in post processing that these colour issues can be fixed anyway.... I'm not sure.
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I'd go with the filter. Anything solved in camera is quicker and easier than sorting it out later.

Regardless of whether a sky is easily fixed, you might end up photographing something reflective down the line (or even at the wedding) that'll benefit from the CPL and altering that with PP would be a massive task. They're worth having.
 
A polariser is the only filter which can't really be replicated in photoshop. You can give blues and greens a boost, but you can't cut through reflections in the same way that you can when working with polarised light.
 
Cheap filters are not worth the money, as The majority of them will decrease image quality. If you have a filter, then it would be worth checking it, by setting up your camera on tripod and photograph something with some small text on as far away as possible but still be able to make out the text, then take the same shot with the filter on and off and see if you can see any difference. I chucked way a few skylight filters after doing this test whilst other filters were fine.
 
Nikon Fan said:
Cheap filters are not worth the money, as The majority of them will decrease image quality. If you have a filter, then it would be worth checking it, by setting up your camera on tripod and photograph something with some small text on as far away as possible but still be able to make out the text, then take the same shot with the filter on and off and see if you can see any difference. I chucked way a few skylight filters after doing this test whilst other filters were fine.
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The trouble with cheap filters is consistency - it's entirely possible to spend £5 buying one and it'll be as perfect as a £50 one. The thing is, it's much, much, much less likely and by the time you've found one good enough you're going to have spent as much, if not more.
 
Kood 67mm Circular Polariser Lens Filter
[KFGCP67] £31.55

from "here".....not eBay

.....................................................................

better

Marumi Filter 67mm DHG Circular Polariser.................£46....from "here"

I have their 72mm = well pleased
 
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Hoya slim cpl 67mm filter from these for £44.99 Surrey-Photography & they are slim... I had the 77mm version but never got around to using it..... So sold it to fund me going to FF...
 
I wouldn't recommend a polarising filter for weddings. They are for adding a bit of colour to blue skies, and reducing reflections.

If there's blue sky you want to darken, by all means use one, but they're not great on skin as they remove a lot of the reflections which give shape to the face. Makes people look like putty. And you'll lose a couple of stops of light, which you might need on a dull day. Polarisers are great for landscapes and stuff, but not people IMHO.

Presumably you've lost the hood that came supplied with the lens, in which case I would recommend you replace it with an original, as per your link. The chances are that any other one will vignette (intrude in the picture at 18mm) so don't be tempted by a cheaper alternative unless you're certain it's okay.
 
HoppyUK said:
I wouldn't recommend a polarising filter for weddings. They are for adding a bit of colour to blue skies, and reducing reflections.

If there's blue sky you want to darken, by all means use one, but they're not great on skin as they remove a lot of the reflections which give shape to the face. Makes people look like putty. And you'll lose a couple of stops of light, which you might need on a dull day. Polarisers are great for landscapes and stuff, but not people IMHO.
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I would disagree with you there - they're not for every shot by any means, but on a bright day, and the right shot they add something. I'd agree don't use it indescrimentatly though

Hugh
 
thanks for all the links folks. I'm definitely going to put one on my Christmas list. However, I think I can prob get away without one, would we think? I know it's not ideal but I can probably cope with just what I have? I may be panic buying. I've only done one other freebie wedding (for someone who again, didn't want to pay for a pro photographer, and couldn't really afford to), and although the shots are not perfect and probably not pro level, the B&G are delighted. White skies though, which can be a shame I think.....

My biggest fear is actually a bright sunny day as I don't have a decent flashgun (only a piece of crap), or a reflector (again, I know I shouldn't panic buy something I don't know how to use). Practically speaking I think I may be best to concentrate my efforts on getting the lens hood (Hoppy I bought the lens second hand and no hood came with it), and perhaps some more memory cards. And trying to get a better handle on how to control my flashgun. Although actually, I have only been asked to do formal posed shots and some getting ready shots.
 
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kitschenalia said:
thanks for all the links folks. I'm definitely going to put one on my Christmas list. However, I think I can prob get away without one, would we think? I know it's not ideal but I can probably cope with just what I have? I may be panic buying. I've only done one other freebie wedding (for someone who again, didn't want to pay for a pro photographer, and couldn't really afford to), and although the shots are not perfect and probably not pro level, the B&G are delighted. White skies though, which can be a shame I think..... Here's a selection of my favourites. Please bear in mind I'm still learning.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=21442&id=143335205699473

My biggest fear is actually a bright sunny day as I don't have a decent flashgun (only a piece of crap), or a reflector (again, I know I shouldn't panic buy something I don't know how to use). Practically speaking I think I may be best to concentrate my efforts on getting the lens hood (Hoppy I bought the lens second hand and no hood came with it), and perhaps some more memory cards. And trying to get a better handle on how to control my flashgun. Although actually, I have only been asked to do formal posed shots and some getting ready shots.
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a CPL won't replace either fill flash or a reflector if you need to use them. I think you'd be better of finding those things, like a hood, that will be of use to you always rather than the bits that you may use now and again.

eta - there's not much in that set a CPL would of helped with
 
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Hey, i just had a quick look through your photos and i noticed in quite a few of them people aren't looking at you. I think it is very important that as the main photographer you need to ensure people look at your lens and no one else's (until you get the shot of course, then maybe take a step back and let others in)
 
Is it worth having a hood on say an 18-55mm?

Also, seen the 'Kood' brand of CPL and apparently they are quite good for the price. Not got one but have read that.
 
thanks all. boyfallendown I suppose not. If I get a white sky a CPL won't help with that, will it. ETA I hope I read you correctly and you didn't mean the set was abismal!

Blue Eagle, the B&G only had me step in the day before, literally. They had a good friend who was very assertive taking pictures too (not a photographer) and she knew everyone and kind of took over (although she was friendly enough) so they were all looking at her. I realise it's a major issue but the B&G aren't too upset by it. Hopefully it's just because they all knew her and she was doing all the "organising". I won't let it happen at my friend's wedding.

Thanks Gigabyte. I'll bear the Kood in mind.
 
In order of priority, I would make sure you've got plenty of memory, and get a spare battery. Flash eats batteries, maybe borrow a couple for the day?

The get some practise in with the flash. The pop-up is okay for fill-in and close work indoors. You can get a lot more range out of the flash by raising the ISO and/or lowering the f/number, when you need to. Every stop of ISO/aperture is an effective doubling of the flash power.
 
thanks Hoppy. I turned the camera's flash off very early after getting it and now even when I try and turn it back on and it says it's on in the menu, it doesn't come on - you have Canon - do you know anything about that?

My problem with my flashgun is that it doesn't communicate well (TTL?) with the camera, so that I have to guess at my settings (given I always shoot in full manual), say up the shutter speed to 4000 etc. Silly! I wish the camera would take account of the fact there's a flashgun on board, and then let me know how much shutter speed I need to dial in for that particular aperture, or vice versa.
 
kitschenalia said:
thanks Hoppy. I turned the camera's flash off very early after getting it and now even when I try and turn it back on and it says it's on in the menu, it doesn't come on - you have Canon - do you know anything about that?

My problem with my flashgun is that it doesn't communicate well (TTL?) with the camera, so that I have to guess at my settings (given I always shoot in full manual), say up the shutter speed to 4000 etc. Silly! I wish the camera would take account of the fact there's a flashgun on board, and then let me know how much shutter speed I need to dial in for that particular aperture, or vice versa.
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Does the flash pop up but not fire? Sounds like you need to spend some time with the handbook, and if that doesn't work, take your camera into the local shop or somewhere and talk it through with them.

You can use manual and still have the flash working in E-TTL auto mode, but TBH I would switch it to Av. That will ensure that the camera adjusts the shutter speed to balance the ambient light with the flash, and it also won't allow the shutter spedd to go above 1/200sec, which is your max x-sync speed. Keep an eye on it though.
 
I just tried it in my dark kitchen two ways:

1 - in manual - aperture was 3.5 and SS 125, flash firing. Shot looked great.

2 - in AV - aperture 3.5, ISO 200 and as soon as I switched to AV the TTL light at the back lit up BUT the shutter didn't acknowledge the flash was on board so it was very, very slow. What's going on with this? Maybe this needs a new thread..........
 
kitschenalia said:
I just tried it in my dark kitchen two ways:

1 - in manual - aperture was 3.5 and SS 125, flash firing. Shot looked great.

2 - in AV - aperture 3.5, ISO 200 and as soon as I switched to AV the TTL light at the back lit up BUT the shutter didn't acknowledge the flash was on board so it was very, very slow. What's going on with this? Maybe this needs a new thread..........
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No, that sounds right.

Your kitchen is dark, so on Av the camera will attempt to deliver an exposure that is correct for that (the background), then it will balance the flash expose which only illuminates the foreground. Check the difference in the background with your two test shots.

You can do the same thing in manual, if you adjust the shutter speed to the ambient yourself.

There are other ways of doing it, and in P for example the camera will track the ambient light down to 1/60sec, but then it will stop even if the background is quite dark. This ensures that you don't get blurring in the background through movement, but the background will also start to go darker.

All the camera's exposure modes are just different ways of doing the same thing. It's a question of convenience and preference, balanced against knowledge.
 
Ah ok, I was hoping that using the flash with AV might mean that the strength of the flash was built into the metering. So that it knew it could use a higher SS if a flash was on board.... as it is the shots using AV mode are out of focus. Whereas the shots using the other settings are fine, but only by chance. Sometimes I have to set the ss much higher (e.g. 4000) just to get it to the right amount of brightness (not sure why the huge discrepency!). I need a higher SS (maybe at least 1/60 or above) in order for my shots to be in focus at the very least....

will try it out in P then. Although really it's nice to be able to control aperture isn't it? I just wish I could "get" how it works, so that I can understand how to set up a shot.
 
kitschenalia said:
Ah ok, I was hoping that using the flash with AV might mean that the strength of the flash was built into the metering. So that it knew it could use a higher SS if a flash was on board.... as it is the shots using AV mode are out of focus. Whereas the shots using the other settings are fine, but only by chance. Sometimes I have to set the ss much higher (e.g. 4000) just to get it to the right amount of brightness (not sure why the huge discrepency!). I need a higher SS (maybe at least 1/60 or above) in order for my shots to be in focus at the very least....

will try it out in P then. Although really it's nice to be able to control aperture isn't it? I just wish I could "get" how it works, so that I can understand how to set up a shot.
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There is evidence of some misunderstanding here! You need to know how flash works, and how it interacts with the camera settings.

You cannot use flash with a shutter speed higher than 1/200sec - you will only get part of the picture exposed. Longer is fine. If you use the camera on any of the auto modes, it will prevent this happening. To be safe, I think you'd be better off using P.

Why are you using manual anyway? Unless you have a good reason to deviate from the camera's recommended exposure, then one of the auto modes is better, if only because it saves you having to line everything up your self which is tricky in a rapidly changing situation like a wedding.

TBH I would leave it on P for the whole day, and just pop up the flash when you feel you need it.
 
Isn't P fully automatic? I don't want it on that - I've been using fully manual for almost a year so that I get an understanding of how exposure works, and become a better photographer. I wouldn't want to use P, I want to be able to control depth of field for one thing.

I would love to know how flash interacts with my camera settings - I have the cheapest of the cheap flashguns, it was a £30 Jessops one, now no longer available. I generally bounce it off the ceiling indoors.

I'm lost about the SS thing though - I regularly whack the SS up to 4000, well def. over 200 anyway, to prevent a white out shot. I'm very confused now, my camera is definitely letting me do this (unless it just lets me think this but is then dropping the SS back down to 200 - there have been SOME times where it hasn't let me above 200 to be fair). Any links at all for learning how flashguns interact with camera settings? Although I suspect mine is just cheap rubbish.

I'd defo consider switching to AV for the wedding, for the reasons you've given (although I'm not experienced with using it and would worry there'd be anything to "learn"?). But not P. Isn't that for non-photographers really?? ETA sorry if this reads offensively to anyone. But I don't see the point in coming as far as I have then switching to fully automatic.
 
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kitschenalia said:
Isn't P fully automatic? I don't want it on that - I've been using fully manual for almost a year so that I get an understanding of how exposure works, and become a better photographer. I wouldn't want to use P, I want to be able to control depth of field for one thing.

I would love to know how flash interacts with my camera settings - I have the cheapest of the cheap flashguns, it was a £30 Jessops one, now no longer available. I generally bounce it off the ceiling indoors.

I'm lost about the SS thing though - I regularly whack the SS up to 4000, well def. over 200 anyway, to prevent a white out shot. I'm very confused now, my camera is definitely letting me do this (unless it just lets me think this but is then dropping the SS back down to 200 - there have been SOME times where it hasn't let me above 200 to be fair). Any links at all for learning how flashguns interact with camera settings? Although I suspect mine is just cheap rubbish.

I'd defo consider switching to AV for the wedding, for the reasons you've given (although I'm not experienced with using it and would worry there'd be anything to "learn"?). But not P. Isn't that for non-photographers really?? ETA sorry if this reads offensively to anyone. But I don't see the point in coming as far as I have then switching to fully automatic.
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if you're used to working with 'M' I wouldn't change that. I think a good grasp of how your camera works in each of the exposure modes would be really benificail to you now though, and also how flash interacts with that.
 
kitschenalia said:
Isn't P fully automatic? I don't want it on that - I've been using fully manual for almost a year so that I get an understanding of how exposure works, and become a better photographer. I wouldn't want to use P, I want to be able to control depth of field for one thing.

I would love to know how flash interacts with my camera settings - I have the cheapest of the cheap flashguns, it was a £30 Jessops one, now no longer available. I generally bounce it off the ceiling indoors.

I'm lost about the SS thing though - I regularly whack the SS up to 4000, well def. over 200 anyway, to prevent a white out shot. I'm very confused now, my camera is definitely letting me do this (unless it just lets me think this but is then dropping the SS back down to 200 - there have been SOME times where it hasn't let me above 200 to be fair). Any links at all for learning how flashguns interact with camera settings? Although I suspect mine is just cheap rubbish.

I'd defo consider switching to AV for the wedding, for the reasons you've given (although I'm not experienced with using it and would worry there'd be anything to "learn"?). But not P. Isn't that for non-photographers really?? ETA sorry if this reads offensively to anyone. But I don't see the point in coming as far as I have then switching to fully automatic.
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P isn't necessarily for non photographers. It's for when the shutter speed and lens aperture don't particularly matter (although you can change that with exposure shift) but you need to nail the shot without having to think or fiddle about.

Manual is mainly for when you want to Lock the settings. The disadvantage is that unless you keep a close eye on things, when a cloud goes over that you don't notice, or you turn quickly to shoot in shade, you could be snookered.

If you want to control depth of field, use Av. I use it pretty much all the time, and with flash. It's fast, foolproof, and gives you full control. If you want to modify the exposure, use the compensation controls. That's how DSLRs are primarily designed to be used though as I say, whatever suits your method of working. I only switch to manual when shooting a series of pictures when a) the subject is moving/changing and might upset the exposure, and b) the light is not changing.

If you could borrow a decent flash, like a Canon 430EX or similar with high speed sync and maybe a Stofen diffuser on top, you'd be pretty well prepared. You're welcome to borrow one of mine if you're anywhere near Peterborough.
 
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