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Waterfalls below Sgurr nan Gillean
ISO 100, F11, 30 seconds. Sony A7RII, Zeiss Batis 25mm.
Benro Filters used; CPL, 6 stop ND, 3 stop GND
ISO 100, F11, 30 seconds. Sony A7RII, Zeiss Batis 25mm.
Benro Filters used; CPL, 6 stop ND, 3 stop GND
In this age of digital wizardry and Photoshop manipulation, is there still a place for filters, or are they relics ripe for consignment to The Antiques Roadshow?
Until recently I was not a fan of filters and that’s putting it mildly. Innovative sensor technology has led to massively improved dynamic range. Two photos can be blended together, one exposed perhaps for a bright sky, the other for the darker land. There are all sorts of work arounds but that’s exactly what they are: work arounds and not necessarily the best practice and certainly not the most satisfying.
Long ago I had a set of Lee Filters but never really got on with them. The set up was fiddly, the resin filters scratched and damaged all too easily and there were horrible colour casts. In fact, I sold the lot and reckoned it was all a case of hype and people refusing to admit that they’d spent a fortune on something that didn’t live up to it’s reputation. Lee were the original big boys of the filter world with a reputation to match. That reputation still endures and only last week I was talking to a photographer who uses Lee filters mainly because all the photographers he admires use them.
For many years I used various work arounds and being very conscious of weight and bulk when climbing in the mountains made do with a few screw in filters; a polariser and a couple of neutral density filters. This was very minimal kit and largely relied on the light being exactly right throughout the composition. When the light played ball, this could produce stunning results but all too often I returned home frustrated.
I would probably have continued like this if Benro hadn’t introduced their range of filters. The chance to try them out was too good an opportunity to pass up but I did feel a bit guilty, wondering how I could produce a worthwhile review of something that I probably wouldn’t ever use after the test. How wrong could I have been?
Some things can be replicated in Photoshop but some can’t. You can add a graduated filter in post processing or merge two photos of different exposures but you can’t mimic a long exposure or remove reflections as a polariser would. Some of the effects produced by filters can be very Marmite like with people either loving or hating the result. Some wax lyrical about the serene flow of a waterfall in a long exposure shot whilst others will spit out their tea and moan about “milky water.”
One of the first photos I took with the Benro filters raised a lot of love and hate on social media, the majority loving it but a vocal minority calling it a fake: some like that it showed the current in the river, others denounced it saying it must be a fake since they’d been there and knew there was no “whirlpool.” The photo showed a pool in the river below Marsco and the use of a 6 stop Neutral Density filter enabled a long exposure which captured the circular motion of the current. A 3 stop Graduated Neutral Density filter helped prevent the sky burning out whilst a Circular Polarising filter countered some of the reflections on the surface of the water.
Marsco from Glen Sligachan
Sony A7RII, Zeiss Batis 25mm. ISO 100, F11, 30 seconds.
Benro Filters used; CPL, 6 stop ND, 3 stop GND
Sony A7RII, Zeiss Batis 25mm. ISO 100, F11, 30 seconds.
Benro Filters used; CPL, 6 stop ND, 3 stop GND
The pros and cons of using filters;
Pros
- Can apply a range of actions in camera rather than having to spend time on the computer later.
- Massively extend the dynamic range in a single shot by using graduated filters.
- A polarising filter can reduce reflections, increase contrast and colour saturation.
- Helps with the in camera process as an aid to composition because it is easier to see things through the viewfinder/monitor as a whole rather than trying to imagine how two images combined might look.
- If there is any movement in the scene then it’s definitely easier to get it right in a single photo rather than try to combine two with different exposures.
- Can use neutral density filters to lengthen exposures to show movement in clouds, water etc or to capture a crowded scene without the people showing up.
- Possible bulk and weight considerations
- Cost. Decent filters certainly aren’t cheap.
- Extra faff in the field especially in adverse weather conditions.
Glen Sligachan at Dawn
ISO 100, F11, 4 seconds. Sony A7RII and Zeiss Batis 25mm
Benro Filters used; CPL and 3 stop GND
ISO 100, F11, 4 seconds. Sony A7RII and Zeiss Batis 25mm
Benro Filters used; CPL and 3 stop GND
Waiting for the light for the above Sligachan shot