Lens filters can assist in improving photography in a variety of ways. They can help to protect lenses, work to enhance colors, add to images with creative effects, and handle lighting situations that are otherwise difficult. But knowing where to start can be hard. Polarizing filters, ND filters, FLD filters, UV filters, and infrared filters are all names that can blur together for a beginner. Learning a few of the facts about the various varieties of lens filters is important.
Clear Filters
These filters are sometimes called protective filters; they are solely used to protect lenses. They keep out dust, making cleaning easier to accomplish and offer a degree of protection from impacts. As they are simply clear glass, they should not produce unwanted side effects.
UV Filters
UV stands for ultraviolet light, and there is some debate as to whether UV filters are necessary for digital cameras of the modern day. They were required for film cameras as the film is quite sensitive to UV light; digital sensors are not as sensitive. However, UV filters can remove UV haze in particular situations. Because of this, they are sometimes called haze filters.
ND Filters
Neutral density filters, or ND filters, are crafted of dark-colored glass; they are used for the limiting of the light amount entering the sensor without having an effect on the image’s color. They assist in avoiding the exposure of images in brighter light, particularly when an image is beings hot with shutter speeds that are slower.
GND Filters
Graduated neutral density filters, or GND filters, are similar to ND filters apart from the fact that their transition from dark to clear is vertical. They are used mostly by landscape photographers for those scenes that have lots of contrast. An example of this is a bright sky that has a dark foreground.
Polarizing Filters
These filters are capable of reducing reflections and glare within a scene; they provide colors that are more vibrant. Polarizing filters enable the limiting of the quantity of polarized light that enters the lens. This depends on the direction in which the light is polarized. Because it can aid in improving images in a variety of situations, it is among the most lenses.