lensfilter

UV Filter: Should You Use One on Your Camera Lens?

Photographers use a range of different filters on their camera lenses for different effects and purposes, and one of the most common filters found in a camera bag is the standard UV filter.

Light Pollution Filters: A Photographer’s Guide

Astrophotography still is one of the most popular photographic genres in the world and as we are in the middle of the Milky Way season, it is a very good opportunity to take an in-depth look in a very helpful accessory for better night sky photos.

CPL Filter: Why, When, and How to Use a Circular Polarizer

A CPL filter, or circular polarizer filter, is a popular and powerful filter that can reduce or eliminate glare and reflections from surfaces in your photographs. In this article, we will introduce this filter type and analyze its use and effects.

ND Filter: A Beginner’s Guide to Neutral-Density Lens Filters

The neutral-density filter, or ND filter, is a powerful lens filter photographers use to reduce the amount of light entering a camera lens in order to select exposure combinations that would otherwise result in overexposed images. This article is a basic guide to ND filters and how they are used.

This Mirror Lens Filter Lets Models See Their Own Poses

Inexperienced models often struggle in front of the camera because they lack insight into their own appearance. While we all can look our best in front of a mirror, it's because we can see ourselves. This filter aims to bring that ease of posing to photography.

The REVORING is a Variable Step-Up Ring that Works with All Your Lenses

The folks at filter manufacturer H&Y have just unveiled a variable step-up ring for your camera lens filters called the REVORING. The idea is simple, brilliant, and apparently extremely popular: the REVORING Kickstarter campaign was fully funded in just 90 minutes, and has already raised almost $170,000.

Aurora Aperture Unveils Next-Gen Rear-Mount Filter System

The Irvine, California-based photography gear startup Aurora Aperture has announced a new next-generation rear mount filter system. It's designed to be an elegant solution for photographers to use filters on ultra-wide lenses that don't have a front filter thread.

Moment Unveils Pro Quality Variable ND Filters for Cameras and Drones

Smartphone accessory maker Moment is breaking further out of its established niche today. The company—which recently expanded into drone accessories—is debuting Variable ND filters for cameras and drones that it claims "hit the sweet spot on affordability, functionality, and quality."

Low Contrast Lens Filters: What They are and Why You Should Use Them

As the name of the filter alludes to, these lens filters do indeed lower the overall contrast of a shot. To clarify what that means in relation to photography: these filters will reduce the darkness of the shadows by allowing light to bleed into them from surrounding highlights.

Ideas for Using a Variable ND Filter to Control Landscapes

Attaching the variable neutral density (ND) filter to a lens basically means that we have added a fourth dimension to our camera. The exposure triangle -- aperture, ISO, shutter speed -- has been expanded with a fourth variable with which we can play to achieve a desired effect or outcome. This opens up for new creative opportunities in our photography and also adds a lot of flexibility to our shooting.

Remove a Stuck Lens Filter by Tapping It Lightly With Your Finger

Here's a strange photography hack that may sound stupid and unbelievable... but it can actually work: if you have a filter that's hopelessly stuck to the front of your camera lens, try lightly tapping it with your finger. The Koldunov Brothers show how it's done in the 1-minute video above.

Amazon Mistake Gives Photographers Free $150+ Solar Eclipse Lens Filters

Yesterday, we reported that Amazon has been issuing refunds to photographers who purchased LEE's Solar Eclipse lens filters, warning that they were not sourced from a recommended manufacturer. Now it looks like the whole thing was a mistake on Amazon's part and that a lot of photographers just got free pricey $150+ lens filters.

How to Make a Solar Eclipse Lens Filter for $15 Instead of Paying $150+

With the Great American Eclipse on August 21, 2017, only weeks away, I decided to put together some solar filters. With the high travel costs to get to the eclipse from Southern California, I saved some money through purchasing solar filter sheets instead of the pre-made filters.

The Magic of Polarizing Lens Filters for Your Camera

Polarizing lens filters help your camera see the world in a new light... literally. If you've never used a polarizing filter before, check out this great 3-minute video by photographer Christopher Frost in which he discusses why these filters are so neat and how to use them.

Breakthrough Photography’s X-Series Filters are Ultra-Thin, Easy to Remove, and Affordable

Breakthrough Photography today announced a new lineup of X-Series Traction UV and ND filters that are drawing a lot more attention than your standard lens filter typically gets.

The series consists of three separate models, each of which measures in at between 3.2 and 3.5mm in depth, comes in filter sizes between 49mm and 82mm, and includes a clever ring setup that makes placing and removing the filters less of a hassle.

Canon’s Official Solution for Stuck Lens Filters: Use a Hammer and Hacksaw

When travel photographer Craig Pulsifer accidentally smashed the front of his lens recently and found his lens filter fused firmly to the metal threads, he went to Canon for help. The removal process explained to him by a Canon Professional services technician is probably something most people wouldn't think to try: use a hammer and hacksaw to surgically remove the stuck filter. Pulsifer followed the advice, and found that it works quite well (though he does warn that it's "not recommended for the faint of heart").

Transform an Ordinary Sink Filter into a Soft Focus Lens Filter

Photographer Nick Cool came up with one of the strangest pieces of do-it-yourself camera gear that we've seen so far this year. He took an ordinary stainless steel sink filter -- yup, the thing that catches food at the bottom of kitchen sinks -- drilled various-sized holes through it, and stuck it into a filter ring after taking out the glass.