Which filter next?

[pdxgene]

Anyone have any favorite specialty filters that they'd recommend for our outdoor type phto taking? It looks like you can really have some fun with some of the ones I've been looking at.

[pyles_94]

if you dont have a polarizer, you basically need one... its the best filter i can think of... you can get them as cheap as 20-30 $, but they can get very expensive for bigger filter sizes.

if you already have one, you could get an nd filter, or a split nd. split nd's are for landscape photography when part of the picture will be over exposed and some dark (sunsets especially). you hold it in a position to get the exposure right.... sometimes it can be pretty difficult to use, but sometimes very useful!

[chameleon]

Are you using digital or 35 mm? If you are still using film, a red filter can be priceless. Jamey is right about the circular polarizer being the most important filter (and in fact the only one I use anymore), but the red filter when you shoot with black and white film, such as T-max 100 or Illford 25 (my two favorite b/w films), can give you intense skies, etc... Most of Ansel Adams beautiful bw landscapes were achieved with significant help of a deep red filter combined with a circular polarizer. In junior college, I got Best of Show in the annual art show for a bw image I shot of a moon rise over cotton wood trees, for which I used a red filter and circular polarizer to create a perfect moon with perfect trees - beautiful highlights and rich darks - devoid from a lot of moon photos. The red filter makes anything blue much darker in bw photos allowing you to get very dramatic images.

[pdxgene]

Hey, thanx! I got a UV and Polarizing filter(s) when bought the camera. The sunset filter was one i was looking at. The Rainbow-Spot filter looked kinda cool too..

[Waffle Stomper]

Another fun filter is a star filter. Great for adding some "sparkle" to reflections.