Looking at getting a couple of Hoya filters for my 350D lenses (18-55 std and 75-300 USM Mk3). Both are 58mm.

Just wondering what people recommend to have in the old camera bag? Skylight and UV perhaps? Any others that come in useful for day-to-day stuff, as well as group shots and landscape stuff? Maybe a neutral density one?

Thanks,

Steve

UV filter doesn't make a difference on a digital camera and is generally only used as a cheap way to protect the lens My camera mad buddy just says to shoot in raw and then do any filtering as part of the post processing

Chris

Would agree, should have a uv from the go on any lens.

Raw yes, but adds to the workflow and to be honest distracts from some of the joy of in the field photo's.

I got cookin, mainly as I used them when I was last using film many years ago so knew where I was.

If starting out I'd go for cokin again. If starting now I'd get lea filters.

As to what to get, I'd go for a nd pack, consiting of a nd2 and 4, I have never used my 8. Maybe a all nd to trick bright light, fountains etc. After that I use my 81a & b most.

I have more of course, a polarizer is good for water, cars etc.

Ocassionally use blue grads to highlight the sky when it's a bit bright but not loose colours in the ground area, say heather and bright sun sky.

Or go to Harris & Lewis take snaps of the sunset and use no filters at all, as the colours are just so strong anyway.

ps re raw workflow, I can recommend raw shooter from some bloke in the states. Also seriosuly consider getting a WHIBAL. It will make your raw workflow very enjoyable as you will actually get the right white balance for the moment. It's also an interesting read/research. IIRC the whibal lot cross trade to the rawshooter.

I'm looking to get a mac but I do have a raw shooter lic...let me go and find a link...http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter_premium.asp

Does not work on mac, although tere were rumours and ffs will adobe stop buying software compaines please.....argh.

Thanks guys - very helpful.

Steve

I bought a daft expensive 17-55 f2.8 lens for my Canon 350 D, and got a Hoya super pro UV. I had chatted to some proffesional snappers and they reckoned that stopping down the UV did help saturate the pictures slightly on most digital cameras (although the effect is marginal) as well as protecting the lens. The Hoya is also optically very good and very slim. Also they recommended the Sigmas as well as some of the Cokins.

I

Thanks for that Elanore - the polarizer results can look superb, especially with cloud shots as you say. I'll certainly invest in one....

Cheers,

Steve

The cheapest place I know of for Lens and Filters that you can actually try out is Camera Solutions, 18, Frodsham Street, Chester. They are near the Cathedral and run by an ex pro snapper. His prices are superb and he carries a large stock of Canon, Sigma and Hoya stuff. He will also haggle a bit.

The other place for cheap stuff is Equipment Express in Altrincham (opp Jessops) but I suspect you already now them as I think they are not that far from you? Their CFII cards are less than half the price of Jessops.

If you have CS2 you can do masses of stuff with RAW files as it already has all the necessary drivers and things for the 350D, But the Canon RAW prog isn

I use Cokin P filter system (compatible with square filters from other manufacturers too) on my cameras. It's ideal for me as it can go on the Hasselblad, 350D or my digital camera without any major work (just screw the adaptor ring onto the lens).

As for the filters themselves, UV's or Skylights on all my lenses for the sake of protection (except the Hasselblad lenses - have you seen how much Hasselblad bayonet filters cost? :eek:) and I carry 4 others in my bag: warm up 85B (incredibly useful, can turn a 'cold' sunset into a glowing warm one - I took the photos below with a warm up filter on Skye last week on my 350D), ND grad filter (good for balancing light levels at sunrise and sunset between the ground and the sky), circular polariser (don't use this so much now, but useful on 'shiny' vegetation for boosting the saturation) and a 4x ND filter, which is useful for slowing shutter speeds for blurring water (coasts, rivers etc.).

7dayshop.com do some cheap filters - well worth checking their prices, although you may have to wait for them. Over on the Amateur Photographer forums that company doesn't carry the nickname '7monthwait.com' for no reason!

Thanks for the info Rob - great pics too

Steve

Cheers mate - they're some of the better ones, but I was very pleased with the way the warm up filter transformed them. Apart from perhaps the one with the cliffs, I don't think the effect is too strong.