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Thread: Forgive me - dumb filter question

  1. #1

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    Forgive me - dumb filter question

    First off, hello everyone. Its been a while, hope everyone is doing well,

    Now the dumb question . When I purchased my camera, I received 3 58mm filters, only one which I know what it is and purpose, the polarizing filter . The other two I am clueless, one has a red tint to it and the other a light blue tint. Can someone enlighten me please on their purpose and when I would use them? Thanks in advance.

    3 weeks until Sri Lanka!!

  2. #2
    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
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    Re: Forgive me - dumb filter question

    Jason - filters usually have some markings on them telling you what they are for.

    If you could look at them and let us know what these are, we might be able to help you. Just guessing; red tints tend to be warming filters and blue ones cooling. These were useful in the film days, but have lost their utility with digital cameras.

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    Re: Forgive me - dumb filter question

    Quote Originally Posted by GrumpyDiver View Post
    ...These were useful in the film days, but have lost their utility with digital cameras.
    +1. Polarizers and ND/GND filters are about the only ones that are still useful. A "purist" (aka anti-Photoshop) may argue otherwise.

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    yauman's Avatar
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    Re: Forgive me - dumb filter question

    Quote Originally Posted by JasonS View Post
    First off, hello everyone. Its been a while, hope everyone is doing well,

    Now the dumb question . When I purchased my camera, I received 3 58mm filters, only one which I know what it is and purpose, the polarizing filter . The other two I am clueless, one has a red tint to it and the other a light blue tint. Can someone enlighten me please on their purpose and when I would use them? Thanks in advance.

    3 weeks until Sri Lanka!!
    Let me take a stab at this. Before the days of digital camera with built-in White Balance control, you have to use these filters for balancing the color. Once you put your film in, your WB is set by the film (as well as your ISO aka ASA.) So, if you use a "daylight" film, it's white balanced for daylight. Now if you shot in a room with tungsten/incandescent light, your pictures will come out reddish as incandescent lights lack blue. So, to compensate for that you put on the 80A "tungsten" filter which is bluish offset the reddishness of the tungsten light. If you shoot under fluorescent lights, your pictures will come out looking greenish as fluorescent lights lacks red so you put on the FLD "fluorescent light" filter which is pinkish looking.

    Using any of these color balance filters cuts down your F-stop by at least one if not 1.5 to 2. So, photographers who shoots products or models under tungsten lights will opt to buy and use Tungsten Film instead of Daylight.

    Of course you don't need to use that now with digital cameras as it can do the WB automatically or you can do it post-production.

    Hope that helps.

  5. #5

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    Re: Forgive me - dumb filter question

    Thanks all for the quick replies. One filter says "58mm digital HD FLD"and other "58mm digital HD CPL".

    I figured they were some type of color balance, or for some sort of artistic color effect, just couldn't figure out why or when I would use them.

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    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
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    Re: Forgive me - dumb filter question

    Quote Originally Posted by JasonS View Post
    Thanks all for the quick replies. One filter says "58mm digital HD FLD"and other "58mm digital HD CPL".

    I figured they were some type of color balance, or for some sort of artistic color effect, just couldn't figure out why or when I would use them.


    CPL = Circular Polarizer = the only style of polarizer you would use on a DSLR

    FLD = a fluroescent to daylight filter, and was used to shoot daylight film under fluorescent lights. Totally useless for digital cameras (and frankly, I try to avoid shooting under fluroescent lights if I can, even with digital).

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    Re: Forgive me - dumb filter question

    Thank you grumpy.

  8. #8
    mknittle's Avatar
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    Re: Forgive me - dumb filter question

    I won't argue with that but I do like my #29 red for black and white. For some reason I cant replicate it to my liking in Elements 11.

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