Hey Ya'll! How's it going this week? Me? It's been a rainy week so I've been doing indoor photography stuff like writing this blog. I have also been getting my gear ready for my annual fall colors trip that my camera club does once a year. This year we're going back to West Virginia for 5 days.  So that means lots of landscape type of photography and hopefully lots of color. It has been a while since I've written about filters. Back in 2022 I wrote a blog describing filters and what they do from a question that a camera club member had asked. Here is the link to that blog.   What my filters do  This blog is going to be a little different it will talk about what filters you need as a modern day photographer. First lets talk about construction of filters.

Construction- There are a few types of construction of filters. There are the "Circular Screw In" type. They are round and screw into your lens. So they have to be the same filter size of your lens. So if you have a 67mm filter sized lens you have to use a 67mm filter. You could buy many different filter sizes to fit all of the different sized lenses you have but that can get very expensive quick. The easiest way to use these is to get the largest filter size of you lenses say 77mm and use step down rings to take the 77mm to the 67mm lens that you have. Step down rings are only a few bucks and you can get one for each size of lens you have.  This way you only buy one set of filters. The next type of filter uses a filter holder that connects to your lens and you slide in the filters to the holder. So you would have a filter holder with adapter rings that would fit all of your Filters lenses and just one set of filters. These filters tend to be more expensive. The system works but is very clunky and cumbersome. The other construction design are magnetic circular filters. Like the screw in type but uses magnets instead of threads. The great advantage to this one is that you can pop them off and on very easily without fumbling with trying to get the screw in type screwed in or off. Sometimes the screw in type get stuck and are hard to get separated. The magnetic ones eliminate this problem. So those are the different construction types now for the ones you need and don't need.

Graduated Neutral Density Filters.  This filter is not needed anymore. It was used for high dynamic scenes like sunrise when the sky is so bright and the foreground is darker. This filter would darken the sky so you would have a more even scene. But this can be accomplished better in post production. You can take a bracketed shot and blend in Adobe Lightroom and use the linear Graduated tool and control exposure , color, contrast and almost anything . The Graduated ND filter can't do this as well. So this is a not needed filter. Now for what is needed.

Polarizer filter. The polarizer is the most important filter of them all in my opinion.  It does what no other Polarizer filter does, and it can't really be duplicated by Photoshop.  You may have heard it called a circular polarizer also.  It actually comes in two flavors - one is the linear and the other is circular. The circular is the more popular of the two and screws onto the front of your lens.  It has a rotating part that you can turn to increase or decrease the effects of the polarizer.  The linear polarizer is typically a square filter, and you will need some type of holder that attaches to the front of your lens. There are really only two positions.  If it doesn't work, rotate it 90 degrees and it will be working.  Both kinds will block 1 to 2 stops of light that travels through them, so you must make adjustments.  Your camera will automatically do this if you have it in one of the auto modes. A polarizer does a few things. The first thing it does is increase the saturation of things.  You can make your blah skies turn them bluer than blue. It will also increase the saturation in vegetation making leaves greener.  It also knocks the glare and reflection off of things. Looking through a storefront window, if you see yourself in the reflection, using a polarizer will make the reflection disappear.  If you look at water and it's too shiny, when you use a polarizer it will let you see to the bottom of a clear lake.  It's just like wearing polarized sunglasses when you're driving. Not only do they darken, but they knock the glare off of the windshield so you can see clearly.  With a circular polarizer, you can adjust as you like by turning the ring. For best results, the sun should be 90 degrees from where you're pointing. So not behind or in front of you, but to the sides.  This filter is great whenever you shoot around water, say shooting waterfalls.  This is a must-have in any photographer's bag.  Price will vary on the quality of the filter. Generally, you get what you pay for.

Neutral Density Filter- These filters are used when you want to darken the scene to either do a long shutter release or you want to open up the aperture of your lens.  This filter is used quite a bit for video work.  But for photography, it's mainly for long shutter release or opening up your aperture to give that great bokeh in broad daylight. Say for example you wanted to take a portrait in bright sunlight but you wanted to use an open aperture of 2.8, which is pretty wide open.  You would have to crank up your shutter speed to the thousands to get it to work if your camera would even get that high.  But when you put on an ND filter which darkens the scene, the wide aperture would let in enough light and you could slow down your shutter speed. I mainly use these filters to show motion.  I can do a long exposure in daylight and still blur a waterfall or have motions of the clouds drift across the sky giving a cool effect. These filters come in different strengths.  They are measured in stops of light.  Usually 3,6,8,10.  You can double up and have a 6 and a 3 together to make a 9.   Or a 3 stop and a polarizer to give a 4 or 5 stop light reduction. This is the combo that I usually use for waterfalls.  These filters can come in either square or circular filters.  For the square ones, you will need a holder of some sort to attach to the front of your lens.  The circular ones just screw onto the front of your lens, so you need to know your filter thread size. (usually found on the front of your lens) One thing to be careful with the screw on ones is that if you stack them you may get a vignette on the corners of you're photo because of the thickness of the filters block out the edges of your frame.  There are also Variable Neutral Density filters which instead of buying a 3, 6, 8 and a 10 stop filter you buy one filter and like a polarizer you spin a outer ring and make the filter darker or lighter. So you just have one filter instead of 4 to carry around. These Variable ND filters used not to be very good but in recent years they have got much better. Thats what I use now. So I recommend them for ease of use and affordability. 

So the two filters you need for photography are the polarizer and the Neutral Density. Now there are all types of cool filters that you can get like "Mist" filters or different effect filters. But these you don't Need but can be nice to have. You do need the Polarizer and the ND filter. I have just updated my digital kit to the magnetic system with circular filters from K & F. For my longest lens (100-400) I've converted screw on filters I already had to magnetic ones using screw on magnets with this kit I have two filters a 77mm Polarizer and a 77mm Variable ND filter. For my other lenses they have the same filter size (72mm) and I bought a kit from K&H that included a polarizer, a 3 stop and a 6 stop ND filter. I got this kit because the filters are thinner and for the wider angle lenses when I stack them I don't get a vignette. Now for film it's a total different discussion which would be a different blog. So what filters do you have? Well I think that's enough for filters for now. Until next week get out and shoot!

Note: The last two photo's of the blog I grabbed off of google to illustrate the effects of the filters.
 

Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a great week! Me? Pretty good we've had tropical storm Debbie come through the last couple of days and the Olympics are on so I've been doing a lot of photography stuff. Photography stuff you say? Yea! Thats what this week's blog is all about. Preparing for a photography trip. Usually my big trip of the year is with my photography club where we take a week or so and head somewhere for some good ole fun with photography. But wouldn't you just hate to show up somewhere and not have the gear you need? Whether it's camera gear or clothes. Wouldn't that just suck? Thats where planning comes in. Planning for the trip can almost be as important as the trip itself on having a good fun time. There are lots of things that can ruin your trip. Like I've got my camera but forgot my battery charger or you have a SD card failure and don't have another. What if you're doing a night shoot and you forget your headlamp? I've seen all of these things happen to me or others in the club and it all happened because of poor planning. Now admittedly I am a over planner but I think you must plan for a big trip.

Make a list. I have developed a spreadsheet that I use for every trip. Now it's nothing special it's just a list of gear, clothes, toiletries and stuff that has been geared to me. It doesn't have to be a fancy list like I have it can be just things jotted on a piece of paper. But make a list and check it twice. Just like Santa.  I keep this list handy on my computer that I can make changes on the fly. I print it out a day or so before the trip and physically check things off as I put them in my luggage or camera bags. Don't take for granted that you have all of this list in your head you can still forget stuff. I recently took an overnight trip and I had my camera gear dialed in but IMG_1459 I forgot something to sleep in. Nothing major but what if that had been extra batteries? Or a headlamp for a night shoot? As my wingman did. Although you do have a cell phone you can use for light what if you drop that and break it just because you forgot a 20 dollar headlamp. That would suck!

Start early. When thinking of your trip start early. As I said earlier I gear my whole year on our big fall trip. So I try to streamline and update my gear well in advance of showing up to one of the great spots we've chosen and can't figure out my gear because it's brand new. So start early fine 22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n tuning your gear before you get to those spectacular places. I have been fine tuning mine all year. I've recently switched camera bodies I have it almost programed liked my older one but there are some differences between them. I have my custom settings set so if I come upon some wildlife I just set to custom 3 and that puts all of my sports or settings in. Or if I want to shoot street I put on 1 and I shoot in Black and White and Jpeg +raw.  All at the flic of a switch. I also try to dial in my lenses that I'm going to carry on the trip. So I have as few as possible but what I need. Depending on the itinerary I might have a specialty lens thrown in like a 20mm f1.8 for night skies. Or I might take something out of my bag that I might not need. 

Don't forget all of the other things besides camera gear and accessories. What about clothes? Take clothes that are versatile and that you can layer if it gets cold. What about hats. Is it going to be very sunny like out west? Maybe a large brimmed hat. Is it going to be cold maybe a stocking cap and gloves. Here is the link to a blog I wrote about things you need to bring. Things you need to bring. Things like chargers , how will you process your photo's  backup and such. Here is a blog I wrote about winter dressing layering your clothing and such. Winter Dressing the Part .

I think the big takeaway of this blog is to start planning now and keep planning all year and keep a list that you can modify as your needs and trips vary.  Hey and don't forget things you can do right now. Like formatting  your SD cards before you go. I just reformatted all the cards in my SD card wallet so it's ready for my trip. Make sure you have enough room on an external drive your taking for backup. What about checking all of your settings on your camera before a trip. Maybe you were doing some long exposure where you used the self timer at 2 seconds and you didn't switch back and when you went to take a photo and nothing happens then two seconds later snap. You could miss a photo because of this. I have.  So make sure your camera is set to go every day before you go out. 

Now the actual packing part. Remember less is more and you're the one that has to carry the stuff you have packed. Bags with rollers may be helpful. If you're traveling by air maybe you want to check the heaviest bag and keep a change of clothes in your carry on with your camera gear just in case they loose your luggage. I put Air Tags in each of my luggage and my camera bags when I travel. It's nice to see where your luggage is and provides a piece of mind when traveling. Don't forget simple things like ear buds, maybe a snack or granola bar with you for a quick in between meal snack. Sunglasses a must!

Remember make a list and check it twice! Or more! Start early and keep updating your list. Customize to your trip. If you remember all of these things your trip will run smooth and photography is all that you will have to think about. Until Next Week! Get out and Shoot!

Hey Ya'll! This week's blog I'm going to try something different. I'm going to take you through my thoughts threw the whole process of me buying a used film camera. Now this doesn't really have to be about buying a film camera it could be any type of used camera or equipment. There are a few types of ways to buy used equipment one if from a friend or a store where you can hold and touch the camera. But there are not a lot of camera stores anymore that you can buy used equipment so I'm going to talk about the online world and my process while I buy a new to me film camera . The best way is to go to an online camera store like KEH or MPB because they go through the cameras thoroughly and give honest grading of these cameras. But they do not have a big selection of film cameras.  No new film cameras except some cheap plastic toy ones and a new camera from Pentax (which I have my eye on) have been made in decades so condition is an issue. The best source of used film cameras are on eBay where you can get a selection from all over the world but then again condition is an issue since you can see or hold the camera . You have to take the word of someone who is trying to sell this item. They may elevate the condition just to get it sold. So the title a "leap of faith" is required when purchasing  them unseen except through photographs and you know how easy it is to manipulate photo's. Well that's where are story starts. I have purchased from KEH, MPB, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace I have had success in all and feel pretty lucky. So this blog I'm going to take you with me and write bit by bit as the process proceeds. First is the buying part.

-7-5-2024- I had a doctors appointment and like always I was early and in  the parking lot I was browsing through facebook marketplace and saw my next victim . LOL It was a Canon Canonet 28. I own a 1961 Canonet 19 and a 1972 Canonet 17 and this one is in the middle somewhere. The price was 50 bucks. I figured it was 50 bucks so if it was crap it will be a cool nicknack or I can use it for parts. Either way it's 50 bucks. The add said it worked the shutter clicked meter worked but didn't know if it was accurate and it needed light seals. So I paid with PayPal, and now I'm waiting for the camera. I will write more when the camera arrives in a week or so. 

7-10-2024 Well bad news. My oder was canceled by the seller for some reason. This is the first time that this has happened to me. I didn't get an explanation but maybe it was for the best. Well I can still look for a camera. I have been interested in a half frame camera to play with maybe now is a good time to try one out. The search starts again.

7-10-2024 Well I've decided after some research to get a Canon Demi EE17 half frame camera. I spent many hours looking at different cameras and reviews on youtube and in written reviews before I took a leap of faith and Purchased this one from Japan. These camera's were released in 1966. I did some eBay researching and found one for 169 dollars I made an offer of 140 and they countered with 159 so 10 bucks off. So I took another leap of faith. The condition is near mint and the photo's looked good and they gave an explanation of everything about the camera. I have never had a problem ordering from Japan but you do have to pay a hefty shipping fee. But I usually get the item within a week. I have a confirmed order and payment and now I'm waiting for shipping.

7-12-2024 Delivered! Wow! Two days and I just got the camera from Japan delivered! The camera was packaged very well and everything that was promised to come with the package came. I got a UV filter, camera strap assembly, and carrying case and of course the camera. The camera was as advertised and was in very good condition. This particular camera has only one light seal that surrounds the viewfinder that goes through the back door of the camera. This was missing but I have some light seal material and made a light seal to go around the viewfinder. Not as fancy as the original but it should work. I checked the light meter and it was very close to a meter app that I use on my phone that has been calibrated. I'm going to run a 1/2 roll of film through the camera in Auto and the other in Manual with an external meter and see how it performs.  I'll let you know the results. There is no fungus or hazing in the lens or viewfinder which is one of the most important things for me for a camera this old. The camera feels very solid and I ran a dummy roll of film through it to make sure things like rewind , counter  and advance lever worked. They worked well.

Yet another successful eBay encounter. I am very happy with my purchase although I don't like the hefty shipping expense from Japan but I did get it in two days and it was wrapped and packaged very professionally . So I guess you get what you pay for. Buying online is a leap of faith and doing lots of research. I probably looked at 50 or more cameras before I made the decision on the one I got. Some were cheaper and some were more expensive but you just have to do the best you can , trust your gut and take a leap of faith. I look at how many transactions that they have had and what the positive approval rating they have. I try not to buy from someone who has only a few transactions. Most of my camera stuff has come from Japan but with that you should expect large shipping fees. Japan is the mecca for used film cameras since most of them were made there during the height of the film era.

Well that's it for me this week I hope this helps. Remember the same techniques and tips goes for any type of camera equipment that you are looking for online. Well I've got a new camera to shoot! Until next week Get out and shoot!