What filters do you need for Red? A beginners' guide.

[Tim Myers]

What's the difference between soft edge and hard edge grad ND's? Which is more commonly used, or is it a personal preference?

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The transition line between the clear area is fairly sharp, abrupt in a hard-edge ND grad -- they were designed for use on longer focal length lenses because that hard line becomes so blurred -- a soft edge would become so soft that it would look more like an Attentuator grad (which has no transition to clear, it just gradually gets darker or lighter throughout the filter.)

So soft-edge grads are by far the most commonly-used, and then some people use Attenuators on very wide-angle shots where they don't want to see any obvious transition to the darker area, and hard-edge grads on telephoto shots.

 

[Will Keir]

Each filter is made of glass correct? Including polarizer filters?

So each filter you add reduces the optical performance of the lens, correct? So you are better off with a single 1.2 ND then toss two .6 NDs? One layer of glass as opposed to two?

Or do filters make little difference to the image quality?

 

[Will Keir]

I am surprised this question was never answered.

Still wondering about this. My guess is two filters will reduce optical performance more than one.

Each filter is made of glass correct? Including polarizer filters?

So each filter you add reduces the optical performance of the lens, correct? So you are better off with a single 1.2 ND then toss two .6 NDs? One layer of glass as opposed to two?

Or do filters make little difference to the image quality?

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

Yes, fewer filters are better. The more optical surfaces you add in front of the image, the more potential reflections, flares, and aberrations you introduce. This is why when we used to shoot on tungsten film and usually used an 85 filter outside, filter manufacturers made combo filters like 85 NDs, 85 Polas, 85 ND grads, etc.

As a general rule, use the fewest number of filters you can get away with. Also, the more telephoto a lens is, the more it will be negatively affected by filtration. Avoid using front mounted filters on long telephoto lenses above 300mm, they will significantly soften your image.

Glass filters are most common, since glass (Schott glass, anyway) is both optically pure and resistant to scratches. Some lower end manufacturers make resin filters which are fragile but can be ok optically.

 

[Will Keir]

THanks

 

[Micah Johnson]

I have a red zoom 18 - 85. Does any one know where I can purchase a 142mm uv filter to protect the lens.

 

[Ben Scott]

Hi all, quick question.

I have a couple of Tiffen IRND screw-ins for my stills lenses but from my DSLR kit I also have a Lee 100 filter adapter and 100x150mm grad filters. Is there an issue with using 'regular' grad filters with the Scarlet/Epic or should and NDs contain IR filtration?

Thanks in advance.