Best filter for shooting in harsh daylight?
- Thread starter NorBro
- Start date
IndyFilmPhreak2013
Carbonite Member
Lose the filters, they only exacerbate your issue. You need a lens hood/shade.
Diffusion between the sun and your talent also helps tame "harsh daylight", but the solution to "hazy, washed out look" is to prevent lens (veiling) flare by stopping stray beams from hitting your glass. The more glass you have (e.g. unnecessary filters) the worse your problem can be.
Diffusion between the sun and your talent also helps tame "harsh daylight", but the solution to "hazy, washed out look" is to prevent lens (veiling) flare by stopping stray beams from hitting your glass. The more glass you have (e.g. unnecessary filters) the worse your problem can be.
Last edited:
UV filter reduces haze and improves color contrast and definition.
Polarizer will alter contrast between sky and earth in some settings and filter out unwanted reflections. Reduces exposure by 1 stop typically.
Shooting in bright daylight without filters requires stopping down to at least f/16 on most cameras. Aperture diffraction will reduce resolution and sharpness at such small settings. ND filters can reduce exposure by anywhere from 1 to 5 or more stops allowing exposure in the sweet spot of the lens for best resolution, usually around f/4-f/5.6.
Really cheap filters are nearly worthless, good ones relatively expensive. But if you pick a matte box and filter set that can cover any format you shoot with any camera, you only need to by the good stuff once. I almost always use at least a high quality UV filter in outdoors daylight conditions.
Lens hood or matte box to control extraneous light is a good thing too.
Late afternoon shot example from Digital Bolex with a B&W UV-2 on an Angenieux 12-120 HEC lens.
Polarizer will alter contrast between sky and earth in some settings and filter out unwanted reflections. Reduces exposure by 1 stop typically.
Shooting in bright daylight without filters requires stopping down to at least f/16 on most cameras. Aperture diffraction will reduce resolution and sharpness at such small settings. ND filters can reduce exposure by anywhere from 1 to 5 or more stops allowing exposure in the sweet spot of the lens for best resolution, usually around f/4-f/5.6.
Really cheap filters are nearly worthless, good ones relatively expensive. But if you pick a matte box and filter set that can cover any format you shoot with any camera, you only need to by the good stuff once. I almost always use at least a high quality UV filter in outdoors daylight conditions.
Lens hood or matte box to control extraneous light is a good thing too.
Late afternoon shot example from Digital Bolex with a B&W UV-2 on an Angenieux 12-120 HEC lens.
IndyFilmPhreak2013
Carbonite Member
UV filters are snake oil. Please don't repeat that marketing dreck - there is no benefit to image quality on a digital sensor.
No filter will fix a "washed out look" in properly exposed footage.
No filter will fix a "washed out look" in properly exposed footage.
Last edited: