[Hrochnick]

Hello,

I have just bought myself a Fujifilm S5500 for an upcoming safari trip. I understand that a filter would be a good idea for protecting the lens and helping with the bright sunlight however I'm a little confused as to the differences between the various types and when they should be used.

I have been advised in one shop that I need a UV filter and in another that a Skylight would be best. If I remember correctly, Polarising was also mentioned...

What effect do these have on the photographs and can they be used at all times or only in certain situations?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated before I run out and buy one at random or indeed all of them.

Thanks.

[rdhir]

Generally people recommend buying a Skylight 1B UV filter. This blocks some UV light which can fool light metering into undexposing your picture slightly. But the real use was as a simple protective filter which will mean that the filter gets broken rather than your lens. This is handy as a filter is a lot cheaper.

An SLR user would buy one per lens and always leave it attached.

I use them for that reason now.

A polarising filter is best likened to a polaroid sunglass filter for your camera. It cuts down the amount of light. This is useful in bright sunny conditions eg a safari, beach as it will help you get deeper richer more saturated colours. A polarising filter comes in two types - vertical and circular. cirular being like concentric rings too fine to see. vertical being fine lines. This is why the trick of rotating two vertical polarising filters causes all light to be blocked.

In the right situation it is very useful. They really do work, but it is up to you how much you wish to pay as they can be very expensive. As an example I have an SLR portrait lens that lists for £1000. A top quality circular polariser for this costs £250. Hence when I use the polariser, I stick the UV filter in front to protect the polarising filter.

I'm not familiar with your camera in detail but a quick look at the specs would suggest that you consider reasonably priced filters.

Cheers


Rajiv

[Hrochnick]

So a Skylight filter is simply a UV filter... they are not two different things?
Thanks for your reply, very helpful.

[rdhir]

Yes the full name is Skylight 1B UV. There is a Skylight 1A but I don't know exactly what it does. As I said I use it more for physical protection as I don't know if light meters are still more sensitive to UV than Film/Digital Sensors.

Cheers

Rajiv