Cinematography Masterclass L2S5: Lens Filters
Hello Friends,
Welcome back to a new lesson,
Today, we will learn about Lens filters
It is an interesting topic where we alter the lighting dramatically with the help of lenses.
The Polarizer filter is a handy tool to block reflections, glares, haze, and scattered lights
Polarizer filters can reduce their presence, and even remove them if they aren't too strong.
they also boost the saturation and the contrast which adds energy to your images and videos
The polarizer filters are useful when you’re shooting water when there is reflection or glare,
Snow, because the snow has a lot of reflection, mirrors, glasses, or any other object reflective surface. Polarizer filters reduce or remove the reflections and deliver amazing results.
It stops some light waves from entering the lens and only allows light to enter from certain directions which eventually blocks unwanted flares and reflections.
But as it is blocking some light, your camera sensor gets less light to capture an image.
Neutral Density filters or more commonly referred to as ND Filters.
Neutral Density filters or in short ND Filters, reduce the amount of light entering the camera without affecting the colors and contrast.
The most common is the ND number, written as ND2, ND4 ND8, ND16, and so on.
ND2 filter cuts the light in half, whereas ND4 reduces the light to one-fourth, allowing only 25% of the light.
And the same way ND8 and ND16 cut the light by 8 and 16 times.
So, for every ND stop, light is reduced by one f-stop on our aperture. This means if we use an ND4 filter, it will reduce the light by two stops.
So if you have an additional tool to manage light or reduce light, you can open the aperture wider, which results in better exposure.
Now that we know how ND filters work, let’s learn about gradient filters.
They are also called GND filters
It provides a transition from light to dark areas and is often used to balance the exposure in an image that includes high contrast between bright and dark sections.
Let me show you some examples,
You can see how gradient filters can change the color temperature and modify colors beautifully
They are also used to reduce the light or make the scene look darker
Lens shape filters provide a shape and give a special effect to your images and videos.
They are made in plastic or hardboard and come in different shapes.
You can also make them at home by cutting the board in any shape and adjusting it to the front of the lens.
Lens filters are very helpful, and every cinematographer should know how to use them.