Are filters absolete?

[msole]

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Can someone comment if there is a difference between using a polarizing filter that I mount on top of my lens, and a filter effect that is created in Lightroom?

 

Also, does anyone know of any "plug-ins" for Lightroom or Photoshop that create true photo filter effects? For example is there a polarizing filter for Lightroom?

 

Thanks!

[Guest sirvine]

It depends. For example, if the purpose of the polarizing filter is to defeat glare or reflections, Lightroom is not going to do anything in that regard.

[DaveEP]

It is almost impossible to create the exact effect of a good polarizing filter 'after the shot'. You can come close on 'some' shots, and maybe that is good enough, but on others there is nothing that comes close.

 

Polarizers can be used for multple things, like avoiding reflections etc, and these are not so easy to do with a "plug-in" later....

[msole]

I guess it's hard to avoid buying a polarizing filter. Is the only solution for the M8 that huge contraption that mounts on top of the lens? Are there any third party solutions that screw in and are less expensive? I'm also worried how it's going to work with the IR filter...

[DaveEP]

I guess it's hard to avoid buying a polarizing filter. Is the only solution for the M8 that huge contraption that mounts on top of the lens? Are there any third party solutions that screw in and are less expensive? I'm also worried how it's going to work with the IR filter...

 

 

http://robertwhite.co.uk/accessories.htm#LabelKRP

[ho_co]

Madalena--

No matter what you do, polarizing filters on the M are clunky since you're not looking thru the lens.

 

You may not be used to Leica lenses, which may give better color and contrast than what you're used to shooting and therefore have less need of a polarizer.

 

My suggestion would be to wait a bit and see whether in a couple months you still feel that a polarizer is necessary.

 

I know a number of photographers who do excellent work and who use a polarizer knowledgeably, but I've always found it a bit kludgey and time-consuming on the M camera.

 

Just my opinion, of course.

 

But no, the only way to achieve the result of a polarizer is with a polarizer. There's no way to duplicate its effects in postprocessing because a polarizer acts on light rays polarized in a particular direction, and there is no way to reconstruct that from the recorded image.

 

Enjoy the shooting. And welcome to the forum!

 

--HC

[richam]

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Madalena,

There's more to it than polarizers. Here's an example with deep red and IR filters. All shots with Digilux 1 without polarizer from the top of the Zugspitze, a 9,700+ foot peak in the Alps near Garmisch, Germany. First, the color shot:

 

[ATTACH]33125[/ATTACH]

 

You can see that the haze increases with distance so that the distant mountains appear faint and indistinct. I used photoshop deep red filter at 100% and then convert to grayscale for the digital manipulation attempt.

 

[ATTACH]33126[/ATTACH]

 

Again, the detail in the distant mountains is just not there, as it was never captured in the original color shot. And finally, a shot with an opaque IR filter on the lens (B+W 093).

 

[ATTACH]33127[/ATTACH]

 

Here the camera picked up the distant mountain detail since it saw it behind the haze, which was almost eliminated by the filter.

 

The bottom line is that you can do nice filter effects with digital manipulation, but you can't manufacture details that were not there on the original capture.

[msole]

My suggestion would be to wait a bit and see whether in a couple months you still feel that a polarizer is necessary.

 

HC, Thanks for your advice, waiting a bit sounds right. Thanks!

[msole]

And finally, a shot with an opaque IR filter on the lens (B+W 093).

 

Michael,

I never realized how much a filter would change the detail that is captured. I always thought a filter would only affect color and reflections. The difference in your picture is amazing!

 

Was your last image also shot in color? And if so, how did the B+W filter affect the color?

 

Thanks!

[jaapv]

I shot this one and liked it a bit:

 

 

But I drove back the next day with my polfilter on and liked it better

 

 

Now I'm sure something could be done with contrast and saturation, curves and levels. But any manipulation in PS eats into dynamic range and destroys a piece of the original capture. I prefer to get it as good as I can in the original file and take it from there. That means filters, just like film.

[tashley]

NIK make a reasonable polarising filter as a plugin for photoshop (won't work in Lightroom) that it the closest I've seen to the real thing and has a number of options to make it more realistic BUT it's still not as good as the real thing!

 

Nik Software, Inc. | Welcome

 

Tim

[jaapv]

NIK make a reasonable polarising filter as a plugin for photoshop (won't work in Lightroom) that it the closest I've seen to the real thing and has a number of options to make it more realistic BUT it's still not as good as the real thing!

 

Nik Software, Inc. | Welcome

 

Tim

 

So does B&W. I tried it, but my opinion was : close but no cigar....