Sony Ex3 Do I need a filter ? If yes Which one?
 

I have read about needing a filter and have seen some say get ones like the tiffen or the BW but I'm confused and dont want to spend a fortune on a filter. Please advise.

Thank you

BK

What filters are you talking about?

UV/ND/polarizer?

I always have a UV filter attached to my lens, unless I need another kind of filter for a particular shot.

The UV filter blocks out haze and is a nice way to protect your lens from getting scratched.

I have B+W filters and have no complaints with them.

I assume you are thinking about the dreaded infra red problem. The answer is yes, it will turn blacks black rather than muddy brown. A lot has been written about this on these forums. I use the Tiffen IR filter and it has saved the day on several shoots.

Yes, the IR filter is definitely a good thing to have in the bag.

I use the B+W IR filter...no complaints on this filter either.

I don't use this filter much, but it is a great filter to have in the bag when blacks are looking brown.

I'd use the Tiffen T1. It's purpose designed for the job of removing IR on an EX1 or EX3 with as little impact on everything else as possible.

I use the B+W 486. Stays on all the time.

-Garrett

Same here and I keep it on all of the time.

The 486 is an interference filter and like all interference filters this causes problems at wide angles with a distinct tint appearing in the corners of the image, appearing as a slight cyan vignette. It's much harder to cleanly remove a corner tint than the slight overall colour shift that the T1 introduces.

Yes Alister, that is exactly why I don't keep it on all of the time... only when I need it. I like my wide angles to be as clean as possible!

I suppose it does depend on what your recording but I record weddings and I have to keep it on all the time.
What would happen if say for instance, the bridesmaids dresses were black and I hadn't the filter attached.

That's just one example.

If you white balance through the T1 the very slight colour tint disappears.

Well, it will depend on what fabric those dresses are made of, but I take your point.

That is the whole point... in that case you have determined that you need the filter attached. I don't do a tonne of live events so my shots are mostly controlled and I can use the filter when I need to.

Excellent filter to have at your disposal though.

What kind of weddings do you shoot?

Never heard of a bridesmaid wearing a black dress, maybe if they are then it would be better to leave the filter off :-)

Hi, Vincent, I shoot whatever the wedding turns out to be, I too would have thought, not black for a bridesmaid dress, but I can tell you this the dresses and the bridesmaids were beautiful.

I've recorded two weddings (as far as I can remember) when the bridesmaids wore black dresses.