[Jimsi777]

I would like to get a filter for PF. would a good UV filter help and would other filters be better for fringing? What brands and places could I get a filter? The threads are 55mm, and used mostly for 210 zoom and faster brighter shots(landscapes) at mid to high f/stops.

What other filters for what purpose??? Thanks for all your advice...Jim

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Last edited by Jimsi777; 09-18-2007 at 09:23 AM.

[stewart_photo]

First of all, Pentax cameras, and most modern lenses used with those cameras, are not particularily prone to purple fringing. It obviously exists occasionally, just as it has existed since the dawn of photography well more than a hundred and fifty years ago, but not to the point of requiring great effort to deal with. Next, no filter is going to eliminate purple fringing (reduce perhaps, but not eliminate). Instead, another filter may actually add to the problem by introducing even more glass (not mentioning the potential image degradation cause by that extra glass).

Therefore, I suggest forgeting filters to address this issue specifically. The small amount of purple fringing which pops up occasionally can be best handled easily during post processing. The nature of purple fringing, very narrow color range and so on, makes it fairly easy to remove with most graphics editors.

However, having said all that, there are ways to reduce the prospect of purple fringing in your photographs, such as avoiding overexposed highlights or shooting with the lens wide-open with high contrast scenes. Quality optics and filters with multi-coatings to address chromatic aberration can also help. And perhaps the extreme is avoiding excess filters altogether (skylight and UV filters, for example). Of course, the even greater extreme is using no filters at all.

stewart