[Rondec]

I'm like the others that said that they don't use UV filters. I can understand the reasons for protection, but usually find that a lens hood gives plenty of protection from incidental bumps and any major contact would probably break through the UV filter anyway and damage the lens.

The filters I do use semi-regularly are polarizers (cutting reflections, bluing up the sky, bringing out colors in autumn scenes) and ND filters (for longer exposures). You certainly don't need them to start off with, but they can be helpful.

I would make one other comment which is to stay away from really cheap filters. You can buy Tiffen filters for 15 or 20 dollars, but they can really detract from your image -- typically will give a color cast, flare really easily, etc. Spending more money for a higher end filter from Hoya or B and W or Marumi is worth it in the long run. I've bought cheap filters in my time, but I only used them once or twice and ended up having to replace them with nicer filters.

[TMH]

Nice summation Papa-Joe. Parallels my conclusions precisely. As a result of all the responses I’ve decided to:

Start shooting! Amazon man/lady where are you??

Then:

1. Pick up a good quality UV filter, for lens protection reasons since I tend to use my toys hard
2. Order a spare battery, probably a Watson from B&H, they seem popular here
3. Already ordered/received 2 each PNY 64 gig cards, they are so inexpensive now!
4. Research bag options, the smaller the better
5. Research tripod options for in shop photography of cabinetry projects, CNC and 3D print time lapse.
6. Research flash options, used.
7. Continue to peruse these forums

Thanks all!

[Dale H. Cook]

While I maintain a full range of colored filters for film photography, I don't know that I have ever bought one specifically for digital.

I use a range of colored filters for monochrome photography as I would rather get the desired image in camera than fix it in post.

[stevebrot]

I use a range of colored filters for monochrome photography as I would rather get the desired image in camera than fix it in post.

Yes, with fixed white balance and in-camera JPEG, one can do that. I tried it once for both JPEG and RAW, but was not happy with the results.

Edit: You might want to consider a new thread detailing your technique and providing examples. I am sure there will be good response and discussion.


Steve

(...does a lot of monochrome conversion...)

[disconnekt]

Since you're shooting digital, for filters I'd just stick with the following

- A good Circular polarizer
- A good Neutral Density filter
- A Graduated ND filter
- A Soft Grad will be good if you're shooting with buildings/mountains in the scene
- A Hard Grad will be good if theres nothing on/near the horizon (like buildings, etc)

[TMH]

Lots of good advice posted above that I agree with.

d) When I've purchased Pentax with a kit lens, the kit lens didn't come with the lens hood although it does if you buy the lens separately. Did yours come with a lens hood? If not, I would make your first priority in getting the PH RBC62 petal hood. It's pricey, but if given the option of only affording a hood or filters, I'd use the hood.

Yes, mine came with a hood. Thanks for your tips.

Griff