Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I just want to add my view on the constantly re-occuring filter thread. Whenever someone puts a message on this list it adds to the never-ending argument on whether to stick a piece of glass on the front of a high quality lens; should you protect the front element and slightly reduce the resolution or not, etc, etc. I started photography ten years ago with a little Minolta FS-E2 compact camera, and was dissapointed with my landscape results - the background was always too dark, and the sky always washed out. The answer: an SLR with a grey graduate! I changed my camera for a Minolta 7000 and using print film, the same thing happened! So - I changed to slide film and finally got the perfectly exposed landscapes with a correct sky. I don't use filters for special effects - just to get an image on film that I saw with my eyes. Heck, I never use a flashgun - I would rather expose for 2 minutes using natural daylight for my macro shots rather than rely on a nasty blitz of fake light! (Must invest in that Noctilux and an M6...). I now use a Leica SLR system and have continued to use my Cokin filters (2 blue and grey graduates, and a polariser). How else can you get landscapes to look right? How do other LUGgers manage, especially those of use who use an M6, where you can't see the effect of the graduation? Incidentally, I don't have a protection filter on the front of my lenses. Simon