Nikon D7100 Lens Filters?

Our cruise to the Western Caribbean is only 50 days away! YIPPEE!! This will be my first vacation since getting my new Nikon camera. Does anybody have any suggestions as to what kind of lens filters I should purchase since I will be photographing water, beaches, bright sunny days? UV filter? Thanks in advance!

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UV filter is a rather religious topic. Some people swear by them, others swear at them. I started out using them, and six months in I changed my mind. Now, I only use them if I'm going to be in harsh environments (salt water spray, such as a sailboat trip).

Circular polarizer is a good one if you're disciplined enough to use it. It's not the kind of filter you should leave on your lens - use it in sunny conditions with reflective surfaces (water, metal, etc.) and probably not on a wide-angle lens (inconsistent blue skies are the result). It also requires tending - changing your position/heading/orientation may or will result in the filter needing to be rotated for best results. We don't use them often enough to justify bringing them on a cruise, as we don't have the right habits to use them well and may end up misusing them (forgetting that they're on the lens, etc.).

Neutral Density filters are like sunglasses for your lens. It's perhaps the only way to get those dreamy water shots. These too should not be left on your lens, but you'd know they were there. They're also useful if you dabble in flash photography, as an ND filter can be useful to get your exposure back into a range that can work with normal sync; high speed sync is usually an option but does not result in the same "reach" of your flash.

Size-wise, you want the filter to fit the filter threads of your lens, which are likely shown on the front of the lens with a little circle with vertical line through it, then something like 58mm or 77mm. The lens cap is most likely sized for the filter threads, and you may see a raised black plastic size indication on the inside of the cap. If you have multiple lenses (or may add lenses in the future), you probably want to buy one filter big enough for your largest lens (by filter size), then a step-up ring (adapter) to allow you to fit that larger filter on your smaller lens(es).

Peety3 summed it up nicely. One other option is a graduated ND filter. Useful for taking sunset/sunrise pics (it is basically half dark/half clear). You can do the same thing with bracketing and combining the images in software but some folks like to do in camera. To each his own.

The Variable ND filter is a good, but a pricer, option on the ND part. You just rotate to make it darker or lighter. Thus eliminating the need for multiple ND filters. They work great as long as you follow the directions. (if you try to go past the max you can get an "x" in your shot.).

Peety3 summed it up nicely. One other option is a graduated ND filter. Useful for taking sunset/sunrise pics (it is basically half dark/half clear). You can do the same thing with bracketing and combining the images in software but some folks like to do in camera. To each his own.

 

The Variable ND filter is a good, but a pricer, option on the ND part. You just rotate to make it darker or lighter. Thus eliminating the need for multiple ND filters. They work great as long as you follow the directions. (if you try to go past the max you can get an "x" in your shot.).

Ah, yes, the graduated ND. I had one years (a decade?) ago for my Minolta. There might be some that are screw-on, but I'm inclined to think that the majority of these are square filters, so you attach a square-ish bracket to your lens and slide the filter in. That way you can control the fraction of ND coverage: maybe half, maybe more, maybe less. My own opinion: stay far, far away unless you're the disciplined shooter who will set up a tripod, prepare the composition, gently remove the grad-ND filter from the travel case, insert it into the holder, adjust, shoot, then remove it from the holder and return it to the travel case, etc. All that is to say that mine got really beat up and unusable FAST, so it got tossed.

Ah, yes, the graduated ND. I had one years (a decade?) ago for my Minolta. There might be some that are screw-on, but I'm inclined to think that the majority of these are square filters, so you attach a square-ish bracket to your lens and slide the filter in. That way you can control the fraction of ND coverage: maybe half, maybe more, maybe less. My own opinion: stay far, far away unless you're the disciplined shooter who will set up a tripod, prepare the composition, gently remove the grad-ND filter from the travel case, insert it into the holder, adjust, shoot, then remove it from the holder and return it to the travel case, etc. All that is to say that mine got really beat up and unusable FAST, so it got tossed.

I have one I picked up a few years ago for some reason. (screw on type) I haven't used it in years, I don't even think i have a lens it would fit anymore either. Between HDR, bracketing and just the dynamic range of todays cameras it really is sort of a dinosaur. But, some folks still like them, thus the reason I mentioned them.

Then 18-200, and a mirror to go the horizon, like to shoot the moon, birds do not buy a telephoto machine, hundreds of pieces plus a 50 focus on the big aperture shooting children look good, so the home is enough