using filters?

[Agape]

I've been trying to figure out if I should get any filters for my 4040 and there are two possibilities from my research that I've found might be useful. The Polarizing and/or the UV Protection filters. I tried a search on filters in this group but there hasn't been much talk of them. Are they not used underwater? I'm just wondering if I should bother with getting any filters for my camera or not.

ps. just bought the Niffen Adapter for my camera yesterday and trying to figure out what lenses and filters I may want to start off with.

 

[okiediver1]

I have a 3040 and was wondering the same thing!

Also, what is a niffen adapter?

 

[norcaldiver]

Dee prolly knows better, but I don't see a use UNDER the water. Topside they're great for taking pics of water. What they do, basically, is cut out glare and reflection.

Tiffen has a brochure online that gives some examples with and w/o the polarizer taking pictures thru a window.

 

[Hooked4Life]

Agape: This information is really related to topside photography. The UV filter is great for protecting your lens. That way you get dust, and scratches on the cheap UV filter instead of the fixed lens. It is a lot cheaper to replace the UV Filter. Circular Polarizers are great for: Enhancing the blue of the sky. Using a circualr polarizer you can increase or decrease the blueness of the sky. This also comes handy if there is glare that you want to remove. For example: taking a picture of a car. Normally you would see glare on the windows. The polarizer filter will help eliminate that.

I bough the UV filter, Circular Polarizer, FD Filter for my c-5050z and they do come in handy.

 

[Dee]

Before I started diving and u/w photography, I relied heavily on filters for everything from protecting lenses to special effects to color enhancement. But in u/w photography there's no place for filters. It's a fact of life that you lose colors at depth underwater. No colored piece of plastic or glass will not return those colors to a natural level. A filter is only going to color the whole picture, a color wash of the whole frame. Taking the sun down with you is an old but true saying. The 3-4ft that will be lit by a strobe will show the natural colors.

The UV and polorizing filters are great for taking topside photos around the water.

 

[Agape]

Thanks for the feedback I think I'll go ahead and get those two filters for top side photography.

btw, to answer your question about a Niffen adapter, it's like an extension you screw in over the lens of your camera so you can add on different filters and lenses. Niffen is just the manufacturer of the adapter I got.

I'm thinking about returning it though. I got it at Circuit City and when I took it out I noticed it looks like it has been used. It has a few scratches on it and it looks like someone tried to cover these up with a marker. I'm not sure if this is a big deal or not to have a scratched adapter but if I'm paying for something new I'd like it to be new so am gonna try and return it and get a "new" one.