Order of filters/lenses for camcorder

Hoping someone can help a relative-newbie camera-wise about some
lenses and filters.

For my Sony digital camcorder (TRV 38) I want to get 3 filters (UV,
polorization, florescent) and also a wide angle lense and a telephoto
lense.

If I want one or two of the filters on with the lenses, what
order do I put them on.

- filter on the camera, then the lense on the filter?
- lense on the camera then filter on the lense?
- either?

This matters, since the ring size for the front of the lense is
not the same as the back, thus depending on where I need to put
the filters is the size filters I need to get.

Oh, another question is, do the filters help at all? Are they
a gimmick?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Carl

"Carl Swanson" wrote in message om...

(This is best asked elsewhere, in another video NG, but since
you're here...)

Hoping someone can help a relative-newbie camera-wise about some
lenses and filters.

For my Sony digital camcorder (TRV 38) I want to get 3 filters (UV,
polorization, florescent) and also a wide angle lense and a telephoto
lense.

Skip the fluorescent, the polarizer is good for outdoors
on sunny days for intensifying colors, and the UV is for
lens protection only.

If I want one or two of the filters on with the lenses, what
order do I put them on.

- filter on the camera, then the lense on the filter?
- lense on the camera then filter on the lense?
- either?

Putting a filter between the camera lens and converter
may cause problems; putting it on the front of the converter
may not be possible. Maybe you don't need filters...

This matters, since the ring size for the front of the lense is
not the same as the back, thus depending on where I need to put
the filters is the size filters I need to get.

Oh, another question is, do the filters help at all? Are they
a gimmick?

Most are...
Most tele converters are poor - but a few WA
converters are sharp enough to be worthwhile.
Camcorders come with long lenses, but they
are not very wide, so the WA is the most useful
item other than a UV (a good close-up lens can
be good cheap fun, though! ;-).
--
David Ruether

http://www.ferrario.com/ruether

Carl Swanson wrote:
Hoping someone can help a relative-newbie camera-wise about some
lenses and filters.

For my Sony digital camcorder (TRV 38) I want to get 3 filters (UV,
polorization, florescent) and also a wide angle lense and a telephoto
lense.

For use as the camera was intended (underwater) You have no need of any
of these filters.

For land use I believe it has built in white balance so I don't think
you will ever need the florescent filter and with video polarization filters
are very difficult to use any often detract from the results. You can
always do without the UV, and just be reasonable careful when using the wide
or telephoto.

Putting a UV behind the lens would be rather silly.



If I want one or two of the filters on with the lenses, what
order do I put them on.

- filter on the camera, then the lense on the filter?
- lense on the camera then filter on the lense?
- either?

This matters, since the ring size for the front of the lense is
not the same as the back, thus depending on where I need to put
the filters is the size filters I need to get.

Oh, another question is, do the filters help at all? Are they
a gimmick?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Carl


--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

In article ,
(Carl Swanson) writes:

Hoping someone can help a relative-newbie camera-wise about some
lenses and filters.

For my Sony digital camcorder (TRV 38) I want to get 3 filters (UV,
polorization, florescent) and also a wide angle lense and a telephoto
lense.

I am not familiar with the TRV 38, so I can only make
general comments. My first comment is "Read the manual
included with your TRV 38."

If I want one or two of the filters on with the lenses, what
order do I put them on.

- filter on the camera, then the lense on the filter?
- lense on the camera then filter on the lense?
- either?

It is best to avoid detaching removable lenses from a
camera body. Each time you detach a lens, dust may
enter the camera body. Obviously you do not want
to touch anything inside the camera body with your
fingers -- oily perspiration (e.g., fingerprints) holds
dust on surfaces.

Most camcorders include a zoom lens and/or electronic
zoom capability using the OEM-supplied lens. Have
you determined that you need additional wide angle or
telephoto capability? You might have no need for extra
lenses (and no reason to detach the OEM-supplied lens).

This matters, since the ring size for the front of the lense is
not the same as the back, thus depending on where I need to put
the filters is the size filters I need to get.

The auxiliary filters that I have seen mount on the _front_ of
the lens. You need not detach the lens to mount a filter.

Oh, another question is, do the filters help at all? Are they
a gimmick?

Auxiliary filters are designed for specific purposes. They are
not gimmicks.

The three lenses you mention (UV, polarization, fluorescent)
have different, probably mutually exclusive purposes. A UV
filter blocks (invisible to the eye) UV radiation. On a cloudy
day UV radiation can (unbeknownst to you visually) reduce
contrast in your outdoor photography. A UV filter is 'all pass'
for visible (to the eye) light. It makes a good outdoor protector
for your lens front element. (E.g., children's fingerprints on
your lens front element.) Many photographers leave a UV filter
(as a lens protector) on their lenses at all times that they are
not using different auxiliary filters. A UV filter essentially
has no loss in the visible light spectrum.

A fluorescent filter reduces the blue content in fluorescent
lit environments. I have no experience with fluorescent filters,
but I do know that different fluorescent tubes have different
color spectra. (There even are $$$ fluorescent tubes with a
near sunlight spectrum.) Your fluorescent filter might be
not appropriate for the fluorescent tubes in your shooting
environment. A fluorescent filter causes ~1 f-stop loss.

A polarization filter reduces reflections from nonmetallic surfaces
(e.g., plate glass). It has neutral grey color characteristics and
~1.5 f-stops loss. *Polarization filters are used primarily in still
photography.* The polarized glass element is rotatable in the filter
bezel, and must be _manually_ rotated to the proper orientation to
reduce reflections from specific nonmetallic surfaces. (If you are
using multiple auxiliary filters, the polarization filter should
go on last.) Manually rotating the polarization filter in its bezel
requires a third hand -- something most camcorder users do not have.
Are you sure that you need a polarization filter for your camcorder?

Avoid using multiple auxiliary filters whenever possible. Multielement
camera lens include lens surface coatings designed to reduce
surface reflections among lens elements. These surface reflections
can cause 'ghosts' in your pictures. (This effect is particularly
obvious when a scene includes lit clear incandescent light bulbs --
e.g. theatre marquees with flashing light borders.) In general,
auxiliary filters do _not_ have these antireflection surface coatings,
and using multiple auxiliary filters can cause reflective ghosts in
your pictures. Any f-stop loss attributable to individual auxiliary
filters is additive. E.g., 1 stop loss for a fluorescent filter
plus 1.5 f-stop loss for a polarizing filter equates to a 2.5 f-stop
overall loss.

There is no _technical_ reason to use simultaneously both a UV
filter and a fluorescent filter. You don't need UV protection in a
fluorescent environment and vice versa.

UV radiation tends to be randomly polarized. A polarizing filter
would remove much UV radiation. There probably is no _technical_
reason to use simultaneously both a UV filter and a polarizing
filter.

A polarizing filter would not accomplish the color correction
provided by a fluorescent filter.

'Hope that helps.

Richard Ballard MSEE CNA4 KD0AZ
--
Consultant specializing in computer networks, imaging & security
Listed as rjballard in "Friends & Favorites" at www.amazon.com
Last book review: "Guerrilla Television" by Michael Shamberg