Dan’s Filters

For a landscape photographer, one of the best non-camera investments they can make in in filters.  They can do so many different things, and some cannot be reproduced after the fact.  

We started out with screw-on filters, and still have them, but other than the circular polarizer filter, both of us have moved onto “drop in” filters.  Though Ann and I have made different choices of which manufacturer to go with.

I’ve invested in an H&Y filter system for a number of reasons.  First off, they ranked extremely highly in an On Landscape review of  100mmx150mm drop in filter systems with respect to color rendition and sharpness (any glass you put in front of your superb camera lens better be good or you’ve wasted your money buying a good lens).  The other competitor was Kase Filters (I doubt I could not have gone wrong between them).  H&Y uses Gorilla Glass (from iPhone fame) and thus is extremely durable as well.  

What interested me the most after the technical quality was satisfied is that this isn’t really a “drop-in” filter system.  Most systems have a frame that has a series of grooves where you drop in the filters.  The H&Y system instead has a frame around the filter itself, which magnetically attaches to a frame on the lens.  

And boy do the filters stick, even when you stack filters on top of each other.  Sure, it took me a bit to get used to adjusting the graduated filters once attached, but that’s a matter of practice makes perfect.  

So I have a few graduated neutral density filters filters, seen above, which allows me to darken bright skies, etc, because they’re darker on one end and gradually transition to clear glass.  And I have an array of solid neutral density filters, which allows me to block varying amounts of light so that I can use the shutter speed I want to use, for example when photographing moving water. 

Another thing I found appealing with the H&Y system is that the polarizing filter is a “drop in” filter that slides down between the lens and the filter holder, and you don’t have to remove any filters you’ve placed on the frame to add it, or remove it.  Here’s a picture of the camera side of the filter holder with the polarizer partially inserted into the mount.

The scroll wheel to the left is so you can change the angle of polarization once the filter has been mounted.  When removed, there’s a metal insert that seals the drop-slot so that light doesn’t enter from the frame itself.  It’s an elegant solution to the dilemma of realizing you do need a polarizer, but after you’ve got your graduated filter just so.  

So that’s my filter system.

I carry everything in an H&Y pouch that’s pretty well designed.  If you look at the Dan’s Camera Bags page in the photograph that shows my backpack, you can see the H&Y filter pouch at the top of the bag.

So far, I’ve been pleased with the results I’ve gotten with the system!