Do you use a filter?

[Wayne]

Do you use a filter on your camera when you photograph stained glass?
If so, which one(s) do you use?

[Alan]

As far as I know, they do not make a filter for my cheapie Kodak DX3700 (9 or so years old) - so no I do not use a filter.

[Vic Rothman]

If I shot windows from the outside with protection glazing, I use a polarizing filter to cut out some of the reflection

[Glassic]

Same as Vic, have yet to use the ND and really need all 3 to compare.
A UV is almost permanently attached to both cameras and all the lens bar one.
I have recently downloaded an overdue white balance update for the the Coolpix and sometimes change the settings to candescent for lamps so don't know what will happen now.
I also use slow flash a lot.
So many filters... not enough time....  

[PiscesGlass]

LOL..I'm a poor one to have any input to this.  But, no, like Alan, I doubt that any filters would fit my sorta inexpensive camera.  So I'm left with attempting to take pics of them with flash, no flash, or any of the other options available on my automated digital camera.  I should check, and will after I'm done typing this to see if they do make other attachments I'm unaware of.

Now if I were using the old Canon, SLR I'd probably give the polarizing filter a good try. 

De

[Wayne]

Same as Vic, have yet to use the ND and really need all 3 to compare.
A UV is almost permanently attached to both cameras and all the lens bar one.
I have recently downloaded an overdue white balance update for the the Coolpix and sometimes change the settings to candescent for lamps so don't know what will happen now.
I also use slow flash a lot.
So many filters... not enough time....   

I too use a UV filter all of the time.  However the color saturation problem seems more of a problem when photographing certain colors in lamp shades than windows containing the same glasses.  Of course, the bulbs being used can create different lighting situations for the camera to handle.  I have found that, as Y noted, changing the white balance on the camera from auto to daylight or Fluorescent can, indeed, alter the color value in the picture.  Yvonne, 2Filters has many types of ND filters listed.  Which ones do you own and use?

I think I will also try using a polarizing filter to better eliminate some of the glare in windows and mosaics.

[Lynn]

Mark (who is a decent photographer) says about the same thing as Vic.  These are his comments:

A UV filter lives on each lens...but that is more as a sacrificial 'scratch the cheap filter instead of the expensive lens' filter than because it does a lot for photos.
If you are shooting outdoors, a polarizing filter might help with some of the glare off of the windows (depending on your angle on the shot).
Otherwise, he just keeps playing with exposure/back lighting and front lighting/aperture/all that technical stuff until he gets a decent shot.
He thinks that a ND filter would probably muddy and darken the colors, but hasn't tried it.

His opinion is that most (not all) filters are designed to emphasize one color at the expense of other colors and he doesn't think they would help with glass photography. 

However, he is going to be watching this thread since I always con him into taking my glass photos since he is so much better at it (and has a better camera) than I do and he would love some suggestions on getting better photos when I manage to suck him into doing them for me.  :>

My thoughts are that I have a digital point and shoot and I am really glad that my bad photos no longer cost me more than a few electrons to process and throw away before I pick out the couple of decent shots from the sludge.  I try each one with room lights on-no flash, room lights off-no flash, room lights on with flash and room lights off-no flash.  I pick the one that seems best in the end-and toss all the awful ones in between.

[Glassic]

He thinks that a ND filter would probably muddy and darken the colors, but hasn't tried it.
 

I only have a Tiffen ND6. I'm inclined to agree with Mark on darkening on the 6, I would like to try the lower numbers though.
Mark needs to share lighting setups with us and yes Lynn he should be appointed No1 Glass Shooter.   

Wayne, all my everyday filters are Hoya or Tiffen. I busted the only Nikon I ever owned! I guess Tiffen is the way to go now.

[Lynn]

He thinks that a ND filter would probably muddy and darken the colors, but hasn't tried it.
 

I only have a Tiffen ND6. I'm inclined to agree with Mark on darkening on the 6, I would like to try the lower numbers though.
Mark needs to share lighting setups with us and yes Lynn he should be appointed No1 Glass Shooter.   

Wayne, all my everyday filters are Hoya or Tiffen. I busted the only Nikon I ever owned! I guess Tiffen is the way to go now.

Most of Mark's filters are Tiffens as well, though he does have some Cokins hanging around too.  I am not sure how dark his ND and split ND filters are (the split would be a bad thing for glass photography), but I think he has a few levels.

He doesn't have any special lighting setups.  Mostly he uses natural light through a window (which does mean that we get some artifacts from the window screens) and adds some room light if it is needed.  He adds room light (incandescent and daylight-balanced flourescant lighting) if he feels it needs a little more front light.  Occasionally he tries with a flash set at a low level, but he often ends up discarding the photos with the flash as they tend to get really blown out highlights-although it occasionally works well to highlight textures.  It is still a work in progress-he keeps trying slightly different things.

This little learning process has cemented his happiness that he switched to digital (from slides) several years back.  Slide film and processing are expensive.  Electrons are cheap.  

[Kev]

Gee..I have some Cokin filters from the 70's ..LOL

[Wayne]

I do use studio lights when taking pictures of mosaics and shades.  They use 4 color corrected bulbs in each and are totally adjustable.  I usually never point them directly towards the subject since they can create reflections.  I also turn off the room lights when doing this.  The problem happens when the glass chosen for a shade on the light table, which uses the same exact bulbs as the base, doesn't photograph in the same color.  That is, there are a number of glasses (Uroboros 00-036 and 00-44 and Youghiogheny 1431RG) which can change the hue because they have, with light, the opal sheen look causing the white type 036 to move to the golden color for example.  The 1431RG tends to run to the yellow side since it is, by nature, a lime green glass.  Filters do alter some specific colors and maybe a solution for some specific types of glasses.  Many of the glasses from the two above companies are not prone to color shifting.

[Lynn]

Gee..I have some Cokin filters from the 70's ..LOL

I think he does too....

:>

[Vic Rothman]

When I shoot windows in the shop , I use 500W halogen shop lights bounced off of a 4'x8' piece of white foam-core. I find when shooting in a Church a flash with the camera set on "night" exposure gives a good balance of transmitted (daylight) light and a bit of surface texture,

[Glassic]

Yes bounce! My flash unit has a rotating head and a diffuser, always served me well on the 35mm but I don't know if it will work with the Dslr. Thinks... works with the old Coolpix tho'....