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(More customer reviews)There are many filters available, from almost free (plus shipping!) to absurdly expensive. This set seemed like a cheap-ish, trustable-ish source for filters.
Before we go any further, what do filters do? Well, apparently they can be pretty important to your health if you use an SLR camera that uses mirrors to put an image into an optical viewfinder that you put your eye right in front of. Apparently all that glass won't protect your eyes from UV light if you're taking a *lot* of landscape shots. I have to say that I don't really buy that explanation - my impression was that a pair of regular glasses would stop most UV from entering your eyes (and I used to use UV lightboxes for my profession). Besides, if you have an electronic viewfinder, as I now do, you are only seeing a representation of reality and not getting blasted with real UV light.
OK, that having been said, I'd much rather clean the surface of a practically disposable 5 dollar filter than my non-disposable kit camera lens. As long as the quality of the glass is high enough to avoid distortion, a filter seems like a sound investment for protection - not of my eyes, but of my lens.
In this particular case, you get four filters:
1, UV multi-coated (apparently it needs to be multi-coated; some of the other filter sets that appear similar are not multi-coated and can reflect in odd ways), which basically does nothing that I can tell, other than protect the lens. I'm not complaining, since that's exactly what I wanted.
2, The next cool one is a Cirular Polarized filter; very similar to sunglasses, this should prevent glare from roads and water. Like all the other filters it screws into the inside lip of the lens, but this one will continue to rotate, so that you can get the image you want. I've tested the polarization and it's pretty good (you can look at the LCD on the back of the camera through the filter and it should disappear as you turn it, just like if you have polarized sunglasses).
3, "Warming" yellowish filter; ideal for flash photography, this is the one that persuaded me to buy the four filter set instead of the two filter set. Unfortunately, the quality isn't up to much, with visible imperfections in the filter that do not wipe off. I will probably never use it.
4, Fluorescent pinkish filter; good for restoring white balance, but your camera probably has a setting to do that anyway. Besides, who wants to deal with unscrewing filters all the time anyway. It's bad enough unscrewing lenses in the middle of a hike...
So, the two filters that I'll probably really use (1 and 2) look great and do exactly what I hoped for. The other two don't appear nearly as useful. If/when I buy filters again, I will probably just go with a simpler two filter set and not worry about it too much.
I'm a little disappointed that one of the four filters arrived "damaged", but it's not worth the postage to return the set. Just bear in mind that, as with most things, you get what you pay for. I think it would be safe to go a little cheaper for a two filter set. I expected that Polaroid would be able to make a piece of glass, although I am aware that they have been little more than a brand name for the last six years or so.
Oh, one last thing: you probably know this but to size your filter, look on the front of your lens. There'll be a bunch of numbers, giving the zoom range and the F-stop range. There should be one number by itself that is followed by a circle with a vertical line through it. This indicates the diameter of the lens in millimeters and should match the particular set of filters that you're looking for. These filters will fit many different brands of lenses as long as the diameter is the same (I've tried mine on a Panasonic and an Olympus lens so far). In this case, 52 mm is going to be for any lens almost exactly 2 inches across.
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Polaroid Optics 52mm 4 Piece Filter Set (MCUV, CPL, FLD, WARMING)Polaroid filters continue the brand's long legacy of superior optical solutions. All our filters are carefully formulated to ensure consistent color and accuracy throughout the entire surface of the glass. Why? Consistent color means consistent high quality results. We know that a poorly made filter makes a great lens and camera worthless, that's why the our frame rings are constructed of special alloys that won't expand or contract over time or due to temperature extremes-it's also why we back our filters with an 10 year warranty-because we engineer them to last.Like all Polaroid optics, Polaroid filters are precision manufactured to the most demanding of tolerances. This ensures consistent high quality results even after years of use.
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