Are digital filters a replace ment for filters?

[alfa147x]

I have seen SLR's with built in filters that give affect, are these better\worse than actual filters?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

You mean built-in software filters, like Black and White, Sepia, etc? The two or three filters that you'll ever really need in real life are the circular polarizer, clear UV, and possibly neutral density or split neutral density. None of these can be duplicated by the naked camera or by software. Filters like red filter, blue filter, etc, sepia, black and white, etc. can all be done in Photoshop.

 

[alfa147x]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
You mean built-in software filters, like Black and White, Sepia, etc? The two or three filters that you'll ever really need in real life are the circular polarizer, clear UV, and possibly neutral density or split neutral density. None of these can be duplicated by the naked camera or by software. Filters like red filter, blue filter, etc, sepia, black and white, etc. can all be done in Photoshop.

I was talking to my neighbor and apparently either the d300 or the 40d has a wide range of software filters

 

[corkyg]

Get some specifics from your neighbor. Never heard of such a thing except as Fuzzy stated above. Have your neighbor quote a source.

 

[soydios]

The Nikon in-camera "filters" are only the ones you can do in Photoshop. Polarization, UV/IR filtering (or lack thereof), and graduated/split neutral density must be applied before the photons reach the sensor. These filters can be approximated in postprocessing, but it's noticeably inferior to the real thing.

 

[dug777]

I enjoy playing with the filter settings in my D80, FWIW

 

[Sassy Rabbit]

I've never found photoshop or cameras for that matter, to reproduce the effect of colored filters for black and white photography quite as nicely as the having the filter during the original shot. If you do a lot of black and white photography, I recommend investing in an orange or yellow filter.