Photo Journalism 4(1+3)

Lesson 9 : Types of Filters

Skylight filters

Skylight filters for analog photography with slide film have a very pale amber tint and act like a UV filter to cut out ultraviolet radiation. In addition, they eliminate the bluish hue in shadow due to the indirect light from the blue sky. This color distortion is particularly unpleasant on skin. A skylight filter should only be used if the entire motif is in the shade. For the areas lit by direct sunlight will also be subject to the amber filter even though they do not have any bluish hue – they then turn amber. For this reason, a skylight filter should never be used for front-lens protection (use a neutral UV filter instead).

Skylight filters do not have hardly any visible effect on b & w images and they are not necessary in digital photography, because of the light color variance can be eliminated also by the white balance of the digital camera or later on by an imaging software.

The Rodenstock Skylight Filter is available with a slimline mount in sizes from 28 mm to 95 mm and 105 mm and with a standard mount in the sizes 27 mm, 100 mm, 112 mm and 127 mm. All of these filters are fitted with a female thread at the front side and a male thread of the same size at the rear. So an additional filter or a lens hood can be fixed.