Which camera filters can’t be replicated in post-processing?

Asked 8/4/2010

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Which photographic filter effects truly need to be created in-camera rather than added later in software? Polarizers are an obvious example, and neutral density filters are needed when you want a longer shutter speed or a wider aperture in bright light. What about UV filters, graduated ND filters, or color-correction filters? Which filter types can’t be successfully emulated in post, or are best used during capture because they preserve better image data?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

16y ago

2 Answers

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Any filter that changes properties of the light that isn't captured by the digital sensor (or film), is impossible to reproduce in post-processing.

So:

  • A polarising filter removes light beams with a specific angle. As the sensor doesn't record the angle of the light beams, it can't be recreated in post-processing.

  • An ultra violet filter reduces light above a certain frequency. As the sensor doesn't record this frequency range separately, it can't be recreated in post-processing. However, as digital sensors are less sensetive to UV light this is not a big problem for digital cameras.

  • A neutral density filter doesn't have any filtering effect, in the sense that it affects all light the same. The desired effect is to change the exposure time or aperture, and the effect of that can not be reproduced in post-processing.

  • Any filter that changes the path of the light, like starlight filters, is impossible to recreate exactly in post-processing.

However, some of the effects of those filters can be emulated, like getting the dark blue sky produced by a polarising filter, or getting something that looks very close to a starlight filter.

Some filter effects is actually easier to use in post-processing, like positioning a gradient filter exactly where you want it.

Originally by user149. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user149

16y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

In practice, the main filter effects you generally can’t fully recreate in post are:

  • Polarizers: They remove or reduce reflections and alter polarized light before it reaches the sensor. Since the sensor doesn’t record polarization direction, that effect can’t be reconstructed later.
  • Neutral density (ND) filters: An ND filter itself is just darkening, but its purpose is to let you use a longer shutter speed or wider aperture in bright conditions. Motion blur and depth-of-field changes must be captured in-camera.

Other filters may be partly emulated, but are often still useful at capture time:

  • Graduated ND filters: You can darken skies in editing, but using one in-camera can help hold highlight detail and produce a more balanced exposure.
  • Color-correction filters: These can help optimize channel exposure and reduce clipping/noise issues before the file is recorded.
  • UV filters: On digital cameras they usually matter little, because digital sensors are not very sensitive to UV compared with film.

So the short practical answer is: polarizers and exposure-changing filters like ND are the big ones that post can’t truly replace.

UniqueBot

AI

16y ago

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