Why don't they make a "sunglasses" filter?

Ces1um · Jan 11, 2019

My sunglasses block UV light, they have a built in polarizer and their darker colour essentially adds an ND filter. Everything through them looks amazing. I was wondering why more "combination" filters haven't been made for cameras like they have for sunglasses? A single all in one solution may be useful to some people for your average day shots. If nothing else it guarantees the photo you've taken more closely matches the scene you saw while you were out and about (and wearing your shades).

Ian Grant · Jan 11, 2019

Isn't that a Polarising filter It Polarises, has Neutral Density and Stops UV light

Ian

AgX · Jan 11, 2019

The polarizer used in some sunglasses is static, designed for a certain angle of polarisation.

bernard_L · Jan 11, 2019

Ces1um said:
Everything through them looks amazing.

Been there... I have a pair of Vuarnet sunglasses. They make landscapes look gorgeous, more saturated colors, especially under a pure sky (mountain, desert). I think they cut the far blue wavelengths, but not all the blue: the sky still looks blue, but some violet flowers just look grey!
I tried to take pictures through them, landscape + IT8 chart. No way to reproduce what my eyes saw. One has to realize that the perceived color results from the combination (convolution in mathematical language) of the object's reflectance, filter transmission, and cone cell spectral response. The sensitivity curves of the eye's cones are not identical to those of color film layers...
After some homework, I puchased:

B+W UV415 Spezial
Tiffen Haze-2A

Spectral responses can be found there: http://www.tiffen.com/userimages2/Filters/Tiffen_BFILT_Broch_0413.pdf and there: https://diglloyd.com/articles/Filters/spectral-BW-415-420.html
I still did not have the opprotunity to test them.
Many so-called UV filters cut off at 380nm, or even shorter, and are therefore ineffective to duplicate the effect of my sunglasses, or yours if I guess correctly that they are similar.

Ces1um · Jan 11, 2019

bernard_L said:
. No way to reproduce what my eyes saw. One has to realize that the perceived color results from the combination (convolution in mathematical language) of the object's reflectance, filter transmission, and cone cell spectral response. The sensitivity curves of the eye's cones are not identical to those of color film layers...
.

I tried shooting through my sunglasses like you had and got a noticeable brown/dark colour to my photo. I wasn't sure if it was solely the sunglasses or a partial shadow from the glasses. What you're saying does make a lot of sense though. What a pity though. Like yours, my sunglasses really increases the perceived saturation of colours (especially blues) and just adds a real richness to what I'm seeing. I was hoping to duplicate the result but it seems like I won't be able to. I would be interested in hearing about how your filters "stack up" pardon the pun. I have a few tiffen filters - I like them but do they ever love to just suck dust particles towards them.

Alan Edward Klein · Jan 11, 2019

Check out Singh Ray They have polarizers that add neutral density and/or different colors saturations.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/sear...rand_name|singh-ray&srtclk=sort&N=4026728357&

gorbas · Jan 11, 2019

Ces1um said:
I tried shooting through my sunglasses like you had and got a noticeable brown/dark colour to my photo.

Don't forget that your brain is doing significant "white balancing" of signals coming from your eyes

Ian Grant · Jan 12, 2019

gorbas said:
Don't forget that your brain is doing significant "white balancing" of signals coming from your eyes

The phrase "seeing the world through rose tinted spectacles" come to mind, the camera doesn't reinterpret like our brains.

Ian

bernard_L · Jan 12, 2019

gorbas said:
Don't forget that your brain is doing significant "white balancing" of signals coming from your eyes

The retina + brain subsume the whole continuous set of wavelengths into just three "numbers". Ditto for camera+film: amount of silver in each of the color layers. Ditto for teh digital sensor. So, more subtle actions can be performed by a filter in front of camera/eye than in any post-processing.

guangong · Jan 12, 2019

Most, if not all, photo lenses already filter UV; filters for UV are usually used to protect front elements. As noted above, we see with our brains, not with our eyes. As Goethe observed, we also only see what we know. Also, every manufacturer’s color film renders color differently, which is why different photographers have different preferences regarding color film. Same coul be said of b/w film.
About Vaurnet sunglasses. I have been wearing one pair for over 50 years. Not only render colors rather realistically, but they are tough, both glass and frames.

Why don't they make a "sunglasses" filter?

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