This cheat sheet shows you everything you need to know about photography filters

by Gannon Burgett

posted Monday, June 22, 2015 at 12:51 PM EDT

To use a lens filter or not, that is the question.

Lens filters have long been a debated subject in the photography world. While they provide protection and benefits in the form of altering the light before it ever hits your sensor, many argue that lens filters have become all but useless in the digital age, pointing out that all you’re doing is putting a cheap piece of glass in front of a presumably expensive lens, with higher quality optics.

Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, which you’re more than welcome to civilly debate in the comments below, it’s important to know what different filter types do and how best to use them in a given situation. To help, Zippi has created a ‘Photography Filter Cheat Sheet’ that provides visual examples of what benefit each type of filter offers when using it.

Below is the infographic in its entirety. You can click on the image to view it at full resolution.

Zippi also has a ‘Manual Photographer’s Cheat Sheet,’ which helps you better understand the basics of choosing film and capturing analogue images.

(via Reddit)


Image credits: Infographic by Zippi and used under Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0