Keene Electronics Hints & Tips Library
Lighting, lenses, filters

Graduated filters

There are many types of filter that can be attached to a camcorder, either to enhance the final picture by correcting deficiencies or to create special effects.

As their name implies, graduated filters change in colour intensity from one edge (which is usually colourless) to the other. Their purpose to help you cope with extremes in contrast.
When filming outdoors, the sky is usually brighter than the foreground, and the camcorder will 'average out' the overall exposure. This usually makes the sky look rather washed out on video.
Fitting a graduated filter, positioned so that the highest intensity colour is towards the sky side of the view, can greatly enhance scenic shots by giving them a much more natural appearance. There are three common types of graduated filter: blue and gray, both of which darken the sky without altering its colour significantly, and tobacco, used mainly to enhance sunrise/sunset shots.

Note that the filter rotates within its housing once fitted, so if your camcorder lens rotates when auto focussing, the filter will rotate also. If this is the case, ideally you should switch to manual focus, focus and then correctly align the graduated filter

Beware of panning or tilting to any great degree when using a graduated filter - results can be strange!