Camera Filters

Camera filters provide a range of optical filtering effects for various scientific, research, and industrial cameras. Many styles are used for color balancing, matching CCD or other sensor sensitivity ranges, emphasizing or blocking ranges of spectra such as ultraviolet, infrared, or portions of the visible spectrum (colors).  Camera filters are available in many styles include ultraviolet clear, visible pass, visible block, infrared pass, infrared block, light balance, linear polarizer, circular polarizer, neutral density, sky, color correction, warming, and cooling. 

Ultraviolet pass camera filters are general service filters that block ultraviolet light, which can cause a hazy look, and serve to protect more expensive lenses.  Visible pass filters allow visible light to pass while blocking both infrared and ultraviolet.  Visible block camera filters, by contrast, allow the infrared and ultraviolet ranges of the spectrum to pass, while blocking the visible.  Infrared pass camera filters allow only light in the infrared range to pass.  Infrared block filters are used to prevent the infrared portion of the spectrum from passing.  This is particularly important when dealing with CCDs and other sensors, which may be sensitive to this range of light. Linear polarizer filters allow a preferred orientation of light; frequently used to block glare, especially from metal objects.  Circular polarizers reduce or eliminate glare from non-metallic sources such as glass or water.  Neutral density filters reduce the light-dark contrast and are used to bring images within the acceptable luminance range for CCDs and other image sensors; this can effectively increase resolution.  Sky filters are designed for outdoor use to filter sky haze and effects from non-visible components of the spectrum.  Color correction camera filters emphasize or limit the influence of specific colors.  Warming is a photographic technique that emphasizes warmer colors such as orange and yellow.  Cooling is a photographic technique that emphasizes cooler colors such as blue.

Some camera filters come in a wide range of shades and light blocking degrees.  Only general color characteristics are listed here for filters for which color is a primary specification.  Color choices include clear, red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.  Important filter dimensions to consider when searching for camera filters include filter shape and filter size or diameter.  Filters are either round or square.  Filter sizes and diameters range from 27 mm to 122 mm with many variations in between.  Important specialty or effects to consider when searching for camera filters include graduated, center spot, diffusion filter, star filter, and prism.  A graduated filter has variation or graduations of color or ND properties across its diameter.  A center spot emphasizes the center of the field of view.  A diffusion filter diffuses light for an image softening effect.  A star filter creates a "star" effect of points coming off images.  Some filters contain prisms or facets that create multiple images of a single subject - many patterns are available.

• Inside Filters
  Filters can be used to attenuate light either evenly across a certain portion of the spectrum (neutral density, polarizing, retarders, etc.) or unevenly (ie. interference, dichroic, color). Typical...
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• Video Capture With the Pylon Direct Show Filter and Basler Cameras
  As a part of the pylon Driver V2.0 Runtime Package/ SDK, Basler provides a DirectShow filter. This filter can be used for video capture with a variety of freeware or commercial programs that support...
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• Contrast Enhancement Through Filtering
  During packaging, pharmaceutical pills of different colors need to be sorted. An automated imaging system, which distinguishes between the different colored pills, is essential in increasing...
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