WIll be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in NOv. Ran into a fuji rep at bookstore, and he said i may need a filter of some sort, i.e. warming or polarizer, he didnto remember which, because he said at altitudes, 6-7 thousand feet or above,, light quality changes. If so, what would one use to counter whichever light is more abundant.. Same for plains, Serengheti,, which filter would benefit if it all on the plains while shooting animals due to brightness, haze, etc. WIll be my first trip, so i do not know what to expect. Thanking you in advance for any help you may give SIncerely Kim Kaiser
Hi Kim, You don't state much about your photo-background, but the 2 most important screw-in filters I would use are a 81B warming filter and a polarizer (circular in case you have a auto-focus system). Two nice-to-have filters are neutral density filters (ND-grad), 2 f-stop soft and 3 f-stop hard to hold back the skies brightness. By the way, get a good generic book about photography and read it before you leave. Enjoy your trip...
Kim, I've found in my experience in Colorado and Utah at 8000+ feet that I didn't need any special filters. I use UV filters purely to protect my lenses from damage during my backcountry trips. Shooting with Provia, the colors are brilliant and the sky is Colorado Blue-Bird perfect. I think that using a polarizer at high altitudes magnifies the black-sky hazard, so be careful. As far as light quality changing, and concerning the Serengeti, I haven't a clue. Hope this helps and have a great trip, Chris.
As discussed by earlier responses, you might want a UV filter mainly to protect your lens but also block the extra ultra violet light at high altitute. Otherwise, polarizers and graduated neutral density filters are pretty much standard equipment for landscape photography. Keep in mind that if you also use high saturation film such as Fujichrome Velvia, you can easily over-polarize and get an almost-dark sky at high altitute. That may or may not be the effect you want.
Actually Fuji recommends using a UV with Velvia. I usually keep one on for protection of the lens, and then take it off just before I shoot. Can't tell that UV helps. (Maybe that's not good ...) John.
If your purpose if solely for lens protection and you take it off before shooting, I think a lens cap is easier to work with than a VU filter. Keep in mind that we are talking about traveling to Tanzania with plenty of dusty areas and bad road conditions (lots of pot holes). Keeping your equipment clean and from bumping around (as much as you can) is very important. My wife once shot some video footage from a safari vehicle in Kenya. One segment of the video shows a dust cloud in front like a mini tornato. A friend of us asked what that "cloud" was all about, and we replied that was the dust sturred up by the vehicle in front of us.
I've just returned from climbing Kili's last week and one does not need any filters at all. At high altitudes the light is already polarised and is a deep rich blue colour. November is the beginning of the rainy season so maybe a warming filter will help in overcast conditions. I found the light to be perfect for no filters. I was also in the Masai Mara and did not use any filters. Wildlife viewing and photographic light is best in the early mornings and late afternoons so did not use any filters and kept it natural. My results have been brilliant. Watch out for dust!!!! Regards Murray
