Sunday 29 May 2011

The Art Filter or the Effex filter

Olympus was the first to incorporate in-camera  Art Filters into their DSLR and ILC-M  (Intercheangeable Lens Cameras - Mirrorless). From there they have progressed the their product naming to Magic Filters which may be a more palatable term for conservatives.The branding of the "Art Filter" name is of course to capture the imagination of the public. We all know taking a ready made can of "Art" vs producing a work of Art, aren't the same thing. But I like the idea of having effects filters in the camera - just like you can buy a can of Niks for the computer, why not let the camera have one as well?  And you know when you're onto a Good Thing when the competition flatters you with imitation. So far, several camera brands have responded by incorporating this into their products.

For those who don't "get it", an  Effex filter when implemented in the camera does the following:
  • display a result show on the LCD after the shot - in your hand, in situ - if you don't like it, you can shoot again immediately. Even something simple like conversion to black and white helps me visualise the patterns by suppressing the colour during framing and composition.
  • show you in Live View before and during the shoot to predict the shot - this allows you to tweak settings, change framing and composition, depth of field - it all becomes tangible and real rather than waiting for some hours later to sit at the computer
  • often you can shoot RAW + JPEG. This allows you to the ability of preview and look at your result, yet, you have an untampered copy where the manufacturer's software can render at the computer or avoid the effect altogether.
  • for those who shoot movies, it seems really cool to be able to apply live filter effects, in situ.
Anyway, Robin asked today, whether we had any Art Filtered shots to show off. Here are some.








1 comment:

Robin Wong said...

My goodness those are great shots!!! If you don't mention you used art filters I don't think anyone would know. Gosh the leaf and the building shots were amazing.

I am still at the airport waiting for my flight lol