Lenses & Filters

Call into Coast Photo for your Lenses & Filters – Quality optics. We have a great range of filters in-store in all sizes. While we stock a few, most of the lenses will be ordered in on request.

Filters:

As a budding or aspiring photographer, you’ve likely seen or even used camera lens filters before. Photographers use these little pieces of glass for a multitude of reasons, but the most common is for managing tricky lighting conditions when shooting. And protecting the lens, it’s much cheaper to replace a filter than the entire lens should the worst case scenario occur … dropping your lens!

Filters help minimize glare and reflections, enhance colors, reduce light coming into the lens, and more. Each lens filter serves a specific purpose, as each one is built to deliver a specific effect that can help enhance the final look of an image.

We sell the premium OKKO Filter Range.

Okko lens filters were inspired by the pure southern light and epic landscapes of Aotearoa.

Okko lens filters are quality kit, built to last and don’t cost a fortune.

OKKO
Born in New Zealandhttps://nz.okkopro.com/

We stock all sizes of the Protective & Polarizing Filters, and a few of the Variable ND Filters. It’s always best to give us a call or message/email before popping in, just to ensure we have the filter & size you require in stock! 🙂

Our prominent range is OKKO – but we often also have a few of the other reputable brands on offer too such as:

MARUMI, KENKO, T&Y FOTO, TIANYA & K&F CONCEPT.

UV Protectors

The most affordable types of lens filters are those that are clear and simply used for protection. These are great for protecting the front lens element during normal shooting situations, as the clear glass does not affect your images in any way. Protective lens filters eliminate the possibility of scratches, cracks, and dust accumulating on the surface of your lens.

Protect your valuable camera lens’ front element from dust, grit, sand, rain and sea spray.

  • A slim profile prevents vignetting.
  • High quality optical glass ensures clarity while absorbing UV light for crisp images and pure color.

Circular Polarizing Filters

Polarizing filters are a great addition to any photographer’s kit bag, because they’re brilliant at enhancing saturation and contrast, helping you to produce more vibrant images – while avoiding the need to use Photoshop!

They work by selecting which light rays reach your lens, and will cut through haze, deepen blue skies and boost contrast to give your landscape and scenic shots added impact. They’re perfect for shooting buildings and cities on bright sunny days because they boost blue skies and increase edge contrast for more dramatic results.

A polarizer filter can also cut through reflections in water – should you want to see river beds to give your landscape shots a different feel – and reduce unwanted reflections when shooting non-metallic shiny objects. A polarizing filter will also help to reduce the reflection and glare of bright, white light, meaning you don’t burn out your highlights so much.

More vibrant photos
For the best results, shoot on sunny days with blue skies and a little cloud, with your scenes or subjects at 90 degrees to the direction of sunlight. Once screwed on securely to the end of your lens, rotate the outer ring of the filter to adjust the intensity of its polarizing effect.

Variable Neutral Density Filters

A variable ND lens filter blocks out light as a result of the way the filter is made. Variable ND filters consist of two circular, polarising layers of glass that are placed in opposition to each other. The inner layer screws onto the camera lens and stays fixed. The outer layer is attached to a ring at the front of the filter frame and can be rotated.

The inner polariser cuts out light in a single plane. As the outer polariser is rotated, it reduces an increasing amount of the available light, the nearer the front layer comes to being perpendicular to the inner layer. Essentially, by rotating the filter, the two polarising layers block out increasing amounts of light as they come into alignment. You simply twist the outer layer to increase or decrease the light exposure, until you achieve the desired effect.

Close-Up Filters

Close-up filters (also known as macro filters or diopters) are used to enable macro photography without having to use a dedicated macro lens. Many photographers resort to purchasing these small pieces of glass than invest in more costly macro lenses, especially when they don’t necessarily have to take close-up shots all the time.

Lenses:

As you discover more about photography, the greater detail you begin to see in your images, and areas you could improve. With that comes an awareness of the limitations of your entry level equipment.  From that point on, it can be oh-so-tempting to consider upgrading your entry level DSLR and buying a new camera body.

But – it is true that if you continue to pursue photography, it’s highly likely you will outgrow your entry level camera.

You’ll naturally raise the bar of what you expect of your own photos, and as a result you’ll decide that it can’t perform to the standard you’re now aiming for.  Perhaps it’s not great in really low light, or you want specific features that are only available on newer or higher end models.

BUT… here’s the good news. As you improve your skills and feel that yearning to take better photos, often times investing in a new lens is the answer, rather than buying a new camera… and here’s why:

1.  The Lens Creates the Most Impact

An average camera body with a great lens will take a far better shot than a pro level camera body with a kit lens attached.

Why?

In terms of the artistic look of the image, the lens has more effect more than the camera body.

2. Light is Everything

Great light will ensure beautiful photos, whether you’re shooting with a phone or a DSLR.  But when taking images in limited light, your kit lens can really hold you back.

Having a lens that allows you to open your aperture up wide (small f stop numbers) allows you to let in a LOT more light to create a perfect exposure, and this is where kit lenses don’t perform well. 

We photographers love the B word! Bokeh is a very desired effect in photography, and aperture is key to creating it. Aperture as we know, is wholly the job of… you guessed it, your lens!

3. Bokeh

What is Bokeh?

Bokeh is created when light in our background is rendered into small pinpoints, and it works as a beautiful and artful background for our subjects. And such is its beauty, often bokeh can be the subject itself.

4. Compatibility

If you’re currently using kit lenses, it’s possible they won’t fit your upgraded camera body and you’ll find yourself needing to invest in a new lens anyway.

Whereas if you upgrade your lens, then later on down the track you find you truly have outgrown your camera, you can upgrade the body only, which is cheaper!

Now that’s a no brainer!

All Lenses – Click Through To Shop 🙂

Lenses & Filters – Quality optics here at Coast Photo.

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top