The Filters I Never Leave Home Without (and How I Keep Them Organized)

I should say "My Essential Lens Filters." I get a lot of people asking what I use, so I thought I’d share what they are. I have a few filters that go everywhere with me. Sometimes they reside in a backpack when on an outdoor adventure, or in a small shoulder bag when exploring urban environments. Because they all come in individual cases of varying shapes and sizes, I’ve recently become frustrated carrying them all—but we’ll get to the solutions that address this in a moment.

Essential Filters I Take Everywhere

Circular Polarizer

To take away glass reflections in urban environments, or water or foliage reflections in natural environments, a circular polarizer is an essential filter to have. If there’s only one filter you really should own, it’s a circular polarizer.

I use a PolarPro 135 Series Chroma Circular Polarizer.

Mist

Yes, I know, many of you don’t see the point and have no interest in this one. However, I use a mist filter on all my lenses most of the time and swear by it. This is a personal preference, because I don’t like the sharp, clinical-looking photos that you get with modern super-sharp lenses on digital cameras. I’ll often take two—a quarter- and half-strength—especially if my shoot is at night or I’m shooting high-contrast scenes with lots of light.

My two favorite mist filters are a Formatt Hitech Firecrest Bloom Gold Filter half strength, and a PolarPro 135 Series Gold Mist quarter strength.

Variable Neutral Density

I have a 3–5-stop mist VND, which is useful for shooting moving water, or if I decide I want to grab some video footage. If you’re looking at shooting more video on your hybrid camera, this is an essential filter to own. I recommend a 2–5-stop as a starting point, and maybe something stronger if you like shooting fast lenses wide open in very strong sunlight.

I use a Freewell Mist Edition 2-5 stop VND (discontinued).

Magnetic Filter Kit

This type of ND-centric kit is essential for landscape photography and filmmaking. When I’m shooting landscapes—particularly coastal scenes—I often want to shoot long exposures. I find a small magnetic kit like the Freewell V2 Magnetic Hybrid Variable ND with Circular Polarizer Filter Kit (3 to 7-Stop) very useful.

The Problem With Carrying Multiple Filters

Whatever photography I’m doing, regardless of the bag, taking three or four filters in individual cases is a nuisance.

When I want to change filters, having to open one case to take the filter out while opening a second case in which to put back the filter coming off the lens is a pain, particularly when outside in inclement weather. I’ve been putting up with this messing about for a few years now, but recently decided I needed to find a better solution. After lots of research, I came up with three solutions worthy of consideration, all allowing me to ditch the annoying individual cases and keep all my filters in one neat, convenient package. You might find one of these solutions useful too.

I carry 3–4 filters for most of my photography, all 82mm. As I usually have 2–3 lenses of differing filter thread sizes, I’ll also have 2–3 step-down rings. So, here’s what I’ve found to solve my issue.

For Shoots With A Bigger Bag or Backpack: PolarPro Cube Filter Case

If I’m doing some landscape photography, I tend to take more gear than other genres. If there’s a body of water on my trip, I’ll add a magnetic filter kit with a choice of ND strengths along with my "regular" filters, in case I want to shoot long exposures.

The best solution I’ve found is the Cube Filter Case from PolarPro. It’s, well, a cube. It’s perfect for a larger backpack. There’s plenty of room for three screw-on filters, plus my magnetic kit, and a couple of step-down rings.

Pros

• I like the easily visible light-colored soft fabric interior, and the built-in micro cloth for quick wipe downs.
• There’s a handy mesh top pocket on the inside of the lid to stash memory cards.
• The five grab handles allow you to attach the cube onto a waist or shoulder strap for quick, easy access on the move, or hang it from the underside of a tripod.

Cons

• The size and dimensions don’t lend themselves to a small bag for urban and travel photography.

This is a great solution for landscape and outdoor photographers, priced at $49.99.

For Shoots With a Smaller BackPack or Medium-Sized Shoulder Bag: WANDRD Lens Filter Case

For the majority of my travel and general photography, I carry 3–4 82mm screw-on filters and a couple of step-down rings and prefer a small backpack or larger shoulder bag. I’ve found a perfect solution is the Lens Filter Case from WANDRD. It has four sections, and comes in a range of colors. And the Sedona Orange version I have is rather good-looking!

Pros

• Another case with a light-colored soft interior.
• The large zipper pull—unique to WANDRD—is big and really functional.
• Two grab handles and a webbing loop allow for attaching to a backpack strap or bag exterior, saving you from opening your bag to grab it when you need to change filters.

Cons

• I find the outer reinforced foam shell a little too thick and unnecessary, although the total thickness of the case isn’t too bad at approximately 2 inches.

This is a great solution for general everyday photography, and the variety of colors available—including a pastel purple option—is rather fun. It costs $44.00.

For Shoots With a Small Sling or Shoulder Bag: ThinkTank Filter Nest Mini

When doing street photography and one-day travel outings, I prefer to carry a small shoulder bag. I usually carry 2–3 filters—often smaller than 82 mm—and there’s limited space in a small bag. So the solution I’ve found for this scenario is the Filter Nest Mini from MindShift Gear.

It’s a small pouch with a Velcro fastening, holding four filters in its color-coded compartments. Like the other cases, it has a plush lining to prevent the filters from getting scratched, and it has a small grab handle on top. Despite its small size, it holds filters up to 82mm.

Pros

• The Nest Mini is very small. Even when loaded with four filters, it’s only approximately 1.5 inches thick, so it easily fits into the smallest bag.
• The color-coded compartments are a nice touch.

Cons

• Because it’s black, when it’s in a larger bag with a black interior in low light you have to look to find it. If the grab handle were a lighter, brighter color, that would help, but I’m really being nit-picky here.

This is a small, simple, basic, yet very functional filter holder. I’ve been using it for larger outdoor shoots too, when I don’t require a bulky magnetic filter system.

The Filter Nest Mini retails for $32.75.