Tips - Using in-Camera Filters

8/12/2019 Tips - Using in-Camera Filters

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not the optical variety that sit on the lens or

drop in front of the sensor, but rather a

collection of in-camera processing effects

that can be applied to pictures withpermanent results. You see, unlike picture

styles and white balance, whose effects can

be adjusted later in Canons Digital Photo

Professional if you shoot Raw files, Creative

Filters cant be changed in software. The

effects can only be applied in-camera, a

the results have to be saved to the mem

card as JPEGs.

Before and afterThere are two ways to work with Creativ

Filters: either during playback on picture

youve already taken or on pictures you

about to shoot using Live View. The first

option is the most widespread and offer

the most flexibility, as any filtered imag

always saved as a separate file. Because

your original image is left untouched, yo

free to save as many different variations

your memory card can take, each with a

With the flexibility that comes

from shooting Raw and the

power and boundless

sibilities offered by Photoshop, it

ht seem a strange choice to add

tal effects to your pictures in-camera.

theres a lot to be said for saving

rself some time sat in front of a

mputer, as well as the enjoyment that

mes from trying a new way of shooting.

Digital filters have taken the world of

artphone photography to new hipster

ghts, and theyre making a bit of

urgence on D-SLRs too. Canons

ative Filters have been a fixture on EOS

meras since the 60D arrived almost a

e over three years ago. You wont findm on pro-grade bodies like the 5D Mark

r the 1D X, but theyre available as an

ing option in the playback menu of the

ority of other D-SLRs. These filters are

Using Creative Filters duringive View enables you to

preview the effect in real time

ive your pictures a digitalakeover without going near aomputer heres how to gethe most from Creative Filters

How do usemy in-cameraCreative Filters?

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fullyautomatomanua


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EPBYSTEP

nter Live ViewPress the Live View button

and then either tap the Q

ton or press INFO repeatedly

il the menus appear on the

een. The Creative Filter icon

s the two overlapping circles.

e Live View on the latest Canon D-SLRs to see a Creative Filter effect before you shoot

How to preview a Creative Filter

ent strength of filter effect or

bination of effects Creative Filters can

mulatively applied to a single image.

hen youre reviewing images on the rear

n, tap the Q button to access the editing

ay. Its here that youll find the Creative

s option. Alternatively, select Creative

s in the cameras blue playback menus

croll through your images until youve

d a suitable picture. Its then a matter ofting the effect, adjusting its strength

hen saving the worked-up version as a

new file on the memory card. You can apply

Creative Filters to both Raw files and JPEGs,

although you will be unable to do so on an

image that youve previously cropped.

Using Creative Filters during Live View

brings the advantage of being able to preview

the effect in real time. This enables you to

compose a picture to make the most of the

filter such as finding the perfect angle for

the model village look when using theMiniature Effect rather than having to make

do after the event. The downside of this is

that you have to shoot JPEGs in orde

access the Creative Filter option on th

View screen, and that means the effe

filter is embedded in the picture file w

press the shutter release. Theres no

back if you dont like what you see. St

brings back some of the edge-of-you

immediacy to taking pictures!

Not all cameras offer this Live View

preview, and if you happen to use a CD-SLR that predates the 60D then yo

have any onboard Creative Filters at a

Use the right formatYou wont be able to apply

the effect in the Raw or

Raw+JPEG format. If you shoot

Raw, you can save a separate

JPEG with the effect applied

once youve taken the shot.

Select a filterShooting JPEG, you can

freely select a Creative

Filter. Scroll through the options

using the arrow keys or Quick

Control dial, then tap SET to

select your preferred filter.

Preview the effePressing INFO enabl

to change the positio

strength of the effect, dep

on which Creative Filter yo

although it can take a little

for the screen to update.

anons Creative Filter camera controlsinking of adding a filter effect? Here are the key settings you need to use

Live Viewthis to preview a filter effect

ore you take a picture. Not all EOS

LRs enable you to do this.

5. AdjustmentsDuring playback, highlight a

and then tap the SET button

able to tweak the strength o

position of the effect. When

using Live View, pressing th

button has the same effect.

White iconCreative Filters menu icon

ds to be white in order to apply

ffect a greyed out symbolans that the image is

ompatible.6.Q/SET buttonUse this to bring up the Crea

Filters option in Live View, a

select a filter option.Image previewcan preview the effect

ore deciding to save it.

Filter flavoursamount of filters available is

endent on the camera model.

Canon 100D shown here offers

en effects, along with the option

witch them off.

7. Play buttonPress this to review your im

and then tap the Q button to

choose a Creative Filter.


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he latest crop of Canon cameras (100D, 700D, 70D) have

even Creative Filters, each of which can be increased or

ecreased in strength (over three steps) or adjusted in

osition. Weve suggested subjects that each of the filters

orks particularly well with, but experiment to find an effect

r combination of effects that works for you.

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

AFTER

Fish-eye effectIts no substitute for a

good quality fish-eye

lens, but at least its

free. The Fish-eye filter produces

a super-distorted view of the

world, causing straight horizontal

and vertical lines to distort and

bulge outwards. Its an effectthats best used in moderation

but in all honesty its an effect

that youll tire of quickly.

Adjustable option: you get the

familiar Standard, Low and High

settings here. The higher the

setting, the more of the available

mage you lose around the edge

of the frame.

rainy B/WThis filter takes a hammer

to the more subtle results

that can be achieved

rough the Monochrome picture

yle. However, the punchy-but-gritty

ok works well for street photography

nd architecture. Whether you can

ccept the dappling it adds to areas of

ean pale tone is another thing.

djustable option: the level of

ontrast can be increased or

ecreased from the Standard setting.

ghlights and brighter areas arekely to burn out at the highest

etting that is, theyll be so bright

ey wont hold any detail.

Water painting effect

Turn your photos intoworks of art; or at least,

reduce the details in your

otos to black outlines with subtle

lours that bleed beyond these

ges. Pick a scene or subject with

ong edges to make the most of this

er landscapes, city scenes and

her views youd normally associate

th watercolour paintings lead to the

ost convincing overall effect.

justable option: the colour density

n be set to Standard, Light or Deep.

oid the Deep setting if people

ature in the frame.

Art bold effectThis strong dose of saturation

produces vivid, hyper-real

colours. Images that arecolourful to begin with benefit most

with this filter, but scenes that feature a

single colourful focal point such as red

poppy in a field can look good. Just

avoid shots of people with this filter

Adjustable option: if youre looking for

a bold effect, youre unlikely to use the

Low setting, so stick with Standard. The

High option inflates the warmth of reds

and oranges to nuclear dawn levels.

Soft focusDoes exactly what it says

on the tin, giving a hazy

look to pictures. Portraits

are a natural fit for this filter (even

the icon shows a glowing figure), but

still life work and landscapes can

benefit from the dreamy quality it

gives to pictures.Adjustable option: as with most of

the other filters, the strength of the

effect has three settings Standard,

Low or High. And, as with the others,

you need to be wary of the highest

setting as it can end up looking as

though you failed to focus properly.

Toy camera effectIf youre looking for

a colour shift typical

of old film and dark

corners that youd get from a

cheap plastic lens, this is for you.

Alongside the Miniature filter, we

feel this is one of the most successful options available, producing an effec

that suits a wide range of subjects, from portraits to cars to fruity still lifesAdjustable option: you can alter the tone of the colour cast across the

image, from Standard (slightly warm) to Cool or Warm (a bit sickly yellow,

really). Standard offers the most natural looking results.

Filters in action

Miniature effectThis mimics the toytownlook that can be created

when a tilt-shift lens is used

incorrectly and a wafer-thin depth

of field is created. Its most effective

if you can find a subject that could

conceivably be a model and shoot it

from a raised position. Warning: this

filter can be addictive.

Adjustable option: youre unable to

adjust the strength of the Miniature

effect, but you change the position of

the sharp area in the picture.

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

AF

AFTE

AF


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Superzoom lensesEvery month we highlight an EOS camera

or type of lens and provide priceless

advice to get more from your gear

5hintsandtipsfor

1 Zoom creepyoure looking to buy a

ew superzoom, choosene with a Zoom Lock

witch. This will prevent the

ens from zooming out

owards its telephoto end

when youre carrying the

amera over your shoulder.

3ImageStabilizationA stabilised lens improvesyour chances of getting

sharp shots at longer focal

lengths. Switch this

function off when you shoot

from a tripod though, as the

results tend to be crisper.

5Using filtersA clear UV filter can he

protect the lenss frontelement, however keep

eye out for vignetting

dark corners in the pic

when youre using m

than one filter and sho

at the wide end of the l2ISO settingSuperzooms have slow

maximum apertures, so

youll need a faster shutter

speed to combat camera

shake. Use your cameras

Auto ISO setting to

automatically take care of

this by increasing the ISO.

4Better focusingThe narrow maximum

aperture can cause issues

for your cameras autofocus

system, and it may hunt

for something to lock onto.

Try using manual focus in

conjunction with Live Views

magnification function.

he 60D introduced four in-camera filters,

ith the 600D taking that total to five:

sh-eye, Grainy B/W, Soft focus, Toy

amera effect and Miniature effect. Later

odies, like the 100D, added the painterly

rt bold and Watercolour effects to the mix.

sing them is straightforward, but getting

he best out of them is another matter.

aturally, some filters are more suited to

ertain scenes than others. For instance, far

wer subjects can take the overcookedolours of the Art bold effect than those that

suit the more subdued and classier Toy

camera effect. Most of the Creative Filters

have three levels of adjustment Low,

Standard and High but the default

Standard setting generally gives the most

pleasing result. We find that some of the

more extreme effects, such as Fish-eye and

Soft focus, benefit from being dropped to

the lowest setting for a more subtle result,

but its ultimately a matter of taste.

Talking of taste, these types of D-SLRdigital filters often get a hard time for being

amateurish. While theres no denying

one or two are garish, we think its a g

idea to have them available as a creat

option after all, you dont have to us

if you dont want to. With some white

balance adjustments and picture sty

tweaks they can produce some surpr

effective results, perfect for quickly s

online, and theyre also

a great way for kids to

have fun with digitalphotography. n

If the strongest setting for a filter isnt extreme enough for you,

you can double the impact by applying it more than once. This

works well with the Miniature effect, allowing you to really

intensify the degree of blur. However, you have to build up the

effect in stages, saving the image after applying a filter, then

opening up that image and applying it again. Carrying out this

process many times can reduce the overall quality of the picture.

When you select the Creative

Filters option in the playback

menu, only the files that are

compatible will be accessible.

After cranking up the Grainy

B/W filter to its maximum

level, we save a new version of

the image by pressing SET.

Scroll through the images to

find the previously filtered one

in order to add another effect

(Toy Camera here).

Repeating the same proce

we finish off with the Minia

effect, positioning the are

sharpness near the clock f

Multiple filters

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Tips - Using in-Camera Filters