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Filters?
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 3:03 am    Post subject: Filters? Reply with quote

Anyone using film era correction filters over digital?

The question is a serious one.
I haven't done much (yet), but did discover one filter actually does boost contrast.
Kind of curious as to what anyone has found in this regard.
I know a lot can be done in post, but am interested in the filter idea anyways...

-D.S.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 4:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, sure, filter can boost contrast of subject the same color as the filter by reflecting the "noise" of other colors...IR and UV photography for example. Color balance correction filters for film exposure to different types of lighting should also boost contrast, although maybe not obviously.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes I do quite a bit.

I shoot lots of infra red, using a full spectrum converted camera & old filters can give great effects. Those like the #25 (red) are simply long pass designs that only differ from the best modern one in the coatings. Some of the old filters can give interesting combinations such as UV, blue & IR from the #47 which works close to the 'superblue' filter sold by Lifepixel. A few others seem to get combinations not seen on any new filter.

In addition to infra red I play with old effects filters, far more fun IMO than using photoshop.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I too use i/r filters, albeit on an unmodified camera with a CCD sensor, and achieve very acceptable b&w results, which is what I'm after.
I often use "old fashioned" linear polarising filters. They often/usually give a more contrasty result than a circular polariser and have no effect on the focussing or exposure on my Pentax DSLRs.
Tests using monochrome contrast filters, (red, green, yellow, orange etc.), for monochrome results, appear to have little difference to using the in-camera filter effects, so having established that I no longer bother.
Inevitably, different cameras have different sensors with differing sensitivities, so the only way to be absolutely sure, for your equipment, is to try it for yourself.
Most modern lenses are sufficiently complex as to block u/v totally, so that is unlikely to be an issue, unless you're using an old three or four element lens such as a Trioplan or Tessar or similar Wink


PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but when using traditional colour filters (glass, in the field) you are actually filtering the incoming light itself, as opposed to changing a digitised signal of limited bit depth by bit shifting and/or numerical multiplication/division. The resulting effect will almost certainly be different at the margins (e.g. shadows & highlights) where strong filtering is concerned.

It probably depends on both the particular subject matter as well as the desired effect as to which method is preferable/more effective.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Certainly, polarisers are useful for glare and I still use warm-up and ND grad and big stoppers.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 2:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote



Both sides are in Japanese.
If anyone here has this Nikon filters applications leaflet in the English version, could you post a photo?

I was able to decipher some of it with Michael Freeman's 35mm Photography Handbook...

-D.S.


PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 11:24 am    Post subject: Re: Filters? Reply with quote

Doc Sharptail wrote:
Anyone using film era correction filters over digital?

The question is a serious one.
I haven't done much (yet), but did discover one filter actually does boost contrast.
Kind of curious as to what anyone has found in this regard.
I know a lot can be done in post, but am interested in the filter idea anyways...

-D.S.


I have been using filters a lot back in the days of b/w photography (mainly red filters when shooting landscapes with the Kodak Technical Pan film which was quite sensitive to red and even near IR). And of course also the blue filters for 3400K=>5500K conversion on color/slide film.

These days, on high res digital cameras, I don't use filters any more. There are two main reasons:
1) When shooting landscapes, all polarization filters I have tested (including extremely expensive Zeiss stuff) were visibly degrading the performance of good tele lenses such as the Minolta AF 2.8/200mm APO G. And for (extreme) wideangle landscapes a polfilter is useless anyway ...
2) When shooting objects such as cameras & lenses or golden objects I ususally use several flashlights and reflectors - no conversion filters needed ...


I can see mainly two reasons to use filters on digital cameras:
1) Conversion filters (3400K=>5500K or 3200K=>5500K) for artificial light (certainly will increase the dynamic range of the blue channel)
2) Soft filters for portraiture (I have the sought-after Minolta Portrayer P 72mm set and really should test it ...!!)

Of course the specific IR and UV filters are necessary when taking UV or IR images (either in front of the lens or in front of the sensor), but that's probably not the topic here.

S


PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 2:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shine sunlight through uv filters onto white paper for revealing surprising differences in "color"!


PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here you go. I think this is similar to the Japanese language version you posted.

Enjoy!

Paul





PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

pdccameras wrote:
Here you go. I think this is similar to the Japanese language version you posted.

Enjoy!

Paul


Like 1 Like 1

Thank you very much, Sir!
Greatly appreciated.

This clears up a lot for me concerning the intended usages.

-D.S.


PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 3:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use colour correction filters when using Tungsten balanced film. It gives more natural results and makes colour correction easier.

The filter is orangey in colour and does boost contrast in BW a little.