Digital filters vs Film filters

[LifeIn35mm]

Is there any difference between a filter for a digital camera and a filter for a film camera? I bough some Hoya MC UV filters from B&H and the packaging says digital SLR & HDSLR. I shoot film so I was wondering is these will still work on my film camera (they won't lessen the photo quality noticeably). I'm just using them for protection. Thanks.

 

[Dr Croubie]

mostly marketing

Generally, the only difference with filters is a) between linear and circular polarisers, linear can mess with AF and AE/TTL metering on digitals (and on some film slrs), there's no real downside to using circular all the time, and b) more multicoatings for less reflections, digital sensors are shinier and more reflective than film, so more and better coatings are needed.
My 2c is you'll not be able to see a downside to using those 'digital' filters on film...

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

There could be an issue if you are using standard-sized filters on ultra-wide angle lenses (in that case, slim-profile to prevent vignetting), or an incorrect polariser for the type of meter you have on your camera (as Doc Croubie mentioned above). Digital camera sensors are more prone to reflective interference and thus, also as mentioned above, digital "optimised" filters have a slightly different coating variation to standard filters. UV(0) filters and Skylight 1B are innocuous and present absolutely no problem at all irrespective of their digital/standard nomenclature. These filters though can sometimes have a price premium attached to them so I would not be swayed by their flash-sounding descriptions and opt for any number of the usual high quality (but not el cheapo!) "protective" filters out there (Hoya, B+W, Tiffen, among).

 

[DREW WILEY]

These Hoya filters will be perfectly suitable for film work. But exactly which UV or skylight filter works best with a specific film requires a bit
of experience, and is also related to where you are shooting. High altitude or beachside you tend to get more actual UV issues than elsewhere. Minor corrections for color temperature are a related but different issue. Hoya MC filters are an excellent value in general, and the quality is very good. I rely on them quite a bit. Some people just leave these on their better lenses as an extra layer of protection against the elements,
but to call them totally color-inert is not quite correct. But it's not something I'd worry too much about, either.

 

[AgX]

B&W has a range of "digital" filters : their feature is a slim ring to prevent vignetting.


Hoya offers several "digital" filters.
But they do not explain what makes them special in context of digital photography.
Probably their slim ring design to prevent vignetting.



Heliopan offer two "digital" filters.
They are bandpass filters, that cut off the UV and IR part of the spectrum, with different steepness.

see for curves here:
http://www.heliopan.de/produkte/spezialfilter-fur-digital-und-video/

 

[BradS]

^^^ Excellent post AgX. Thanks!

 

[DREW WILEY]

Thin rim filters are recommended for wide-angle lenses too, so no distinction in that respect. I wouldn't use them unless you have to - not much thread to begin with. Better to use a step ring and oversized filter. Those Heliopan "digital" filters are completely applicable to film photography. No difference with Hoya or B&W or Singh-Ray in that respect. But like I said earlier, exactly which variety works best with a specific color film under your own typical circumstances might require testing. Probably all of them will help with controlling UV per se, but to difference degrees, and with slightly difference color nuances, which I personally find very important at times. But regardless of manufacturer, I prefer reputable multicoated glass filters, with hard easy-to-clean coatings,

 

[DREW WILEY]

I should have added that calling some of these "digital filters" is really a just marketing tool, since that is now the volume market, and since most people shooting digital don't think they actually need any kind of corrective filters. Some of them haven't changed a bit since they were
marketed exclusively for film.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Who is Singh Ray?? :confused:

 

[DREW WILEY]

Singh Ray is a rather pricey line of filters made in the US. They try to make neutral density filters as color-neutral as possible (many ND filters
are actually a bit greenish), and nowadays they market a line of "digital" filters for UV etc. I happen to like their older "KN" filter which was originally marketed for correcting Kodachrome and color negatives (as opposed to Ektachrome), and is similar to a light salmon skylight filter, but a bit more precisely engineered for the exact color shift. It works especially well for minor corrections to current Ektar and Portra films, when an actual warming filter like an 81A would be overkill. But a Heliopan or Hoya equivalent to a 1A or 1B skylight would probably be appropriate too. With chrome films I found an almost colorless (but barely yellow) "colorless" multicoated UV filter to work best on the late E100G Kodak product at high altitude, and a Hoya 1B for Fuji transparency films. It's getting the subtle neutral hues correct, esp in the distance, which separates the men from the boys.

 

[benjiboy]

"Digital filter" isn't a photographic term it's a marketing one, like "digital tripods".

 

[ME Super]

"Digital filter" isn't a photographic term it's a marketing one, like "digital tripods".

Digital filters are for filtering numbers. But seriously, I have a "digital" 720nm filter. It works just fine on film. And electromagnetic energy is dual in nature - waves and packets/particles (photons). So it's analog, but it's digital too.

 

[Truzi]

When I read "digital filter," I think "half-tone."

 

[benjiboy]

" Digital" is the new marketing buzz word, like, "professional " and "creative".

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Who is Singh Ray?? :confused:

Man Ray's Hindu cousin.

BTW, how's you're cousin Soup Du Jour??

 

[pentaxuser]

Man Ray's Hindu cousin.

BTW, how's you're cousin Soup Du Jour??

Reminds me of the comical Western series "Best of The West" Best can't decide what to have to eat and the slightly educationally-challenged waiter says: "You could always try Catch of the Day

Best says: "That sounds interesting, what is it? "

The waiter replies: "Pork chop"

Good series. I wonder what happened to it?

pentaxuser