Which filter should I get for B&W film?

[DREW WILEY]

I just like things as I see them, in terms of color photography at least. I do use colored contrast filters for black and white photography more often than not. For color neg film, I have an assortment of skylight and color temp balancing filters, necessary to correct idiosyncrasies in the film itself.

 

[IpseLux]

Anybody that has worn sunglasses has experienced the value and contribution of polarization to a scene. In color film colors become richer, fuller, vision becomes clearer. Similarly in black and white harsh reflections are toned down, skies in particular become darker and more noticeable.
The degree of polarization is controllable, by adjusting the filter in relation to the reflective rays, so it is not all or nothing….
But like so much in photography the use of polarizers or any other filter for that matter is a matter of personal choice.
As an example, I for one, avoid shooting into the sun. As many lens reviews criticizing vintage lenses for flaring for the same thing, I suppose I’m of the minority in this.
I may be in the minority of using PL filters too. And that’s ok. Life’s like a box of chocolates. Pick your favorite.

 

[Petrochemist]

I just like things as I see them, in terms of color photography at least.

We very much differ there, I often use photography to show parts of a scene I can't see.
So I use infra red, extreme focal lengths, either long or short exposures, special lighting etc to pick out things, or investigate effects

 

[skahde]

The brain is as much part of the visual system as the eye and if we say to a photograph "this is what I saw" it is just our brain recognizing aspects of that photograph as a convincing representation of an actual scene and drawing weird conclusions. A painting can do the same thing because it is a artifical reconstruction of these convincing features. The physical nature of the creation of photograph only fools us into believing, it was close to the real thing which is only a small part of the whole story.

 

[DREW WILEY]

The psychological element can never be dissociated. And no photograph is reality, but some kind of personal selection and reinterpretation. But I was speaking concerning the perceptible effect of polarizers, for gosh sakes, and why I don't use them, because I like to keep the sparkle and reflections "as I see them" intact. No need to wander off in the weeds over interminable philosophical distinctions. Same can be said for the contrast filters we use in black and white photography. The effect is perfectly distinguishable with versus without them. No need to haul out a psychiatrist's couch to explain what they do.

 

[skahde]

What filters do is physics but why you choose and prefer them is psychology.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I prefer nuance to noise. To get real blue skies, go to high altitude these days, and far away from air pollution if possible. Abuse a polarizer instead to fake it, and it looks fake, like a tourist venue postcard or tortured digital image. Cheap makeup ruins a pretty lady. Yeah, there are contrast cases so extreme that mountaineers have necessarily resorted to polarizers in relation to color chrome films and glaciers to try and fit it all in. But I prefer to leave color film for the shoe which really fits it, and handle extreme contrast with long-scale B&W films instead.
When "emotional" drifts into "theatrical", I get suspicious.

The whole point is to share what I see with others, the way I see them, precisely because most do not look at things that way, but superficially, according to stereotypes.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I prefer nuance to noise. To get real blue skies, go to high altitude these days, and far away from air pollution if possible. Abuse a polarizer instead to fake it, and it looks fake, like a tourist venue postcard or tortured digital image. Cheap makeup ruins a pretty lady. Yeah, there are contrast cases so extreme that mountaineers have necessarily resorted to polarizers in relation to color chrome films and glaciers to try and fit it all in. But I prefer to leave color film for the shoe which really fits it, and handle extreme contrast with long-scale B&W films instead.
When "emotional" drifts into "theatrical", I get suspicious.

The whole point is to share what I see with others, the way I see them, precisely because most do not look at things that way, but superficially, according to stereotypes.

The highest point in my state New Jersey, is 1800 feet, probably not more than 250 feet in my county. As far as pollution, well, this is the NY Metro Area. Polarizers clean up the environment and accentuate the colors, making the picture more desirable to me. But I agree with you that you can overdo the polarizing effect and wash the life out of the colors. Below is one with full polarization. It;s dead. I found it best to limit the effect to somewhere in the middle.

 

[eli griggs]

I’m looking to buy color filters (green, yellow, orange, and red) to use for analog black-and-white photography.

When searching for a green filter, I’ve found several options with different “strengths” of green, and I’m not sure which one I should choose.

Does anyone have advice or experience with this?
Which one would be considered the most classic or versatile to start with?
And what kind of differences should I expect in the final image when shooting black and white with these variations?

These are the markings/values I’ve come across:
LB1, LB2, LB3, LB4, LB6, LB7, LB9, LB11, LB16, LB17.
View attachment 418913

Looking back over your list and illustration i count 10 listed but 12 pictured.

Please redo the image with both list and corasponding images in sync with each other, otherwise some folks will get the images mismatched and become angry over a badly made illustration.