Which three filters would you choose?

Jim Jones · Jul 14, 2012

tkamiya said:
. . . I know this isn't what you asked, but if I am going to stick to one film, I'd choose something more generic, like ISO 400 films - unless you are going to exclusively shoot low light images.

Yes, indeed. Today's ISO 400 films are good general purpose films. The necessity of using Kodachrome at an ISO of 25 or 64 in low light forced me to acquire some good basic camera handling techniques. 3200 film might be necessary for theater or sports, though.

As for filters, they should rarely be needed in low light B&W photography. A UV filter might be OK when shooting in hazardous conditions. A lens hood may be a better choice.

Mark Fisher · Jul 14, 2012

If you are shooting mostly low light, I don't think you'd have much use for filters beyond a heavy ND filter for the times you want shallow depth of field in normal sunlight. OK, maybe a polarizer if you want to cut reflections say from a window. A polarizer will also darken a sky so I think two is enough to start off and decide once you start shooting what other filter you would like. Personally, I'd choose orange, but it all depends on what you are shooting.

And in answer to the "why green" question....sometimes I want to separate green foliage from a dark background. I actually do that reasonably often.

wilfbiffherb · Jul 15, 2012

polariser, red and an nd

Pumalite · Jul 15, 2012

Polarizer, yellow, Red and ND

Nicholas Lindan · Jul 15, 2012

My mormal walking-around selection of B&W filters if I was to limit the number would be a Polarizer and a #21 orange; or if you want three to fill your filter case then add a #8 yellow. If you shoot a lot of portraits of men then a #11 green can help give a better tone to the skin.

But, as noted, if you are shooting clubs in dim light then a filter is the last thing you need. Trade the filter case in for a table top tripod.

If you need an ND you can use any of the filters - it doesn't much matter for B&W. You only need to worry about the 'N' if you are shooting color - and then you just stick with the polarizer for simple density. A polarizer can always be turned so it has negligible polarizing effect.

Things can change in the mountains: A UV [a real UV] filter is needed when shooting color or you can really get 'hazed out'. The amount of UV haze varies a lot - depending on time of day, humidity, altitude, cloud cover, distance and the film you are shooting. Some lenses pass a great deal of UV, and some block it almost entirely - making a UV filter superfluous. The orange filter will remove UV and haze when shooting B&W. You may find a #12 minus-blue or #8 yellow to be enough to darken the sky at high altitude and you may want to leave the orange at home.

If you are in an urban setting then a #25 red filter may be needed just to darken the normally blue-white sky and get any cloud definition at all.

My normal compliment is a bit bigger, though: 2 Polarizers, #25 red, #29 red, #72 IR pass, #403 UV pass, #21 orange, #12 minus blue, #8 yellow, #47 dark blue, #420 UV blocking. For color add a set of warming filters, cooling filters, skylight 1a & 1b, #410 UV blocking, and blue color conversion filters [for shooting transparencies with tungsten & photoflood, I find Ektachrome also needs a cc5M]. I use Rosco filter books and a gel holder for odd filters - like a deep magenta or a cyan.

Jeff Kubach · Jul 15, 2012

I would go for yellow, orange, and red.

Jeff

tkamiya · Jul 15, 2012

I really don't think filters (of any kind) will be all that useful in low light situations OP intend to shoot....

markbarendt · Jul 15, 2012

The OP does low light often, not always.

Alan Gales · Jul 15, 2012

kaihc said:
I've often seen the advice that beginners should "for one year use one camera, one lens, and one film". While not exactly a beginner I intend to try this anyway in the hope to become a better photographer. I will use my Pentax LX, my 43/1.9 limited and lots of Delta 3200. I often shoot in low light situations.

I have a small case attached to the camera strap with room for three filters. Which three filters would you recommend that I should always bring with me, and why?

Many thanks in advance!

Carry 4 filters. A UV on your lens for protection plus the extra three in your small case. Just swap the UV with one in your case when you want something different.

If shooting color then take along a polarizer and a neutral density filter. For a third filter I always liked taking along a slight warming filter for shooting in shade and a slight diffusion filter for when I preferred a softer look with portraits, landscapes, etc. I know thats four but you can take your pick or choose another filter for your third.

For b&w take along a polarizer and a yellow filter. For a third filter choose between a neutral density filter and an orange filter whichever you think you will use the most.

Just my opinion!

Ian Grant · Jul 15, 2012

Leigh B said:
I've never found a use for a green filter, although I have such for the Nikon and Hasselblad.

Green will lighten foliage, but if I want that I'll shoot infra-red and get a much more dramatic effect.

What am I missing?

- Leigh

Quite a lot, I tend to only use a Green filter, I use Cokin P filters as my lenses vary markedly in dilter thread size and carry orange, red, green and a polariser. I use filters for subtle effect not exageration and the green is very useful where there's a lot of foliage maybe brick work or stone (I mainly shoot industrila/archeologigal landscapes).

Ian

Pioneer · Jul 15, 2012

Ian Grant said:
Quite a lot, I tend to only use a Green filter, I use Cokin P filters as my lenses vary markedly in dilter thread size and carry orange, red, green and a polariser. I use filters for subtle effect not exageration and the green is very useful where there's a lot of foliage maybe brick work or stone (I mainly shoot industrila/archeologigal landscapes).

Ian

Excellent, I'll keep that in mind. Have never tried that so I learned something new today.

kaihc · Jul 15, 2012

Thanks for all suggestions, much appreciated!

I realize a better description of the typical light conditions could have been helpful. I often take pictures of the kids indoors using whatever light is available from lamps or windows. Shallow DOF, slow shutter speeds and kids don't usually go well together and I have stacks of contact sheets to prove this... Also, here in Scandinavia one might say we have a permanent low light situation from October through February.

Based on your suggestions what I'll do is to always bring orange and ND filters. As the third filter I'll first try with yellow. I've always used a yellow filter when shooting B&W because someone told me a long time ago that this is what you should do; I'm not so sure about that anymore Later on the yellow will be replaced by green, which seems to cause some mixed feelings here. It will be interesting to see if I can put it to good use. Next year I'll try polarizer.

Again, thanks for your input, hopefully I can post a few good images this time next year!

Alan Gales · Jul 15, 2012

Why wait until next year to try a polarizer? Pretty much everyone here recommended a polarizer with good reason. They can darken your skies to make the clouds stand out more and they also can dial away reflections in water and glass.

Vanishing Point Ent. · Jul 15, 2012

There is actually room for 4 filters.

kaihc said:
I've often seen the advice that beginners should "for one year use one camera, one lens, and one film". While not exactly a beginner I intend to try this anyway in the hope to become a better photographer. I will use my Pentax LX, my 43/1.9 limited and lots of Delta 3200. I often shoot in low light situations.

I have a small case attached to the camera strap with room for three filters. Which three filters would you recommend that I should always bring with me, and why?

Many thanks in advance!

For the filter on the lens;
a B+W KR 1.5 MRC, in an F-Pro mount.

For the case;
1. A Polarizing filter.

Next depending on what you're shooting
2. Either a yellow K2, #8 filter, or
a yellow - green X0, #11 filter.
The #8, is better for landscapes, the #11 is better for people.

3. Either a Lt Red #23, or a Med Red #25 filter.
The #23 is better for people ( of color ), the #25 is better for landscapes.

The filter factors for these filters are as follows:

AlanGales said:
Carry 4 filters. A UV on your lens for protection
For a third filter I always liked taking along a slight warming filter for shooting in shade

The B+W KR 1.5 filter loses only 0.1 of a stop, but acts like a 1/3 of a stop loss 81 filter.
Thus combining the best of Alan Gales 1st & 3rd filters !

Polarizers vary anywhere from 1 stop, 2.5 stops.

The #8 Yellow's filter factor is 1 stop.

The #11 Yellow - Green's filter factor is 1.5 stops.

The #23 Lt Red's filter factor is 2.5 stops.

The #25 Med Red's filter factor is 3 stops.

I hope that this will help you make your choice.

kaihc · Jul 16, 2012

Alan Gales said:
Why wait until next year to try a polarizer? Pretty much everyone here recommended a polarizer with good reason. They can darken your skies to make the clouds stand out more and they also can dial away reflections in water and glass.

I'd like to learn how to use the color filters first, keeping things simple and choices limited. In one year I use approx. 30-50 rolls of film, which is not that much.

Vanishing Point Ent. said:
For the filter on the lens;
a B+W KR 1.5 MRC, in an F-Pro mount.

Interesting, would the difference between UV and skylight filters be noticeable for B&W?

Alan Gales · Jul 16, 2012

kaihc said:
I'd like to learn how to use the color filters first, keeping things simple and choices limited. In one year I use approx. 30-50 rolls of film, which is not that much.

Polarizers are really easy to use. It will take you all of 5 minutes to learn how to use it. You just spin it to get your desired effect. You can actually see what is going on while while looking through your viewfinder so you can practice with it without shooting a single frame of film.

Whlle looking at a lake or glass store front spin the filter until the reflections "magically" disappear in your viewfinder.

While looking at a sunny seen spin the filter and the sky will "magically" get darker or lighter. Stop when the sky looks the way you want it and snap the shutter. How dark the sky will get depends on where the sun is at the time. Of course you will see all this while looking through your viewfinder before you ever take the shot.

I'm telling you this because I think in a year from now you will be "kicking" yourself for not buying a polarizer sooner.

Alan Gales · Jul 16, 2012

Sorry that's scene not seen. I should wear my glasses while I type!

kaihc · Jul 16, 2012

Alan Gales said:
Polarizers are really easy to use. It will take you all of 5 minutes to learn how to use it. You just spin it to get your desired effect. You can actually see what is going on while while looking through your viewfinder so you can practice with it without shooting a single frame of film.

Whlle looking at a lake or glass store front spin the filter until the reflections "magically" disappear in your viewfinder.

While looking at a sunny seen spin the filter and the sky will "magically" get darker or lighter. Stop when the sky looks the way you want it and snap the shutter. How dark the sky will get depends on where the sun is at the time. Of course you will see all this while looking through your viewfinder before you ever take the shot.

I'm telling you this because I think in a year from now you will be "kicking" yourself for not buying a polarizer sooner.

Thanks for your concern! I actually already have a polarizer and have used it occasionally with my other (d)SLR. What worries me is rather that I might be spending even more time with it and not learning the color filters properly. It might be a good idea, though, to bring it along and compare it's effect with the color filters. This means taking more pictures of the same subject and jotting down more notes, but I guess that is the whole point of my experiment anyway.

Leigh B · Jul 16, 2012

As regards filters for black & white photography...

The purpose of color (more correctly contrast-control) filters is to remove portions of the visible spectrum,
thus darkening objects of that color.

Proper use depends on knowing the three primary colors (Red, Green, and Blue) and their compliments:
Red <-> Cyan (= Green + Blue)
Green <-> Magenta (= Red + Blue)
Blue <-> Yellow (= Red + Green)

For example, a Yellow filter attenuates (darkens) Blue, so such filters are used to darken a blue sky
and increase the contrast between the sky and the clouds.

Most contrast filters are available in different grades, such as Light Red, Medium Red, and Dark Red,
producing a more dramatic effect as the grade increases.

Some people think that colored filters "brighten" their own color, but that's just a consequence of applying
the "filter factor", as specified for each filter, which increases the overall exposure of the film.

- Leigh

Leigh B · Jul 16, 2012

Regarding polarizers...

They do not work with specular reflections, such as you get from shiny metal like chrome automobile trim.

They do not work on windows if the camera is pointed directly at the window. Your view must be at an angle.
The same is true of water reflections, but you're seldom looking straight down at water.

- Leigh

Which three filters would you choose?

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