[aslyfox]

[ I know that modern DSLRs correct for issues that are presented when using film cameras ]

obviously a CPL would be on this list of recommended filters for using my Pentax ME Super

but what other filters would you recommend should I consider using with it and why

what about a " corrective " filter for taking photos inside without the use of flash ?

should I have any filters based on using black/white film vs. color ?

[ I " borrowed " this link from an old thread - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/buying-guide/a-guide-to-fil...BID=6867&SID=f ]

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Last edited by aslyfox; 02-04-2020 at 04:24 AM.

[TwoUptons]

Way back when, I had the following that I used pretty regularly:
Fluorescent correction (pink)
Tungsten correction (blue)
Warming (pinkish orange, very light tint)

For B&W I added:
Red, yellow, orange, infrared(looks black) and green, but I don’t remember using the green one much...

And of course a polarizer and uv filters (those for protection more than optical quality)

I still use the B&W oriented filters on occasion, but the color correction needs are handled by shooting digital...

-Eric

[niels hansen]

read ansel adams book The negative, he has a very good overview of the different filters effect, after reading-make your choice.I use strong yellow very often,when using Rollei 400 infrared, I use strong red, and polfilter.The market is full of cheap bad filters
Sometimes the filter makes the significant difference

[Marktax]

on film, a circular polarizer (CPL) is not needed. Any polarizer will do. Pentax once made "morning and evening" and "cloudy" tinted filters. I still have these in 49mm. for B&W film, yellow darkens blue shy and green is good for skin tones. "Skylight," a light pink, helps a bit in bright daylight and is a good protection filter to leave on all the time.

[UncleVanya]

Skylight filter adds a subtle warmth that many prefer, but post processing the negatives in digital workflow can compensate for this

Uv/, Haze : widely used not just for protection. In theory it cuts Haze and allows clearer distant views.

Yellow light and dark - B&W contrast. Purple - stronger version of same. I had a red/blue filter that was variable, you turned one glass surface to change it from red to purple to blue.

Correction filters...

[tuco]

With BW film, I always carry colored filters. Some scenes you want to use them. You have to learn when it's best. Some colors reproduce to a similar shade of grey in BW. If, say, a scene was dominated with colors like that, using a colored filter would separate those colors and no doubt produce a more interesting picture. As a rule, colored filters will lighten its color and darken the opposite color as seen on a color wheel plus the adjacent colors to a lesser degree the further away from filter color you get.

[Alex645]

obviously a CPL would be on this list of recommended filters for using my Pentax ME Super

but what other filters would you recommend should I consider using with it and why

what about a " corrective " filter for taking photos inside without the use of flash ?

Other than a CPL, here are my most commonly used filters and why (all multicoated):

a) #25A red filter (highest contrast affect, deep dark skies for B&W)
b) #15 yellow filter (slight contrast increase and the most natural grey scale tonal response for B&W)
c) UV filter (only for landscapes B&W or color and never combined with other filters)
d) ND filter that will cut 6-8 EVs (long exposure landscapes for blurred clouds or water surfaces color or B&W)
e) ND gradient filter (to darken top half of the exposure to control contrast in clouds/skies)

Even back when I used to shoot on tungsten lit film sets, I never used color correction filters. Instead I used either tungsten or daylight balanced film.
Today where most fluorescent bulbs are being replaced by LED, most of them are close enough to daylight balance, that it's impractical to use them. I would need a color temperature meter and then a whole kit of various color temperature correction filters, and commonly light sources are mixed.

I had forgotten but using a #13 Green filter for B&W is ideal for skin tonality in portraiture. Rarely used, as I find the yellow filter gets me close enough to good skin tones, but green is the preferred amongst old school film portrait photographers.

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Last edited by Alex645; 02-04-2020 at 01:04 PM. Reason: @stevebrot mentioned green

[Eyewanders]

Alex's lists is bang-on. The only color correction filter I do still use occasionally is an #85B warming filter specifically for Cinestill 800T tungsten balanced (or other tungsten cine films, but i never shoot them anymore) in the case that I want to use up a roll in daylight conditions, especially if overcast conditions, only because the results without one in that particular scenario is very pronounced, e.g. very very blue. (to the point that correcting in digital-post can be quite a challenge to the point of not being worth the effort).

[johnha]

on film, a circular polarizer (CPL) is not needed. Any polarizer will do.

Not quite - it's not a film/digital issue but a camera issue. If the camera has a semi-transparent mirror or beam splitting prism, then you need a CPL - all AF SLRs and the odd manual focus exception like the LX. if not then a linear polariser is fine (although if buying an expensive filter, a CPL is more versatile).

I have two Cokin fluorescent filters (slightly different pink), apparently the spectral output of flourescent lights isn't straight forward. Using a tungsten correction for indoors without flash probably isn't necessary (the warmer tones don't look too much out of place). Either way, corrections can be made when printing or scanning.

Filters for black & white come in various colours, but be warned, some reduce the brightness of the focussing screen in an SLR making it very difficult to focus with them in place.

[stevebrot]

For color film photography, I carry CPL and ND the same as for digital with the addition of Skylight 1A*. I live in a high haze part of the world and that last comes in handy.

For B&W film photography, the same as for color with the addition of:

• Yellow (Wratten 8, K2, Y2)
• Minus Blue (Wratten 12, Deep yellow)
• Red (Wratten 25 or similar)

Some might add green and/or blue, though I seldom have a need.

As for quality...much discussion is made regarding coatings and such while ignoring that uncoated filters have been the norm pretty much forever and that even premium B+W and Heliopan offerings may be uncoated or only single-coated. If you can afford it, brass metal frames are best (they don't bind). Be aware of filter thickness when shooting with wide-angles. Also be aware of how the filtering effect is accomplished; do they use colored glass, a sandwich, or an exterior coating? I tend to buy Hoya, Tiffen, or B+W depending on availability for a particular filter size.

A small note regarding the Wratten 12, minus blue. It is a specialty filter that selectively blocks visible light below 500nm, giving a result similar in many ways to mounting a red filter, while otherwise acting as a yellow. I find it useful when shooting orthopanchromatic films such as Acros 100 when the extended blue sensitivity is not a good thing.


Steve

* Technically a not the same as a UV filter in that it is also mild warming.

[VSTAR]

Good quality polarizer and nd
UV protective- but that is a whole other controversy!
Old starburst filter is nice if you do not want to do it in post processing

Then depending on the lens, focal length, lens hood, non-digital film filter or digital type

[stevebrot]

I should also mention that a Wratten 81A is useful as a warming filter with color films that tend to trend cool or for improving skin tones.



Steve

[Alex645]

UV protective- but that is a whole other controversy!

Any filter will do for protection but the UV is a legitimate issue shooting film outdoors.

40 years ago, UV was a problem at higher altitudes where the atmosphere was thinner and more UV light was not filtered naturally. But now we have lots of UV at sea level, so if I don't have a CPL or other filter on the film camera, shooting outdoors, I would use a UV for filter reasons, not protection.

[TwoUptons]

And if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, find someone who is getting rid of an old Cokin set. You’ll get a stack of ridiculous effects filters as well as potentially useful things (like Wratten holders).

-Eric

[StiffLegged]

Other than a CPL, here are my most commonly used filters and why (all multicoated):...

+1 I got a terrific sense of deja vu reading this, that's just how it used to be.

For shooting colour under tungsten light, nothing beat tungsten-balance film in my experience.