Fuji { Fuji Is The New Leica } | Things.That.Make.You.Go.Hmmm.

[Gary]

We are in agreement.

That Monochrom really interests me, and I know at some point I'll own it (or something similar). But before taking that plunge, I need to learn using filters.

Hell, filters are easy ... color balance is tougher.

G

 

[CaptZoom]

Hell, filters are easy ... color balance is tougher.

G

Almost all of my personal work is in b/w (digital color files converted to b/w), but I tinker with the color sliders quite a bit in post. These tools will not be available with the Monochrom, so I'll need to nail the shot every time. And I have no experience with color filters.

 

[Gary]

I know what you're saying, but with B&W film, there's only so much you can do with color filters until it starts getting all weird. I suspect it is similar with digital.

Gary

 

[CaptZoom]

I know what you're saying, but with B&W film, there's only so much you can do with color filters until it starts getting all weird. I suspect it is similar with digital.

Gary

See...I didn't even know that^

 

[Gary]

The number of filters available and what enhancements you can do with them is relatively finite. As an example, a red filter will increase contrast to an extreme and darken the sky, underexpose a stop or two and Viola! You have something which looks like a nighttime image. Okay, that nice, but how many times do you want that? Yellow, orange and red will give you varying degrees of contrast, but you can get that all in post. In fact most things you would use a colored filter for you can do in post, especially if you start out with a RAW file. (I said most because there probably an exception out there.)

If you want to see what color filters do to a B&W, get some color filters and shoot B&W in-camera. (I really don't know the results, but worth a try. You could probably Google the answer and find examples.)

Gary

 

[CaptZoom]

I'm going to order some filters soon. And I finally have a reason to shoot jpegs (I shoot RAW exclusively)!

As you mentioned, a lot can be done by tweaking the contrast (globally and locally) in post; I color relationship sliders in LR give much better control (and quickly). In any case, with a camera like the Monochrom I'll need to adjust my shooting. In any case, the purchase of a Monochrom is several years away...I've got plenty of time to learn and Google-ing.

 

[Gary]

I don't think color filters on a digital selected to B&W output will work. I suspect in-camera is a similar workflow as B&W from RAW. Start with a color image then convert. If it is so, then ... say red color filter, will shift everything toward the red end of the spectrum. So, what you have is that all your whites will be red, the filter will probably turn the darker colors into a purple-ish dark grays and blacks and the lighter colors will be given a red cast, yellow with turn orange, et cetera. Then, the image will convert to B&W. I dunno, could be interesting ... could be and most likely will be crap. I think we'd have heard about it ... like cross-processing.

Gary

 

[CaptZoom]

When I try it, I'll report back...but I suspect the results will agree with your prediction.

 

[AlbertInFrance]

Let's deal withg a common misconception: the idea that 'a red filter increases contrast'.

Any straight colour filter does not have a direct effect on contrast. What it does do is change tonal relationships.

If you photograph a pure grey scale using panchromatic film or a properly adjusted sensor then adding a red, green or whatever filter will not affect the contrast of the result.

Do the same thing with a set of colour patches and the patches close in colour to the filter will reproduce lighter than than those of differing colours. This is actually true even in a colour image, but much more apparent in monochrome.

Using a red filter on a day of blue sky and white clouds will make the clouds stand out against the blue. This is because white is (very roughly) 33% red and the blue of the sky may include (maybe) 5% red.

A deep cut red filter needs about 2 stops extra exposure to render the clouds correctly, because it is cutting out the blue and green components of the white light. It would need at least three more stops to bring the blue up to the same level.

The deep cut red will also render foliage a lot darker, but a London bus would be nearly white.

I've had a quick play with comparing a real red filter on my X-E1 to the result of using the B + R preset and it doesn't seem to offer any advantages in general shooting. Either way you get the same dark sky / white clouds result. I can't be bothered to do more detailed testing, although I can envisage cases where a true filter might give different results, mainly for things like mist penetration.