Black and White Filters

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Bernie/Is/No/More.

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Hello

I have a Red Filter from B+W (090, Wratten 25). It's the only filter I use with black and white film. I only use it for dramatic purposes in certain occasions. Now I want to expand my filter usage and I just want to know which filters for black and white (HP5) are the best option. I'm thinking in the B+W Yellow-Green (060, Wratten 11) and one of these alternatives:

- B+W Medium Yellow (022, Wratten 8) and B+W Yellow Orange (040, Wratten 16).

Cons: Maybe the Medium Yellow is similar to the Yellow Green with clouds and the sky. I also think that the Medium Yellow maybe is useless with modern film and lenses of today.

- B+W Dark Yellow (023, Wratten 15) and B+W Red Orange (041, Wratten 22)

Cons: Maybe the Red Orange is very similar to my Red Filter.


Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
 
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Bernie. said:
I also think that the Medium Yellow maybe is useless with modern film and leses of today.
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Dear Bernie,

Definitely NOT the case. Some of my favourite tonality has come from light and medium yellows, with modern films and lenses. It doesn't look obvious: it just looks 'right', less (overly) dramatic than orange or red, more distinctive than yellow-green (and I've owned all of the above for years).

Cheers,

R.
 
I have a red filter but rarely use it as I feel it falls into the realms of 'special effects' - B+W Mid Yellow is my filter of choice, particularly for skies
 
I also like the medium yellow filter. The red can be too much. A green filter is useful when shooting foilage (plants with green leaves) to help lighten the green.

Orange filters also can help to darken skies.

If you shoot b/w, you'll find that you'll want to use a filter on occasion.

Photographers should get past the "filters degrade images" school of thought. If you strictly adhere to that, you'll never shoot infrared, for example, because that absolutely requires a filter. Nor will you get a chance to take your photography down a different path.
 
I've used a yellow filter and really liked the look it has given me at times. Havent been using it lately, not really sure why.
 
ZeissFan said:
Photographers should get past the "filters degrade images" school of thought.
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Absolutely, as this viewpoint is complete bollocks, except (possibly) with long-focus lenses and REALLY cheap and nasty filters. With wide-angles and standard lenses I am not aware of ANY reputable tests that support 'degrades images'.

Cheers,

R.
 
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It's really all a matter of personal taste. I routinely use a yellow-green filter which gives a subtle boost to skin tones, lightens foliage and darkens blue skies in a way that I like. I have orange, yellow, red and green filters but rarely use them.
 
I have used yellow-green filter as general purpose filter, I like it. Filter degrades image? I do it more often than filters do, so I don't worry much for this aspect.

For me there's one problem with filters on rangefinder camera: I go either filterless or mount one (like yellow, or Y-G) for a walk. Orange or red are needed for few shots so it takes me to mount them on and off on fly...call me lazy, but I can do this for occasional nature shots with SLR, but not on busy street even if I loose spectacular sky/clouds. OK, if there would be great character needing some gorgeous cloud behind it, I could think about orange filter but never because sky is nice itself. Usually just don't have enough time to mount/unmount filters on street.
 
Hi Bernie:

(Hola Bernie...)

I use a yellow-green filter nearly all the time, yellow and yellow-green filter can help a lot and will receive a lot of use, in a second place I'll say orange, less "dramatic" than red but still nice effects.

(Nos vemos en la MYF)
 
It's pretty well been said above. Filters have their use. Use them when they willl enhance the photo. Don't use them if they won't. By no means be afraid of them.

Of course, learn how and when they should be used. That is really what the OP seems to be asking about. I would recommend looking for books that cover that. I suspect you may need to look for older ones. I suspect you also might find some enlightenment on Mr. Hicks' site.
 
With the filter you have now I would recommend:

Single filter option: B&W yellow-orange - far less intense than your deep red but very useful
Two filters: yellow-green & and an orange or orange-red (there is not too much difference between an orange from Hoya and an orange red from B&W in terms of colour as far as I can tell.

The yellow or yellow-green is the most useful overall as it adds more depth to blue skies, but and cuts haze down a touch, but is not aggressive...and is only one stop of loss. The orange or red-orange is good for a moderately dramatic effect, but far short of the deep red you own.

I personally do not own any very pale yellow filters. I am not sure there is much point. I generally use a yellow (or yellow-green) unless I am struggling for speed, in which case I drop it. If I want more drama I use an orange. If I want something very intense I scratch my head and think about the deep red.
 
I only started B&W very recently when a friend gave me a stack of filters with many different colours. So I went out and had a go at them. I have read about them in the past but this is the first time I actually used so many of them individually. The effects were amazing, especially I used an old lens, an Agfa Apotar. I think the name of the game is atmosphere. It is an art in itself. I think I will do a lot more experiments. But for the time being, the yellow Y2 is permanently on and the red on standby.
 
Thank you very much for your kind responses. I was taking lots of photographs these days and testing different filters. It's amazing what can you get with filters. It seems that Yellow (8) and Yellow-Green (11) are the best option for everyday use. There is real wisdom in this forum.

Thanks again
 
Interesting topic, indeed. I have (but use rarely), a yellow for my 35mm Summilux, a yellow and red for my 21mm Super-Angulon-M, and a yellow and yellow-green for my 90mm Summicron-M. I found the yellow filters having the most positive effect, followed by the yellow-green filter. Using the red-filter, I found exposure difficult to control.
 
I only keep an orange and a yellow-green in the bag for B&W.

While losing some drama of these extremes, I find these two filters get me pretty well along accentuating the aspects of the subject that could use it.
 
Hi Double Negative,

Yes, it's from the lens to the filter. Gets confusing, and always worth checking ebay descriptions and pictures just to make sure...
 
I have nearly zero knowledge about filters.

Could you please give me some info about what a yellow filter for black&white photography is good for? I mean - it's already been mentioned that it increases contrast in the sky to show clouds better.
But what are the advantages of a yellow filter for let's say street photography or portraits?
 
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