First time shooting w/filters. I see no difference. What gives?

[Hjortsberg]

Sounds weird. This is something like what you ought to be seeing:

http://www.pbase.com/smcleod965/filter_test

This was a comparison between two different orange filters. Yellow will be a bit more subtle but should still be clearly visible.

HTH,
Scott

thanks for posting that. i've looked at them and it seems to be all about the clouds. i can't see a big difference in the trees, grounds, buildings.

that being said, there were not many clouds around when I did my tests.

 

[Pablito]

Light yellow has a very very subtle effect. Med yellow a bit more.

Personally, I pass on yellow and go straight to orange if needed.

It depends on how blue the sky is. If the sky is dark blue a light yellow can make a big difference, not subtle at all. But a light yellow may barely be noticeable in a blue-grey sky.

 

[charjohncarter]

It depends on how blue the sky is. If the sky is dark blue a light yellow can make a big difference, not subtle at all. But a light yellow may barely be noticeable in a blue-grey sky.

Very true, and if you shoot into the sun or close to it you will see zero effect. Plus, even Cirrus clouds will make it so there is very little difference.

 

[Rayt]

So when shooting in an urban environment on an overcast day with no sky showing using b/w filters is a waste of film speed?

 

[chris00nj]

I've had that experience as well. Same with polarizer even when properly using it

 

[Jack Conrad]

R2 Red filter on a dslr. Yikes... Broad daylight +4 stops.

 

[ssmc]

thanks for posting that. i've looked at them and it seems to be all about the clouds. i can't see a big difference in the trees, grounds, buildings.

that being said, there were not many clouds around when I did my tests.

Actually, yellow/orange/red filters make the sky darker - the clouds stay the same, so even with a clear sky you get more tonal separation between the sky and landscape. Obviously, a lot depends on what you're photographing. Orange filters can be very flattering on caucasian skin, tending to reduce the contrast of imperfections. A blue filter can make you look like you've got skin cancer. Orange can also provide nice tonal separation on foliage even without flowers (check the trees in the foreground in the examples in my previous post). Also notice that the Bridger Range in the distance is clearer with the filters - the atmosphere in between scatters blue light from the sky, so the orange "cuts through it"; red would be even better for this purpose but at the risk of an overly-dramatic effect on the rest of the scene (see Jack's post)

Green (like the Hoya X1) can make desert scenes more contrasty - yellow/orange/red sandstones end up darker, while leaving the sky fairly bright.

Personally I wish I could get Wratten 23 filters in sizes that would be useful for camera lenses. This particular orange cutoff is used extensively for astronomy and gives foliage just about the most "pop" I've seen through an orange filter but as far as I can tell it only comes in sizes suitable for telescope eyepieces.

Scott