To filter or not to filter? (for B/W)

[Peter_Jones]

I've kept a yellow filter on for half a roll of colour 🙄 Glad I'm not the only one..


I use various coloured filters with my OMs, the stronger ones mainly for trad. films, yellow and orange for XP2 (not yet experimented with exposure + red or green with XP2)

Main thing is remembering how the colours will be represented on film. (eg lightening filter's colour, darkening others more so for the "opposite" colour)

Don't have a filter to fit the summitar yet though.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Dark Red is really a special purpose filter and doesn't get much use. It does strange things to foliage and maybe should be used with IR film for best effect. Even orange can be a bit tricky, but can be useful for toning down skin blemishes in portrait work.
Light yellow doesn't give much of an effect so if you're limiting youself to one or two general purpose filters a Yellow-Green or Dark Yellow seem best to me and give nice contrast.

 

[madsolitaire]

I was testing 2 lenses with Kodak CN41 B&W. The prints from the Nokton 40mm f1.4 came out more "contrasty" than the Summilux 50mm 1.4 Asph. I'm wondering if i should get a yellow or orange filter for the Summilux, but it seems that it's quite hard to find a E46 size that fits. For some strange reason, B+W doesn't seem to fit the Summilux. :-(

 

[jjovin]

I use filters very often and almost always when there is sky in the background.
The one I use the most is a deep red filter (091 B&W). I use it for both portraits and landscape. It adds very nice smoothness to the skin tones. My films of choice are
Technical Pan (developed in a variant of Pota at ASA 25 (I still have about 30 roles left)) and Delta 100 (split developed in D23). And all my filters are multi-coated.

Someone mentioned above that flair due to use of a filter ruined his sots. It never happened to me and I encourage the use of filters for better tonal controle with black and white films.

Regards,
Zoran

 

[kshapero]

I use a B+W MRC UV filter only on all my lens. I do alot of shotting near the ocean, so I want the protection from sand, salt breeze, etc. When I shoot B+W film it is eaiser to post process then remember to put the right filter on. That being said back in the old days, I loved using a yellow filter.