What 1 filter should I get?

<p>I'm a newbie with black&white film, I would like to get just one filter to get more contrast out of my images, I know you can get red, orange and yellow for varying degrees of contrast, I guess what I'm looking for is one filter that I can use for general b&W work, any suggestions on which type and which brand? Thanks.</p>

<p>It's pretty hard to say for just one, but I'd personally recommend a red filter which will give you dark sky effects.<br /> Start out with something like a Tiffen or Hoya filter. If you use it a lot, maybe something of greater cost.</p>

<p>There are eBay sources that sell really cheap filters for incredible prices postpaid from China. I've got some just to see, and they really seem to be usable. Try a few, you could afford a whole set for the price of a fancy, high-priced filter.</p>

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<p>I'm partial to orange for a more dramatic blue sky without the sometimes melodramatic look of red. It's also often flattering for photos of people in candid photos - it minimizes minor blemishes, redness from heat, etc., without whiting-out lips like a red filter can. A light orange or deep yellow would be my second choices. Lighter yellow seems to do too little.</p>

<p>Hoya and Kenko are good values. Occasionally you can find good quality used filters cheaply. And I've bought a bunch of cheap Cokin filters at camera shop closeouts to experiment with. When I found an effect I liked I bought an equivalent in a better quality filter.</p>

<p>"just one filter to get more contrast out of my images,"" one filter that I can use for general b&W work,"<br /><br /> This is what you need:<br /><br /> "Heliopan Light Yellow Filter (5) EV 1.5 2X LV -0.5 to -1<br />The Light Yellow slightly reduces blue and is suitable for all outdoor exposures. Slightly darkens blue sky. White clouds become more visible. Filter factor 1.5 to 2X."<br /> <br />Nothing spectacular, for photos that look natural. This is my default outdoor filter, alterning with a B+W polarizing filter for some mountain landscapes; Indor a UV filter just to protect the front lens.</p>

<p>Don't go for drama, go for good solid photography (you can do the "drama" in post-production). Follow Didier's advise - that is what I'd tell you if he didn't already.</p>

<p>Oh... and a lens hood too if you aren't using one already.</p>

<p>My terrible secret is out, for all my criticism of glowing edge HDR pictures. Some of us quite like a (melo)dramatic effect, otherwise just shoot without a filter, eh?<br /> That's why you might do well to get a whole set of $3-5 filters from China, try them out to see what YOU like, and then invest in a better quality for that one or two.</p>

<p>Of course, if you shoot in color film, then you can apply any B&W filter effect you want in printing or post-processing. ;)</p>

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<p>"(you can do the "drama" in post-production)"</p>

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<p>It's difficult to mimic the effect of a red or orange filter in post/editing with panchromatic b&w film. Unlike color film or digital capture, with panchromatic film either it's in the negative or it isn't. Burning in the sky may not accomplish the same effect that could have been done more easily with the appropriate filter during exposure.</p>

<p>A light yellow filter has so little effect it's hardly worth bothering with. Mostly I use them as protective filters if I'm out during wet weather. I've had the Rollei light yellow on my 2.8C TLR and the oddball sized Olympus filter on my 35 RC, just because they came with the cameras. I tried 'em with and without, with several b&w panchromatic films, and Kodak and Ilford's C-41 process monochrome films. Couldn't tell much difference between the with and without results. That pretty well matches the sample photos you can sometimes find on the product brochures and websites for the filter manufacturers.</p>

<p>A yellow green filter is a nice compromise that isn't underfiltered or overfiltered. I use a Hoya (HMC) XO. I have a orange and red also, but end up using the yellow green most of the time.</p>

<p>I like some drama, and rarely use anything for B&W except red and a polarizer.</p>

<p>Here is an few page article from a May, 1953, issue of <em>Modern Photography</em> that gives much more detail. Of course, the films are mostly long since gone, as are the makers, but the general effects information may be useful to anyone facing the issue of what filters do in B&W (& color).</p>

<p>"A light yellow filter has so little effect it's hardly worth bothering with"<br />At least you can keep - and even increase - details in shadows and highligts, if this is what is wanted.</p>

<p>Thanks JDM, I really love those old interchange tables. That is the first I've seent hat gives nomenclature for so many filter makers. Fun reading!</p>

<p>Steve: Me too. Just started shooting BW and bought a yellow, orange and red to try out to see what works best, when. I also have a polarizer that has it's own effect on the sky and can be combined with the contrast filters as well. I shoot landscapes so my selection was made with that in mind. However if you shoot portraits, the filter selection will be different.</p>

<p>So I followed JDM suggestions before he made it to get all three contrast filters to try out to see what I like. I went the expensive route first getting good filters figuring I'll use them all at one time or the other. But JDM's suggestion for cheap Chinese filters might work for you. The point is to try them all to see what works for you. I haven't shot enough yet to tell you my favorites.</p>

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#8 Yellow is a good one to start.

<p><em>A yellow green filter is a nice compromise that isn't underfiltered or overfiltered. I use a Hoya (HMC) XO. I have a orange and red also, but end up using the yellow green most of the time.</em><br>

Me too! Orange and red are of course more dramatic, but the results IMHO are a bit like shouting all the time!</p>

<p>+1 for yellow-green. Does clouds nicely, and also gives foliage a more pleasant look (have you notice how dark is typical foliage, both for the lightmeter and on the b/w image?).</p>

<p><em>... May, 1953, issue of Modern Photography ...</em><br>

My experience suggests that the spectral sensitivity of films has changed since 1953. At that time a landscape taken without a filter would almost certainly have a white sky, film manufacturers suggested a medium yellow filter was required for balanced spectral sensitivity. Films now would render the same sky as a light gray - rather boring but not completely toneless.</p>

Very big fan of Orange when not doing special processing. I think this started

for me because I noticed Ansel Adams used an Orange filter quite often. It was

one of the filters availabke to me for my Zeiss Ikon Contessa too, and I noticed

the tonal range of the negative was very agreeable and easy to make good

prints from.

<p>Another vote for a yellow-green. Works good for landscapes and works good for portraits.</p>

<p>There is no specific filter for general B&W work. If your images lack of contrast, I would question your development and printing process. There is no silver bullet and in your situation, using a filter would add to the confusion.<br>

Take care.</p>

<p>Another factor: Filters on the lens don't necessarily change the contrast with b&w film. They change the tonal values. In some cases the filter may actually decrease the contrast by bringing differing tonal values closer together.</p>

<p>I like the orange filter not because it "increases contrast". I like it for exactly the opposite reason - it decreases contrast by rendering a blue sky at a shade of gray that's closer to what I see in the original blue sky. If the foreground contains darker objects - buildings, trees, etc. - the orange filter brings the sky closer to the value I want for the overall photo. Without the filter the sky might have been too light or whited out - that would create more contrast relative to the rest of the photo. Choosing the right filter for the situation saves me having to burn in the sky to restore the tone that would have been better recorded on the film in the first place.</p>

<p>Contrast is increased through developing and printing choices. Variable contrast papers, filters and selective application of yellow/magenta along with dodging/burning gives the printer tremendous flexibility for contrast control.</p>

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<p>*<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/1605880-lg.jpg" alt="Bass Hall, in light and shadow" width="500" height="499" border="0" /><br /> <br />*TMX @ 100 with Rollei orange filter, straight neutral work print. I wanted the sky to be as close as possible to the value of the shadows. In this case, the orange filter reduced contrast in a scene with extremely hard shadows.</p>

<p><br /> <img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/1596474-lg.jpg" alt="Triad" width="646" height="600" border="0" /><br /><br />Same as above, TMX @ 100 with Rollei orange filter, straight neutral work print. The blue sky was brilliant, and the orange filter rendered it as I imagined the print would look, without having to do any selective dodging/burning of the white or gray buildings, or black glass building at the rear.</p>

<p>While I have a variety of filters, I reach for the deep yellow more often if I only want to take one filter along. It darkens the sky and brings out the clouds enough to be interesting, but not overwhelming. Red tends to darken green grass and leave too much for my tastes. Also some CDS meters may slightly underexpose when metering through a red filter (apparently some CDS meters are overly sensitive to red light). If you still can't decide see if you can find a deal on a set, possibly at a camera shop that is closing them out or look online.</p>

<p>See what happens when you ask a simple question here?? :)<br>

Good suggestions above. My favorites are deep yellow or orange. Yellow/green is nice when a fair amount of foliage is in the scene. Light yellow seems to do little in the end.</p>