FL-D vs. FL-W filter question

Hi all,

I did a search on this and am now even more confused.

 

I need to get a flourescent filter for some indoor stuff I'm going to

be messing around with. However, I'm unclear as to which of the two

Hoya filtesr to get - the FL-D or the FL-W. I know what they are

_supposed_ to be used for (D for daylight lights, W for "warm"

lights). But one post I found in my search said that Hoya names them

backwards, and that the FL-D, which seems like the most appropriate

one to get, is actually too weak to get the right affect.

 

Can anyone offer any empirical evidence as to which one will _likely_

be the most effective?

 

thanks.

Allen,

 

The short answer is neither.

 

I used to shoot a ton of slide shows (daylight transparency film) in the eighties and early nineties and found that the best choice of filter for fluorescent lighting, when no daylight is present, is either a 30 magenta or 40 magenta. And of the two, the 40 magenta usually was the best choice. Either way you'll lose about a stop of light.

 

Often I'd shoot with a 40 magenta filter over the lens and a Vivitar 283 dialed down a stop for fill with a 40 green filter over the flash.

 

In fact, Kodak recommends a 35 magenta filter for most fluorescent conditions when using daylight transparency film.

Hm. Intriguing. I know that the FL* filters are magenta (ish) in color. Yet they aren't quite the right shade of magenta, is that the problem?

 

I buy all 77mm filters so I can just stick to one size for now, but it seems only Tiffen makes a 77mm magenta filter of any kind, and it's a 30. Do you know of any other 77mm magenta 40 filters?

 

thanks.

Allen,

 

I don't know off-hand who else might manufacture a 77mm 40 magenta filter. You could check all the usual suspects like BW, Hoya and Calumet. Although I prefer glass filters you could look into Lee Filters and Sinar also makes filter holders and extremely expensive resin filters. Or you could go with Kodak gelatin CC filters.

 

Just the other day I was in the kitchen of my studio changing the battery of my Minolta color meter. I have no idea what fluorescent bulbs are in the ceiling fixtures but the color meter called for a 35 magenta filter and a slight blue filter as well. Correcting the green with a magenta filter is the most critical correction. A slight warm cast to the light is usually not objectionable.

 

Try the 30 magenta filter, some situations will only need a 30 magenta. Otherwise check what's available at B&H or Calumet.

Okay - thanks. I'll order the 30 magenta and see what happens.

 

thanks for all the help.

FL-D is for shooting under fluorescent lighting with daylight-balanced film (5500K). It should be read more as FL->D to indicate the color conversion. It's no perfect as all fluorescent bulbs emit different spectra, but it's a best guess kind of correction and generally works.

 

FL-W however is *NOT* for "Warm". FL->W if you read it correctly is for converting fluorescent lighting to W balanaced lighting. What's 'W'? It's the element symbol for tungsten. Hence, FL->W filters are for shooting under fluorescent lighting with Tungsten-balanced film (2900K). When people incorrectly refer to an FL->W as a fluorescent (warm) filter, it's because they're confusing the fluorescent balancing with the warm-balanced film it's meant to correct for.

 

If you're shooting with standard daylight film, get the FL->D.

Slight correction. Photographic Tungsten bulbs are actually 3200K... it's your home bulbs which get closer to 2900K. Sorry for the confusion.

I've got both but I find that the weaker one of the two isn't adequate. Additionally, the correction is rarely exact and if I were doing a lot of work under fluos I'd use CC filters starting, as suggested above, with 30 M and then adjusting in the light (!) of experience. In Richard Platt's handbook he lists a number of combinations of CC filters to correct for the different types of fluorescent light.