orange filters

I am interested in using an orange filter on my Mamiya 645. Apparently there are several shades of orange filter. Would someone please fill me in on the uses of the various shades?

 

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Thank you.

 

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Doug Anderson

Sorry for asking an obvious question - but if you don't know what orange filters do, how do you know that you need an orange filter?

 

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Orange filters are used in black and white photography to darken sky and green foliage, hence changing the look of the photograph.

 

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Try this link to <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/photo/filters/navigation.html">B and H</a> - there's lots of information on filters and good descriptions of where they're used - particularly if you follow the black and white links.

 

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For general background advice and information, I'd recommend you buy Ernst Wildi's book 'The Medium Format Advantage' - which contains this sort of information and lots more. Ernst is also the author of the 'Hasselblad Manual' which you should buy if you use a Hassy. The two books are practically the same, except for the extra Hasselblad specific chapters in the latter.

Yellow, Orange, and Red filters are "low-pass" filters. They all block light of shorter wavelengths (blue) and pass light of longer wavelengths (red). Yellow filters block only a little of the "bluest" light, whereas red filters block just about everything except red. Orange filters are somewhere in between.

 

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The more red the hue, the lower the cut-off and so the more extreme the effect. For example, blue skies will appear darker the closer the colour is to red. If the filter is closer to yellow, blue skies will appear much lighter---more like they do with a yellow filter.

I like the type G orange filter. You lose two stops of light with it. It darkens the sky moderately without darkening foliage.

The guy didn't ask what a orange filter does, he asked what the various shade distinctions are for. SO before you give insulting answers like, "if you don't know what an orange filter does how do you know you need one?" #1--he never said he needed one, he said he was interested in one. #2 he didn't say he didn't know what an orange filter does. So maybe you whip out your haughty and arrogant attitude you should read his question more cleary.

 

Now sir, to answer your question. There are various shades because of color differences. there is a yellow orange filter, a pure orange filter, and a red-orange filter. IT is as simple as that. a light orange would be considered a yellow orange, a medium orange would be considered a middle/pure orange, and a dark orange would be considered a red-orange. The choice is yours, it just depends on whether you want a light, medium or dark filter. I would suggest a pure orange to start out with so you can get a feel for what pure orange does before deciding whether you want a yellow-orange or red-orange. Have a nice day :)

Jason,<br><br>A bit late... 7 years and a bit...<br>;-)

Darn, 7 years, you know I never once looked at the date.

<p>And 5 years later, I found this info useful. thanks!</p>

<p>I also have to say I also found it helpful, thank you. @jason Mekeel Good thing you never checked the date.</p>

<p>Ditto... ;-)</p>