Voigtlander Bessa II and yellow filter

[ricardo_court]

<p>I sold my Rolleicord IV and went looking for a Voigtlander Bessa. The Bessa RF had a hinged yellow filter on the lens. I am guessing indoors no filter, outdoors filter. B&W film filter, color film no filter. I bought a Bessa II which has a coated 'Color Heliar' and no hinged filter. I have never shot MF with a coated lens. Does the coating do anything to lessen the need to use a yellow filter to correct tones for outdoor B&W Photography? And, while we are at it, is the yellow filter good for environmental portraits as well as landscapes?</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Coatings increase overall contrast by reducing internal lens flare. So I`d say it shouldn`t change the tonal rendition at all... but it is also true that some lenses out there already show a yellowish rendition without any filter (don`t know the Bessa). <br /> A yellow filter on b&w darkens everything on the bluish side, while it makes yellows brighter and with more separation. It is interesting because the balance is closer to what we see; e.g. skies are rendered darker, clouds are more evident, and foliage is brighter. On portraiture there is not a huge difference, it gives a maybe more natural look; but I think you`ll be better here with a greenish filter, which enhance reds. Consider that contrast filters could also give darker shadows.<br /> So I think you should test it specifically with your camera. Anyway, I think a light yellow filter with a soft effect could be used for almost everything.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>The filter has nothing to do with lens coating. A yellow filter, as Jose correctly explains, is standard equipment in B&W to get tones that come close to what is seen with the naked eye, particulary in outdoor shots that show the sky. Without a filter, skies that look medium or even dark blue with nice puffy white clouds will go sort of bland, with the blue lightening up to the point that the white clouds don't "pop" anymore. With a yellow filter, the blue sky comes out a darker shade and the clouds "pop" the way they do when you see them. A red filter does the same to an even great effect, but the yellow results in a more or less natural effect.</p>

[david_l3]

<p>I have a Bessa with the hinged yellow filter. If I remember right, back before coatings and newer lens designs, lenses were corrected for the red end of the light spectrum. They were not as well corrected at the blue end. There was some sharpness improvement with the yellow filter as it took out the (out of focus) blue light. It seems to make sense, but I never verified it for myself. </p>

[dave_thomas8]

<p>I suspect it's more likely that the early, non-panchromatic films were skewed toward blue and ultraviolet in sensitivity, and yellow would cut off the UV and reduce the blue input. That would result in a more panchromatic response, and no doubt the lenses were not corrected for UV, so chopping that out might produce sharper results.</p>

[ricardo_court]

<p>Thank you all four. I thought I was asking a yes or no question! Very interesting. I have found and purchased a 37mm push on Voigtlander filter. It makes sense that panchromatic film will have more (and by that I mean too much) visible information toward the blue/violet/uv that will handicap the Heliar.</p>