Recommend me filters for LF

[Asha]

OK you LF togs, I need help re filters.

Filters are like flash to me.......I've played around with them at times but never really fully studied or understood how to use them to obtain the best from them.

So, with LF landscape photography, what do I realistically need and what will I gain from them bearing in mind that I'll be shooting predominantly b&w film ...... please keep the explanations simple so as to match my intelligence

In addition any recommendations of brands, type, etc will be of immense help.

I don't want to break the bank however as I only wish to pay out once with a view of being happy with their performance, I don't wish to be looking at cheap tack that I will end up upgrading at a later date.

 

[robhooley167]

I've been using Lee Colour gel filters and ND grads for a few years, even with colour slide they do not affect image quality.

The ND grads are not cheap, but I have only really used a 2 stop hard grad, and a 2 stop soft grad for the majority of my images. The colour gels are fairly affordable, if they get damaged you can replace the gel filter in the frame with lighting gels also made by Lee.

As with many filter systems, once you have the holder and filter ring adaptor, you can basically use anything that fits in them. I like the adaptability of the Lee system, as I can change the number of filter slots on the holder if I have an especially wide angle lens on.

Links

Filter holder - http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-lee-foundation-kit/p1010393 (you would need an adaptor ring to attach it to your lens as well)

ND grads - http://www.wexphotographic.com/squa...filters/b3073-m144?showall=1&series=lee_100mm (Note that Wex don't have the entirity of the 100mm range, but they have a few of them which will give you an idea of the prices)

Colour Gels - http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-lee-black-and-white-filter-set/p1010707



I bought into the Lee system after a reccomendation from @Woodsy, and he has more experience with them than I, so he may be better placed to offer advice.

 

[medwaygreen]

Well Asha as you will be shooting B&W the range of coloured filters is Yellow(various intensities) orange and red,there are also blue and green,but,used less so for B&W.

One of each would be OK and if your have different lens threads then buy the largest and use step down filters,the best economic way.

Here is a concise article to show you the effects. Much better then me trying to explain with the written word.

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/using-coloured-filters-in-black-and-white-photography

 

[StephenM]

There's a thread with some examples of the effect of colour filters (albeit done in Photoshop...) here. Pookeyhead posted a tutorial (I think it was) on the effect of filters with some really good illustrations, and I think that somewhere I once posted a precis of the effect of different coloured filters (from my infamous book) in black and white, and what they worked best for.

I have red, orange, various yellows, two greens and even a blue. For landscapes generally, I usually favour yellow or orange unless there is a lot of foliage when the greens come out. Ansel Adams often used a so called "minus blue" yellow filter.

 

[ChrisR]

As most, I usually use a yellow or an orange for black and white. I did go through a phase of using a red filter, but they lose a stop or so, and tend to increase contrast (AFAICR) which might not be what you want down there in the midi!

I guess you might well find grads useful, but if you're mainly interested in black and white, you aren't so worried about colour shifts, so you can go for one of the cheaper ones. There's Cokin of course (may even be a French brand?) and SRB looks like pretty good vfm in the UK.

But, since I expect you know most of this stuff, I wonder if you aren't asking mostly about which size filter kit to buy for LF lenses?

 

[Asha]

I've been using Lee Colour gel filters and ND grads for a few years, even with colour slide they do not affect image quality.

The ND grads are not cheap, but I have only really used a 2 stop hard grad, and a 2 stop soft grad for the majority of my images. The colour gels are fairly affordable, if they get damaged you can replace the gel filter in the frame with lighting gels also made by Lee.

As with many filter systems, once you have the holder and filter ring adaptor, you can basically use anything that fits in them. I like the adaptability of the Lee system, as I can change the number of filter slots on the holder if I have an especially wide angle lens on.

Links

Filter holder - http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-lee-foundation-kit/p1010393 (you would need an adaptor ring to attach it to your lens as well)

ND grads - http://www.wexphotographic.com/squa...filters/b3073-m144?showall=1&series=lee_100mm (Note that Wex don't have the entirity of the 100mm range, but they have a few of them which will give you an idea of the prices)

Colour Gels - http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-lee-black-and-white-filter-set/p1010707



I bought into the Lee system after a reccomendation from @Woodsy, and he has more experience with them than I, so he may be better placed to offer advice.

Thanks for the info and links Rob

As you say the grads aren't cheap but hey what is in LF

Well Asha as you will be shooting B&W the range of coloured filters is Yellow(various intensities) orange and red,there are also blue and green,but,used less so for B&W.

One of each would be OK and if your have different lens threads then buy the largest and use step down filters,the best economic way.

Here is a concise article to show you the effects. Much better then me trying to explain with the written word.

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/using-coloured-filters-in-black-and-white-photography

Thanks for the link Richard, I'll hve to re read it several times to get it all to sink in but it is informative and just what i need tbh.

I've used yellow filters before, in fact i used one on the Leica in the IOM and the Peaks meet in Sept but other than being aware how it enhances skies ( clouds predominantly) I don't really understand much more about it or any other filter for that matter ( except polarising for dealing with reflective surfaces and ND for

There's a thread with some examples of the effect of colour filters (albeit done in Photoshop...) here. Pookeyhead posted a tutorial (I think it was) on the effect of filters with some really good illustrations, and I think that somewhere I once posted a precis of the effect of different coloured filters (from my infamous book) in black and white, and what they worked best for.

I have red, orange, various yellows, two greens and even a blue. For landscapes generally, I usually favour yellow or orange unless there is a lot of foliage when the greens come out. Ansel Adams often used a so called "minus blue" yellow filter.

I'll take a read of that link Stephen, thank you.
Hopefully I won't confuse myself daft

As most, I usually use a yellow or an orange for black and white. I did go through a phase of using a red filter, but they lose a stop or so, and tend to increase contrast (AFAICR) which might not be what you want down there in the midi!

I guess you might well find grads useful, but if you're mainly interested in black and white, you aren't so worried about colour shifts, so you can go for one of the cheaper ones. There's Cokin of course (may even be a French brand?) and SRB looks like pretty good vfm in the UK.

But, since I expect you know most of this stuff, I wonder if you aren't asking mostly about which size filter kit to buy for LF lenses?

I've never used grads before so it will be another learning curve, hopefully a simpe one.

The thing is with me as i tend to know a bit about allsorts but rarely do i fully understand completely anything wether it be filters, flash or even women

 

[steveo_mcg]

I don't think grads need to be any more expensive for LF, most of the front elements of my LF lenses are smaller than the RB and the filters I have for that aren't terribly expensive. Not that I bother tbh I just apply a grad filter in LR most of the time.

Colour filters are different, when I remember them, I always put a yellow or orange filter on. The yellow filter lives on the Ikonta since its a rangefinder and I'm not constantly looking through it and most of the time I just leave one on the OM since the vf is bright enough that the half stop isn't too annoying.

 

[Kevin Allan]

I must preface my comments by saying I don't use LF but will excuse my ignorance by noting that there is nothing large-format specific about filters. The same principles apply to medium format or 35mm.

I occasionally use a green filter to lighten grass or leaves, and an orange filter to increase cloud contrast. But as for grads, I have a cheap Cokin set but have only used them with colour slide film, where the narrow dynamic range is a real issue. With colour negative I am happy to use either the gradient filter in Lightroom, or the adjustment brush for more localised adjustments. With B&W film, I can do the same manipulations in LR, but also have the option of dodging and burning a darkroom print. I used to have Lee filters on my "one day" shopping list but now I don't see the need, for film use.

I usually have a UV filter on for protection and don't think much about whether it is changing the image - but if you're working in those high mountains in your part of the world then it will be useful to reduce haze.