Filter Question

[kmp.13]

Hi there!

I’ve got a Rodenstock 150 Sironar-N lens. I’m at a bit of a loss on where to begin looking for filters. I will primarily be shooting black and white film and think I want a polarizing or red filter.

I’m showing my ignorance here but what am I to be looking for? What size and type and how does it attach to the lens? Do I need a certain accessory?

I’ve seen square filters, but how will I know if they’ll attach onto the lens?

[RandyB]

I would suggest that you go to Midwest Photo and/or World of Photography in Columbus. Be sure to take your lens with you. They can help you.

[xkaes]

The B&H photo website has lots of web pages explaining your filter options -- there are a lot of them.

[Drew Wiley]

My literature shows that lens having 49mm filter threads. But I recommend getting a 49 to 52 step-up ring so you can use more versatile 52mm filters. Ideally, get multicoated glass round ones. Hoya HMC variety is the best bang for the buck, and their selection does include medium red. These last longer and are easier to clean than rectangular plastic ones, and don't need a special intermediate holder.

On the B&H site, you go to the photography section, then to filters, then to black and white contrast filters, then to circular, then to the specific size and brand and color options. Step rings are listed as filter accessories. If you size up to 52mm, remember to order a 52mm lens cap too, under lens accessories. Another good source is filterfind.net. He's a filter liquidator across town here with quite a selection at discount pricing. I've visited his little warehouse.

[Mark J]

Red is quite extreme. I would recommend a yellow and orange, they are more versatile long-term.
I say this from having started with a red filter and then moved on after a short while !

[Drew Wiley]

I use red quite often, and have done so for decades, even at high altitude. Just apply the correct filter factor. Hoya also makes yellow and light orange, which I don't personally often use. What is really nice to have on hand is a DEEP ORANGE filter. Heliopan makes those; they're somewhat pricey, but that's the brand I use in that case - I highly recommended it as a start to your filter set. A 52mm Heliopan 22 deep orange filter will cost you around $50; but don't confuse that with a 22 B&W filter, which is actually light orange instead. Tiffen makes an analogous 24A red-orange filter which costs only $30, but is not coated at all, so will attracts grime and condensation more readily, and will need to be cleaned way more frequently. But regardless of uncoated, single-coated, or multi-coated, a lens shade should always be used when facing the sun.

Another Hoya favorite of mine is medium green X1. And Light Green Hoya X0 is more versatile for me than yellow per se. I don't use polarizing filters at all; but some people like them.

[Doremus Scudder]

kmp.13,

Before buying any filters, study up a bit on what color filters do in black-and-white photography. Most filter brochures have examples and I'm sure there's a Google page or two (plus a lot more stuff if you just search). This will guide you in your selection.

If you have, or plan to have, more than one filter size on your lenses, then, as Drew suggests, it's wise to get the larger size and then just use step-up rings on lenses with smaller filter sizes, if your lenses are somewhat close in filter sizes. I use 52mm filters for all my lenses that take 52mm and smaller filters, but have another set of larger filters for lenses between that and 67mm. Yes, I could standardize on 67mm filters for everything, but they are really just to big and bulky on small lenses. The advantage of using 52mm is that it was one of the standard Nikon filter sizes (along with 67mm) for most of their lenses for years and there are a ton of good, coated, filters in that size available used.

I carry six "contrast" filters in each of my two size choices in filter wallets. I have a yellow, green, orange, red, blue (80A or 80B color-conversion filter - more later) and a polarizer. I also carry a neutral density or two, usually screwed together with other filters so I just have six pockets of filters in the filter wallet.

FWIW, my most used filters are orange, the polarizer, and the green, in that order. Keep in mind, though, that filter choice has everything to do with the distribution of colors in the scene. I'll use green in the SW to separate the oranger rocks from other ones, but like orange or the polarizer at the coast to bring out clouds against the milky blue sky. I use the blue 80A (or a Wratten gel #44) to approximate the look of orthochromatic film at times. It's not a usual filter for most, I think. A bit of study and a lot of practice help in figuring out what colors do what and what works best for you.

The filter designations can be confusing at first. Different manufacturers have different designations for the same filter (e.g., a Wratten #8 filter is yellow, which can also be Y, K2, Y48, or 022 depending on the different manufacturer. Check out the Wikipedia page here for some common equivalents (scroll down a bit): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_factor .

Best,

Doremus

[Tin Can]

Just saw a video, 20X24 RA4 using handheld filter sheets

I tape them on

[Mark J]

I keep saying to myself I should use a green or a yellow-green more. I did take one shot yesterday with a Cokin green, but I need a better filter. . Fred Picker said something years ago in his book about its effect on subtle lighting on green landscapes.

[Mark Sampson]

Not quite off-topic, but I've found the #11 (yellow-green) green filter very useful when shooting spring landscapes... makes the leaves glow against a slightly darkened sky.
kmp.13, you have good advice in the previous answers.