Stearman press ZoneView viewing filter

[IanBarber]

I have been watching some Fred Picker Z VI videos and noticed he uses a viewing filter to see contrast with adjacent tones.

Being red/green color-blind, I do sometimes struggle especially if items close to one another are similar in tone. I know Ansel Adams used a Wratten #90 and that Fred Picker did at one point sell a Zone VI filer, both which I have looked on eBay for some time with no success here in the UK.

I was wondering if anyone has the Stearman press ZoneView viewing filter and what their thoughts are please.

Ian

[mpirie]

I have a Zone VI viewing filter in the round mount.

It's a Wratten 90 filter between two glass covers.

It's useful for judging which lens to use (ie. as a frame) but it's value in tone assessment is limited I find. If you look though it for a long time, the brain starts to fill the colours in so the value reduces the longer you stare through it.

Mike

[IanBarber]

Thanks Mike, I have searched high and low for a #90 Wratten filter, some on eBay but they are over £100

[Jac@stafford.net]

Fascinating, Ian. Thanks for bring this up. In my naivety I thought green/red blindness would be a benefit to estimating tonal ranges. Stupid me, especially since modern B&W film has dies to approximate common vision. Please keep us informed, and I'll go through the big box of filters looking for one, however futile it might be.

[Alan9940]

Ian,

I have a couple Zone VI Viewing filters and, as already stated, it's a Wratten #90. I think what some folks don't realize about these filters is that they're more intended to show the merging of tonal areas and overall contrast. I find them especially useful for evaluating deep shadow areas to ensure I have texture where I want it.

[Jim Noel]

There are, or were, a few other viewing filters on the market all of which are more dense, and thus of more use ,than the Zone VI.

[IanBarber]

Would the Stearman press ZoneView viewing filter do the same job as the original Zone VI viewing filter

[Bob Salomon]

Would the Stearman press ZoneView viewing filter do the same job as the original Zone VI viewing filter

Heliopan also made one, Spectra Labs had, might still have,two. One for color and one for B&W. I believe Harrison had one as well.

[Eric Woodbury]

Harrison does make one. Tiffen makes the #1 viewing filter, which is similar to the #90. Available at BH. Peak makes one. Harrison's is a blue filter, #47, which is a better formula than the brown.

Film sees blue-green. 'Normal' human eye sees green very well and blue or red not so well. A #47 filter helps normalize the response of the eye to what the film sees. The overall density helps with contrast as it allows you to better discern the highlights. The other trick of viewing filters is to go back and forth between filter/no-filter. This will allow your eye to see what is going to pop-out and what is going to go dark.

I photograph often with a friend, former cinematographer, who has red-green blindness. Mostly he doesn't see the red flowers. Neither does the film. He uses the blue viewing filter.

[mpirie]

Ian, it might be worth having a look at the Lee Filters website.

They supply lighting gels for the movie industry and the #90 is Olive green, so something like a Lee 741 gel (from a swatch sample) may be enough.

http://www.leefilters.com/lighting/c...#741&filter=tf

Mike