Physical Color Filter with Digital

[TheDude]

In order to better visualize the effect of a particular color filters for a B&W image, digital offers the advantage of being able to preview/review the image at the camera screen at the exposure stage (either before exposure or even the actual digital negative). Consequently, I tried using my old, physical B&W color filters with my iPhone X. The tricolor filters, #25, #58, #47A, resulted in a B&W image with almost no gray tones. Apparently, "strong" physical B&W color filters do not mesh well with the Bayer filter mosaic of the color sensor. However, my preliminary results suggest that light yellow #8 and light yellow-green #11 (for lightening up dark tropical vegetation) work satisfactory, are not available as digital filters (Camera1), and therefore, could be quite useful for general B&W landscape work. My other camera is a CFV-50c Hasselblad digital back, which, unlike my iPhone app, has no digital color filters.

I wonder what is everyone else’s experiences. Any recommendations or suggestions?

I assume, achromatic (B&W) cameras/sensors like PhaseOne Achromatic, Leica Monochrom, or certain Huawei smartphones shouldn’t have any issues working with any physical B&W color filters.

MN

 

[Fredrick]

I do indeed have some files from the D800E shot with a deep red filter. I'll see if I can dig them up.


EDIT: Ok, so I was able to dig up some files. Which one do you think is shot with the Red filter, and which one is not?

 

[TheDude]

Which one do you think is shot with the Red filter, and which one is not?

The shades and greens are less dense in the top photograph, so I would say no red filter here.

Ansel Adams, quite observant, wrote in The Negative, "some cases, the effect [red filter] in the shadows is more pronounced than in the sky itself ... also absorb green, further increasing the overall contrast in landscapes".

 

[JoelM]

Wow, I was going to say the opposite that the red filter was used in the upper one.