Using contrast viewing filters

[Timo Haapasaari]

How do you use these filters and which type you use? I bought this Tiffen b&w filter mainly to observe the clouds, but I'm interested in using it for contrast viewing as well. There just isn't so many people that do it anymore, so nobody has ever been able to explain me the basic techniques. For example if I take the yellow tone in consideration, does it make any sense to use the b&w filter when shooting on color?

[Alejandro Caña]

How do you use these filters and which type you use? I bought this Tiffen b&w filter mainly to observe the clouds, but I'm interested in using it for contrast viewing as well. There just isn't so many people that do it anymore, so nobody has ever been able to explain me the basic techniques. For example if I take the yellow tone in consideration, does it make any sense to use the b&w filter when shooting on color?

 

I´m not sure, but the main use of these filters is to separate the different grey tones of your scene. Even you are shooting on color, each color has a correspondance in a grey so you can know in wich part of the sensitometric scale is that color. It helps you to expose your scene in a more contrast way or in softer way. You can also use it to look forward the fresnel lense to see where is the main hit of light so you can direct it to the part of the scene you want to.

 

Sorry for my english!

[Drew Hoffman]

The B&W viewing filter is specifically designed for B&W film... there are color filters available in different film speed ranges that will render a more accurate example of what you should expect to see on film. Just look through the glass and it will give you a feel for how the contrast will appear on film. With the B&W filter, it will also help you determine color seperation so your grays don't blend together in a way you don't want them to. Only look through it for short bursts of time however, or your eye will start to adjust to it and skew your perception. As for using a viewing filter to look into a light source... I'd recomend getting a gaffer's glass for that, which is a really heavy ND filter (7.5 stops) for fine tuning lights and observing cloud movement across the sun.