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Using IR Cut / NDs with 35mm Film


Ben Ericson

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I am looking to purchase a set of hard stop screw on filters for my set of Leica R lenses. I will be using these lenses on a Nikon Mount Eyemo 35mm camera.

Would using an IR cut / ND have any effect on the 35mm film? Is this only something that can happen in digital? Should I just get the IR cut filters so am safe to use them on any digital sensor as well or would I bet better suited to buy straight ND filters?

I was looking at these. Thanks for the help!

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1089638-REG/formatt_hitech_fc52irnd_9_firecrest_52mm_nd_plus.html

 

Edited by Ben Ericson
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The Formatt Firecrest should be fine on 35mm film since color negative stock is not usually sensitive to IR light, and the Firecrests (and other modern IR cut brands like Mitomo TrueND, Schneider Rhodium, etc) work by reducing IR and visible light equally. That said, I have not tested myself, as I still use my regular Tiffen White Water NDs on film. So please take with a grain of salt and do your own tests for definitive results.  

I think it makes sense to just use these modern ND filters for all cameras going forward. My current digital camera has internal NDs, so I have not needed to invest in a new set yet. But that may be changing soon. Please let us know what you learn going forward!

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2 hours ago, Satsuki Murashige said:

The Formatt Firecrest should be fine on 35mm film since color negative stock is not usually sensitive to IR light, and the Firecrests (and other modern IR cut brands like Mitomo TrueND, Schneider Rhodium, etc) work by reducing IR and visible light equally. That said, I have not tested myself, as I still use my regular Tiffen White Water NDs on film. So please take with a grain of salt and do your own tests for definitive results.  

I think it makes sense to just use these modern ND filters for all cameras going forward. My current digital camera has internal NDs, so I have not needed to invest in a new set yet. But that may be changing soon. Please let us know what you learn going forward!

Thanks for the info. I might just go with the Tiffen White Water and grab a separate IR cut filter if needed.

According to reviews online, even the White Water IRND has problems with a green shift. This is apparently pretty common with IR cut filters. Do you have any issues with color shift with your White Water NDs?

I would rather just not deal with any shift in post, which is why I prefer to shoot with a stock that works best for lighting and no filters whenever possible.

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1 hour ago, Ben Ericson said:

Thanks for the info. I might just go with the Tiffen White Water and grab a separate IR cut filter if needed.

According to reviews online, even the White Water IRND has problems with a green shift. This is apparently pretty common with IR cut filters. Do you have any issues with color shift with your White Water NDs?

I would rather just not deal with any shift in post, which is why I prefer to shoot with a stock that works best for lighting and no filters whenever possible.

Though they are fine on film and when used in lighter grades on digital cameras with internal NDs, I would not buy the Tiffen White Water ND filters again today if I had the choice. It just makes more sense to get the modern style NDs that will work on all cameras.

Note that Tiffen have both regular ‘ND’ and ‘IRND’ in their White Water glass series. The IRNDs are the older style that have a progressive green tint to counteract IR contamination. You do not want the latter, they will make your footage look green.

You also do not want a separate IR Cut filter. You will either find the older Tiffen T1, which is the green color element in their old-style ‘IRND’ series, hot mirrors, or the Schneider Dichroic filters like the IR750 and IR690. They all have downsides, not worth it in this day and age when you can get better performance in a single filter. 

TL;DR. Just buy the Firecrests (or other modern ND series).  
 

 

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On 6/29/2020 at 7:20 PM, Satsuki Murashige said:

Though they are fine on film and when used in lighter grades on digital cameras with internal NDs, I would not buy the Tiffen White Water ND filters again today if I had the choice. It just makes more sense to get the modern style NDs that will work on all cameras.

Note that Tiffen have both regular ‘ND’ and ‘IRND’ in their White Water glass series. The IRNDs are the older style that have a progressive green tint to counteract IR contamination. You do not want the latter, they will make your footage look green.

You also do not want a separate IR Cut filter. You will either find the older Tiffen T1, which is the green color element in their old-style ‘IRND’ series, hot mirrors, or the Schneider Dichroic filters like the IR750 and IR690. They all have downsides, not worth it in this day and age when you can get better performance in a single filter. 

TL;DR. Just buy the Firecrests (or other modern ND series).  
 

 

Thank you again. I went ahead and bought a few of the Firecrests. I'll let you know how it goes. 

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