Film filters on a digital camera

[Aqua Letifer]

So, I've been messing around with old film filters. Color filters were often used in B&W film to restrict the dynamic range of the camera (thus boosting the contrast), smoothing out skin tones, creating more striking skies, etc. Now with digital cameras and photoshop, what's the point of the filters?

Well, they achieve some cool effects.

Here's a standard photo using out-of-the-box Fuji color science. No editing:

And here's the same shot with a Tiffen Yellow #15 filter attached. I mean yeah, unless you convert to B&W, it's gonna be yellow:

But what if you correct the tint and white balance? Is that enough to make it look like the first image? Not exactly.

See the difference? Muted cool colors, kind of a pink/tan tinge to neutrals, greens have a touch of teal, ridiculously saturated reds.

Here's another photo that really illustrates this:

It's a bit too strong an effect to use as-is, but it's a great way to add some more variability in color interpretations in a digital camera, especially if you're not a Photoshop nerd.

I bought about 5-6 old film filters on the ebays that used to be used to cut fluorescent lighting, tungsten color casts, etc. Gonna see what happens when I try the same with those.

[Mik]

looks great. i need to get my D80 out again and play with it.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Mik said in Film filters on a digital camera:

looks great. i need to get my D80 out again and play with it.

Heck yeah, man! No better time than now!

A guy I really like on the YouTubes is Matt Day. He lives in a boring ass town in Ohio (Chillicothe) with nothing going on, and pretty much all he does is take photos of his family. On film. But they're absolutely badass photos. He's living proof that stunning vistas and misted seascapes are for n00bs.

Jason Lee (yeah, actor guy) does some cool stuff on 35mm, too.

[Klaus]

Why are you using physical filters as opposed to adding filters in Lightroom or the like?

My impression is that the only kind of filter that still makes sense as physical filter is neutral density. You cannot (easily) simulate the effects of longer exposure or shallower depth of field in post processing.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Klaus said in Film filters on a digital camera:

Why are you using physical filters as opposed to adding filters in Lightroom or the like?

Because (1) it's a shitload faster than fiddling endlessly to find the right color cast you want to use to create a preset, and (2) there's nothing wrong with it. Using an old-ass B&W film filter in a different way is just as legitimate as using a Lightroom preset. Long story short, why the hell not, it's fun, and I want to learn about when and how I personally would want to use them in practice.

Also, regarding (1), if you're into portraits, it would take hours in Photoshop to achieve the same effect as a red or blue color filter. Especially with a subject with skin tone variations like freckles, or wrinkles.

[Larry]

@Mik said in Film filters on a digital camera:

looks great. i need to get my D80 out again and play with it.

Wife not home?......

[Aqua Letifer]

@Klaus said in Film filters on a digital camera:

My impression is that the only kind of filter that still makes sense as physical filter is neutral density. You cannot (easily) simulate the effects of longer exposure or shallower depth of field in post processing.

And a polarizer. Good luck getting rid of those reflections in post.

UVs are nice because they're cheap, don't change the exposure, and protect your lens against dust and scratches.

[George K]

@Larry said in Film filters on a digital camera:

@Mik said in Film filters on a digital camera:

looks great. i need to get my D80 out again and play with it.

Wife not home?......

I was thinking something along those lines, but your comment nailed it.