Graduated color filters?

[wolan]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi,

I did not know, but apparently much like the graduated neutral filters there are graduated color filters with for example only the upper part colored, for example to darken the sky.

Have you experience with them? 

One reason I might use one of them is that a red filter, especially the strong one, blocks a lot of light, to the point that I end up shooting with high ISO on a sunny day. The half-colored filter should in theory let more light in

Thanks.

 

[Ken Abrahams]

3 hours ago, wolan said:

Hi,

I did not know, but apparently much like the graduated neutral filters there are graduated color filters with for example only the upper part colored, for example to darken the sky.

Have you experience with them? 

One reason I might use one of them is that a red filter, especially the strong one, blocks a lot of light, to the point that I end up shooting with high ISO on a sunny day. The half-colored filter should in theory let more light in

Thanks.

 

I haven't heard of GCD graduated coloured density filters. Sounds very interesting to dampen bright blue skies. Usually the graduated part is to stop the intensity of light which is what you are saying and allow the lower half to expose optimally for black and white film and monochrome cameras. I have a feeling there would be darkened objects such as buildings or trees which are blue affected objects and might look dark in comparison. The masking functions in Photoshop have been updated and are very good tools now. One such function is still on the Beta version and soon to be introduced. I would think the post processing would prove a better solution with careful exposure settings. PS settings Select Object, Remove Background (excellent results) and Select Sky also good but the mask still needs some tidying up.   

[darylgo]

Very limited use of Lee coral graduated filters used with color film to warm the image and retain the blue sky for landscape work.  The use of grads is not a casual exercise and the smallish M lenses don't lend themselves well to a softer transition.  I am finding a polarizer works well to darken skies and requires less light loss than some red filters, of course it also has issues and is not perfect for all situations.  At one time B+W made colored grads for screw in filter sizes, I have a red one, the limitation is the red/clear boundary is dead center.  

[pippy]

11 hours ago, wolan said:

...I did not know, but apparently...there are graduated color filters with for example only the upper part colored, for example to darken the sky...

...One reason I might use one of them is that a red filter, especially the strong one, blocks a lot of light, to the point that I end up shooting with high ISO on a sunny day. The half-colored filter should in theory let more light in...

For many years - and from Early Days - Leitz made Graduated Colour filters and in many mount-types. The only colours which spring to mind, however, are Yellow and Green Grads. This isn't to sy that others don't exist but I cannot remember ever seeing a Red nor an Orange. I sort-of think I've seen a Blue but might be mistaken.

Here, by way of illustration, are a Yellow in 50mm f1;5 Summarit Bayonet Mount and a Green in A36 Cinch-Clip mount;

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Such filters are quite easy to find for little financial outlay on the used market. As well as the styles shown above there are also filters for the 50mm f2.0 Summitar and so on.

I haven't seen any in the more 'standard' E39 screw-in type but, again, that doesn't mean they don't exist.

It would not surprise me to learn that other colours of Grad were (are?) available for filter-systems such as Cokin and Lee.

Philip.

[dante]

Been there, tried that. Not very convenient. You either have round filters with a fixed horizon line or square ones so big that you have to use an EVF to see what you are doing. I don't think in practice that most b/w filtration benefits from differential treatment of the sky and items below the horizon line. 

The better solution in some cases (though requiring an EVF) would be a polarizer, since it only operates heavily on the blue of the sky (and reflections in glass/water). Everywhere else, it's an ND2x.

D

[darylgo]

A friend uses grad filters in a unique way, he would pull the filter out of his pocket and proceed to handhold it in front of his lens and it worked.  In my endeavors I've attempted to convert non grads to a grad by holding the filter so it covered only the desired portion of the frame.  Glass and plastic filters failed, the edges were too thick and were visible in the photo.  A thin gel filter like the kodak wratten does work and I was able to place a red 3x3 gel filter handheld in front of the 50 summilux with the filtration on the sky only.  A crude experiment, yet it worked.  The filter used is linked below,  alternatively buy a sheet of red lighting plastic and experiment, it won't be optically perfect, yet will show what can be done.  

https://www.filmtools.com/leepowrstfis-5708.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqnFgMvdEij7afD0_NkYdrgqrf9bQ0D4qV5Lt8nSI6T4uq2otfNEcY&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c

[pippy]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

8 hours ago, dante said:

Been there, tried that......You either have round filters with a fixed horizon...

Not quite true.

The A36 cinch-clip filters can, as should be obvious, be mounted in any orientation desired. The Bayonet-fit Summarit filters - as they are by their very nature 'rotational' - can be mounted with the 'horizon' line angled in different positions.

Been there, tried that. It works.

Philip.

Edited April 2 by pippy

[jaapv]

You can still buy them:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071Z2K44W?tag=ftb005-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

[dante]

58 minutes ago, pippy said:

Not quite true.

The A36 cinch-clip filters can, as should be obvious, be mounted in any orientation desired. The Bayonet-fit Summarit filters - as they are by their very nature 'rotational' - can be mounted with the 'horizon' line angled in different positions.

Been there, tried that. It works.

Philip.

Fixed horizon in that it is always in the same position relative to the widest part of the filter. The rotation is not the problem; it's the up-down placement. This is exactly the reason why ND grads are so much more fun with Cokin-like systems. 

D

Edited April 3 by dante

[dante]

2 hours ago, darylgo said:

A friend uses grad filters in a unique way, he would pull the filter out of his pocket and proceed to handhold it in front of his lens and it worked. 

A lot of people do that with mirrorless cameras. No issues with vignetting or speed of use.

D

[jaapv]

13 hours ago, dante said:

Fixed horizon in that it is always in the same position relative to the widest part of the filter. The rotation is not the problem; it's the up-down placement. This is exactly the reason why ND grads are so much more fun with Cokin-like systems. 

D

That is why these that I linked to are 82 mm. You can put the camera on a tripod and hold the filter as needed using the LCD. In reality I think that using select sky and curves on a gradient layer in Photoshop does a better job.