The (very) old book The Amateur Photographer's Handbook has probably the best explanation of what filters do and how they work as I've seen in any source. One thing to keep in mind is that the filter only subtracts light, it doesn't add anything. It blocks the complimentary color, but it also diminished all the colors in between. So here's the odd part to keep in mind (and which I rarely see discussed): if you use, for example, the red filter, and you do not compensate for exposure, only red light will be exposed correctly, and blue-green light will be blocked. The filter factor (the +3 stops) is basically to bring the exposure of all the other colors back up normal, which results in red light essentially being overexposed. So in your tree photo, if you put on the red filter but did not add extra stops of light, the tree would look essentially the same as in the unfiltered photo, but everything else would become very dark. This is why in the photo of the buildings the filter has the apparent effect of lightening the building in the foreground.

A red with a polarizer on a blue sky with clouds really gives the sky a great look.

6:05 The building was probably a brownish orangish type building, so it got brighter as a result despite being in shadow.

That skyscraper shot is really interesting. It never occurred to me that you could cut out reflections by cutting the color of sky.

Best line ever: “I was close to B&H.” Heaven!

The number of stops for a color filter really depends not only on the intensity of the filter (not all red filters require 3 stops) but also on the spectral sensitivity of the film. Also, it is wrong to say that a red filter would add more details to portraits because generally skin tones are quite warm, so a red filter would actually smooth out details. A green or blue filter would actually increase contrast in the details for portraits, so those would be more gritty.

It makes sense that the filter has this behavior when considering how a lot of digital processing techniques can give improved results when applied to the channels separately rather than all at once. A single channel can give enough information for a good black and white image, so removing the unnecessary noise from the other channels should give stark differences like this.

red is the main hue of this filter, that is kept on +0 stop, everything that gets further in the color wheel gets darker at max -3 stops. the furthermost of the colorwheel is the complementary color of the filter, which is probably a light cyan.

Super insightful, Joshua! Really like the shots you got. Very cool stuff! 🙌

At 5:50 my guess would be that the underneath of the ledge is lit mostly with a warm bounce lighting from the material of the building, ground or other surroundings. If so then that bounced lighting could increase the light levels more than the other parts of the facade which is being lit by a more cold light, which would get blocked out by the red filter. So when you increase the stops of light because of the filter, you would also increase the bounced lit shadows proportionally higher. Not sure but that would be my guess.

Excellent demonstration.

I experimented with red filters many years ago as a HS student taking landscape pics. This was very educational. Thank you, looking forward to learning more about other filters.

Great explanation of color filters with black and white panchromatic film!

Thanks for reinventing the wheel for young film photographers

I think the reason the pics on 6:03 has such a stark difference in the clarity is that by blocking a lot of scattered blue light from the sky, you can see more features since most of the red light actually comes from the object reflecting light, and not the environment.

Great perspective, Weldone and thanks for sharing

i think it's fascinating that alot of these happen simply beecause the light bounced by our atmosphere and the sky is blueish

I’m fairly sure there is tape on both ends of 120 so if you took it out and then got it hooked back you could just wind it all the way through again and then it would be back at the start.

Wow, that was interesting!

Fantastic informative video. And inspiring to an amateur just getting back to photography.

this with a polarizing filter would be awesome

Et voilà, merci pour cette synthèse de maestro.

Informative. Thanks for sharing!!!

Very helpful thank you

Excellent video. Many thanks

Thanks for this presentation. Will help answer some key questions re: BW and filter use. Red, yellow and green filters, all part of the BW photographer"s arsenal.

Orange is my favourate filter for BW

I shoot a lot of black and white and a red filter will be a good addition to my equpment. Thanks.

Cool video, not sure the things you shot were the best examples to show the power of the filter but I enjoyed it. Does that camera have a mirror lock up feature to combat the vibrations?

The higher contrast can also be due to the longer exposure, even if red is not a factor.

Thanks, just what I was looking for. I just bought a red filter for my Konica Autoflex T3 and heading out this morning. And if I remember I'll let you know how it tuned out - I do my own processing: B&W.

Works great with my M11 Mono. Highlight metering protects exposure but have to be careful with the three stops.

The Bronica SQ-ai has a mirror lock up feature to help with that mirror slap. It's the switch on the right side of the camera with N, S, and C markings. N is normal, S sets mirror up for a single frame, C is continuous lock up. Cock the shutter first, then set the mirror lockup. It's all in the manual which you can find online if you don't have a printed copy.

I used to love HP5 in ID11. Used it for years.

hey heads up the SQ-Ai has a mirror lockup lever to help with those slow shutter speeds

Some of the effects look to me like something that happens in NIR photography. With the red filter, you're filming the end of the visible spectrum. NIR and infrared in general cut through atmospheric barriers and since red is the beginning of that spectrum you have a little bit of that in the images. If you were to remove the hot mirror filter you would actually gain a lot more sensitivity.

Good review. Subscribed. Orange and Yellow presentations next please. Forget green

The yellow/green or orange are less harsh and give a better result imho

Good video... I'm not familiar with the bronica.... I'm surprised it doesn't offer a leaf shutter (mirror up option like the RB67....

Be sure to do portraits of subjects with different colored hair with a green filter

A yellow filter on for example Cinestill 800T (or other tungsten film if they still exist) makes it daylight balanced

On clear days I like to keep a Tiffen red 25 filter on my Leica Q2 monochrom. If it’s an overcast day I prefer to shoot without it.

when i was loading my new Bronica with HP5 for the first time last month, i also had that exact same issue and i was very devastated. i feel like HP5 120 is cursed now so i haven't used it since but i've never had the same issue since loading other film stocks

5:40 did red filter works also as polarizer in some kind? u can clearly see a interior of the building behind the glass

Dude, I have an FM2. do you know how many times with my broken winder that still works but it’s missing three key important component that makes it a speed winder. I mean the three parts that hold the crank in so I might as well be using an old Russian film camera where you have to walk your fingers to unwind… I’ve flash so much film. );

nice

I use red filters a lot. That's why I prefer rangefinder cameras for black and white films.

Do yourself a favor, save some time and film by skipping the green and/or blue filters.. they’re basically useless. I do love yellow, orange and red filters for B&W photography, but I’m choosing the orange about 85% of the time.

Is it possible for a red filter to have an effect on focus via the lens’ ability to align different wavelengths of light onto a single plane? Is this true if you’re not focusing through the lens (e.g. rangefinder)?

I've always trusted the TTL meter to handle the red filter. But, theoretically, the calculated exposure may not be perfect, owing to the type of sensor in the meter circuit. (the sensor is fooled by red). All that said, the exposure latitude of B&W likely will mask any error and we'll be blissfully unaware. Your video gets a like!

I think you could have saved the ILFORD HP5 roll by load it up again to get it back to the start since you did not exposed the film to light.

3 Stops? ... Cool dude, saves on a ND filter. Ever shoot Agfa 25?

it might give interesting results in the red light district

Im clearly interest to try this on a mirrorless cam🤔

Don’t be shy with a light meter . In an over auto world they remain useful

Most of my cameras do not have light meters. I usually start out by just holding the filter over my hand held meter and take a reading.

What about digital photos? I've been taking pictures with a red filter and couldn't get that effect, like on the Ansel Adam's Moon over a mountain range. 🤔

cool maaannn

So I will test the 3 stop with a light meter I guess.

Details of human skin generally look brighter and softer with a red filter not grittier, infrared even more so, they are grittier at the other end of the spectrum.

If you'd had a changing bag (available at B&H) you probably could have rescued your roll of film

I now this is a month later but I would recommend doing bracketed shots by only adjusting your shutter speed. This would keep sharpness the same across the images. This is also probably the reason the underside of the building was lighter with the red filter. Light fall off changed because you opened up the aperture. If anyone else wants to learn about light fall off. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r6hgYLCIqJ6cj4E.html

How about testing an IR filter

If you’re using a handheld light meter just knock 3 stops off your ISO

Regardant votre vidéo, c'est bien de montrer les agréments du filtre rouge en noir et blanc,avec cette marque de film ( quel est l'origine du film ?) Si vous prenez le filtre rouge,vous allez éclaircir cette couleur, et foncer la complémentaire (cyan). Si vous prenez une visionneuse pour diapositives, mettre un projecteur, l'un a droite, l'autre à gauche,et un au dessus de la visionneuse, avec juste un fort filtre, le premier pour le bleu, le deuxième pour le vert, et le troisième pour le rouge. La visionneuse sans filtre avec une diapositive noir et blanc.Si c'est bien fait, vous devez voir la couleur, (synthèse additive), et sous l'agrandisseur, un temps de pose différent posé sous chaque filtre coloré, vous devez voir les couleurs de votre sujet.) Ici, surtout pas de compte pose traditionnel car c'est avec le temps de pose de chaque couleur que vous travaillez.

I only use a red filter when shooting black and white

Will a red filter work with digital cameras for B&W?

Great, another video that will make me spend my money on cam gear 😅

Dude - Shoot the red tree @ F16 filtered

For some cool bw photos shot with a red filter check out the work of simon marsden

I’m a be honest, I know photographers that need to know how many stops of light it is and I’ve had friends who have asked me similar questions like that here’s a thing I don’t know any of that I just move buttons until things look good I don’t look at Numbers on lens. I don’t look at numbers in my camera all I know is that ISO messes with my light same thing as exposure on digital but too much ISO makes it look painting and I don’t like painting except for certain aspects of shots that I’m doing and on film ISO speed if you were to ask me what ISO stands for I would assume speed is somewhere in there also I am very sorry if some of this is Grammarly incorrect this is dictated through speech to text with a Jenkee iPhone

As a film photographer, I always have spare roll with me, and also for important sessions I always have dark bag. The fact you don’t have that, and you rock Bronica, means you have more money than skill

8:45 Hang a bag on the tripod.

I mean... you could have respooled your hp5

You don't have heating at home?

Couldn’t you just rewind the film and start over?

If the building on the right was in the colour that was closer to the red end of spectrum (red, orange, yellow) than it is conceivable that it appeared lighter thru the red filter. Just saying...

is this bad advice for a newbie?

Funny thing,... Purple is NOT a Color... just what our Eye creates trying to struggle with the wavelength. Pretty odd

f22 is going to give you an unsuable amount of refraction homie.

my biggest takeaway: those photos weren't very interesting

for the sake of views

Probably not a good idea to load 120 film (or any film) in direct sunlight.

The color purple is not in the rainbow. The colors violet, blue, and red are in the rainbow. Violet has a wavelength that ranges from 380-450nm. Blue has a wavelength that ranges from 450-485nm. Red has a wavelength that ranges from 625-750nm. The color purple is a mixture of blue and red and/or violet and red.

youre complementary color wheel makes me really sad

I think, filters are becoming less and less the way to achieve those results. It seems more and more people are getting the same results on the photo editing side of it.

I find it impossible to believe anything about photography from a guy that wears a wool hat indoors to try to get that "cool" look. SMFH.