Tiffen Camera Filters manual

CAMERA FILTERS By Ira Tiffen © Ira Tiffen THE TIFFEN COMPANY HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 2 CAMERA FILTERS by Ira Tiffen INTRODUCTION Camera filters are transparent or translu cent optical elements that alter the properties of light entering t he camera lens for the purpose of improving the image being recorded. Filters can affect c ontrast, sharpness, highlight flar e, color, and light intensity, either ind[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 3 difference in the readings is the compensation needed for that filter. You could also use a spot meter, reading the same bright patch, with similar results. There are some exceptions to this depending on the filter color, the meter sensitivity, and t he target color, but this is often better than taking a guess. Filte[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 4 When it is desirable to maintain a particu lar lens opening for sharpness or depth-of- field purposes, or simply to obtain proper exposure when confronted with too much light intensity, use a neutral density (ND) filter. This will absorb light evenly throughout the visible spectrum, effectivel y altering exposure with[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 5 an extremely gradual blend is required, an "attenuator" is used. It changes density almost throughout its length. The key to getting bes t results with a Color -Grad filter is to help the effect blend in as naturally as possible. Keep it close to the lens, to maximize transition softness. Avoid having object[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 6 dependent. A blue sky will not be equally affected in all directions. The areas of deepest blue are determined by the following "rule of thumb." When setting up an exterior shot, make a right angle between thumb and forefinger. Point your forefinger at the sun. The area of deepest blue will be the band outli[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 7 and black-and-white imaging. They have no re commended filter factor s, but may require exposure compensation based on severa l things. Filters that lower contrast or create fl are, where contrast and/or light intensity is higher, will do more fo r any given grade. Working with light, the more they have, the more they[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 8 attention to the presence of t he filter, especially with stronger grades, when diffusion is not required elsewhere. It may be desirable to lightly diffuse adjacent scenes or subjects, not otherwise needing it, to ensure that the str onger filtration, wher e needed, is not made obvious. In diffusing faces, it is espec[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 9 enhanced beauty. A first in this field is the fact that the filter is both effective to look at as well as to look through. The filter has a distinct silver sparkle that has been found to be doubly useful. When production starts and peopl e see the glittering on the front of the lens, they become more confident in the[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 10 Smoque® filters create the look of smoke without the hassle. Mechanical generators are often used to add atmospheric haze to a scene. This coul d be for enhanced realism in places where smoke is normally encountered like a nightclub, or the scene of a fire. Most often, the smoke is added to create a certain “look?[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 11 The number of directions t hat lines run in determ ines the number of points produced. Lines in one direction produce a two-pointed star, just a str eak through the center of the light. There are 4, 6, 8, 12 and more points available. With an 8 or 12 point filter, the many star lines will tend to overpower the rest o[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 12 darken the blue, and lighten the orange; a blue filter will perform the reverse. A green filter, such as Wratten #11 , can be used to lighten gr een foliage, to show more detail. It may also be used to provi de more pleasing skin tones outdoors, especially against blue sky. Any filter used for the abov e purposes wil[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 13 filters for exposure control. Color Compensating Filters Color Compensating filters are used to make adjustments to the red, blue or green characteristics of light. These find applications in correcting for color balance, light source variations, different reversal film batches, and other color effects. They are avai[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 14 Fluorescent and Other Disconti nuous Spectra Lighting Correct ion Since filters never actua lly add color, but only absorb certain wavelengths to increase the relative proportion of others, the original light source must have the colors you want in it to start wit h. Some sources are totally defic ient in certain wav[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 15 Similar to graduated ND f ilters (see ear lier sect ion for additional details), Color-Grad color filters are also produced in a wide range of standard and cu stom colors, densities, and proportions for many applications. A Blue-to -Clear filter can add blue to a white, hazy sky without affecting the foreground. An O[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 16 correction to balance out any unwanted bias in these other areas, the effect on reddish objects will still be apparent. Underwater Color Correction Filters When imaging underwater, the light you are re cording is filtered by the water it passes through. Longer wavelength reds and oranges are absorbed until only blue [...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 17 requires no exposure compensation, and makes su fficient adjustments to the film to enable the timer to match the color of a properly 85-filtered original. It is not an all-around replacement for the 85. Use it onl y where needed for exposure purposes, and for subsequently printer-timed work. SPECIAL APPLICATION FILT[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 18 Effect of Depth of Field and Focal Length Changes Standard color filt ers generally function without change through variations in depth of field and focal length. This ma y not be true of many of the "s pecial effect" filter types. There are no solid rules for predicting the variat ion in filter effect due [...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 19 further aligning the lights in the image with t heir secondary reflections where possible, can minimize this problem. In crit ical situations, it may be best to make use of a matte box with a tilting filter stage. Tilting filter(s) of good optical quality only a few degrees in such a unit can divert the secondary ref[...]

CAMERA FILTERS © Ira Tiffen 20 Tiffen, Color-Grad, Softnet, Soft/FX, Decami red (DM), FL-D, FL-B, 812, Diffusion/FX, Pro- Mist and LL-D are registered tr ademarks of The Tiffen Company.[...]