Experience with Tiffen Ultra Contrast Filter ?

joachim Haagen Be · Apr 18, 2006

Hello,

Does anyone here have experience with Tiffens range of Ultra Contrast Filters ? Tiffen's adcvertising states that it lowers contrasts in the scene witout changing the color balance, or introducing any other artifacts to the photograph.

Does it really work well to reduce brightness in bright areas, as well as bringing out details in low-lit areas ?

Anyone ever used one of these filters ?

--
All The Best,
Joachim

chris gunn · Apr 18, 2006

joachim Haagen Be said:
Does anyone here have experience with Tiffens range of Ultra
Contrast Filters ? Tiffen's adcvertising states that it lowers

I posted the other week asking the same question.
No one replied with any experience.

joachim Haagen Be said:
Does it really work well to reduce brightness in bright areas, as
well as bringing out details in low-lit areas ?

I've seen a before/after shot posted on the Fuji forum a couple of
years ago. It looked good!

joachim Haagen Be said:
Anyone ever used one of these filters ?

I think I'll have to try and buy one.

--
cheers!

Gunn

-- Get a big lens and get closer™.

http://www.dpreview.pentaxistDS.photoshare.co.nz

http://www.y3m.net/penwik/pmwiki.php/Main/PentaxLensWiki

joachim Haagen Be · Apr 18, 2006

chris gunn said:
joachim Haagen Be said:

Does anyone here have experience with Tiffens range of Ultra
Contrast Filters ? Tiffen's adcvertising states that it lowers

Click to expand...

I posted the other week asking the same question.
No one replied with any experience.

Must mean that it's not a very common filter, I guess...

chris gunn said:
I think I'll have to try and buy one.

If you do, please post some results, as I'm very keen on seeing how this filter performs! It might have been perfect to reduce the blown highlights shots like these, that are shot in bright sun...

Not the best of shots, as it's missing a bit on the techical side (sharpness, blown highlights)

--
All The Best,
Joachim

T.A.N. · Apr 19, 2006

When I first got serious with digital using a C@non G2, one of the techniques to capture the maximum information in a file was to have the contrast setting low. I've continued this with the 'D' and I feel it does help. This is of course only really applicable if using jpg files, but I like the idea of the filter, which would apply the same theory to RAW files as well.
Please let us know how it goes if you get one.
--
Trevor.

David Holahan · Apr 19, 2006

I use the Tiffen circular polerizer, and can tell you they are a good filter. I haven't tried the ultra contrast. According to a friend who uses the filter, it works well in high contrast shots.
--

Photography now is a footprint for the future.

chris gunn · Apr 19, 2006

David Holahan said:
I use the Tiffen circular polarizer, and can tell you they are a
good filter. I haven't tried the ultra contrast. According to a
friend who uses the filter, it works well in high contrast shots.

Some 2nd hand reports!

--
cheers!

Gunn

-- Get a big lens and get closer™.

http://www.dpreview.pentaxistDS.photoshare.co.nz

http://www.y3m.net/penwik/pmwiki.php/Main/PentaxLensWiki

joachim Haagen Be · Apr 19, 2006

David Holahan said:
I use the Tiffen circular polerizer, and can tell you they are a
good filter. I haven't tried the ultra contrast. According to a
friend who uses the filter, it works well in high contrast shots.

Is there a slight chance of some samples ? I'm interested to see if the filter does its job, or if it screws the shot up

--
All The Best,
Joachim

Joseph Tainter · Apr 19, 2006

Reading the description at B&H, apparently these filters will lighten shadow areas in an image. They do not directly affect highlights.

The way to use one of these in a high-contrast scene would be to expose so that the highlights come out acceptably, then use the filter to lighten the rest of the scene.

One problem is that these filters come in various grades. Would one need to carry all grades in all filter sizes one uses? I would need to carry 49, 58, 67, and 77 mm. sizes.

I don't know whether such a filter would work better than just using Photoshop to lighten shadow areas. Also, I don't know how the overall quality of the image is affected. Reducing contrast overall usually does not make for a nice image. This may be better done in software, where both the edges and the center of the histogram can be adjusted.

In the Sahel, I have had trouble getting faces to come out when I expose for an overall scene. One of these filters might help solve that problem. But so does Photoshop.

Well, I hope someone buys one of these and lets us know how it performs.

Joe

e_dawg · Jun 28, 2007

I think a circular polarizer would have been a good solution here too

joachim Haagen Be said:
If you do, please post some results, as I'm very keen on seeing how
this filter performs! It might have been perfect to reduce the
blown highlights shots like these, that are shot in bright sun...

Not the best of shots, as it's missing a bit on the techical side
(sharpness, blown highlights)

e_dawg · Jun 28, 2007

I know what you mean, but lightening or adding exposure to shadow areas in software often increases noise and the presence of artifacts. If it's done optically, you don't have the penalty of increasing noise.

However, I am also skeptical... I can't help but think that this filter probably does have some detrimental effect to the overall image quality.

Joseph Tainter said:
I don't know whether such a filter would work better than just
using Photoshop to lighten shadow areas. Also, I don't know how the
overall quality of the image is affected. Reducing contrast overall
usually does not make for a nice image. This may be better done in
software, where both the edges and the center of the histogram can
be adjusted.

Duplo · Jun 28, 2007

Joseph Tainter said:
Reading the description at B&H, apparently these filters will
lighten shadow areas in an image. They do not directly affect
highlights.

The way to use one of these in a high-contrast scene would be to
expose so that the highlights come out acceptably, then use the
filter to lighten the rest of the scene.

One problem is that these filters come in various grades. Would one
need to carry all grades in all filter sizes one uses? I would need
to carry 49, 58, 67, and 77 mm. sizes.

I don't know whether such a filter would work better than just
using Photoshop to lighten shadow areas. Also, I don't know how the
overall quality of the image is affected. Reducing contrast overall
usually does not make for a nice image. This may be better done in
software, where both the edges and the center of the histogram can
be adjusted.

In the Sahel, I have had trouble getting faces to come out when I
expose for an overall scene. One of these filters might help solve
that problem. But so does Photoshop.

Well, I hope someone buys one of these and lets us know how it
performs.

Joe

Just checked B&H and only one grade is available in those sizes a grade 3.
That said it would be great to see if it actually works.
--
Thomas

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool
http://www.duplophotography.com/
http://www.my.opera.com/duplo
My pictures categorised by lens used:
http://main.duplophotography.com/f311992052/

igelfeld · Jun 28, 2007

A quick search on Google found these threads:

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000F7D (going all the way to 1998 and featuring Ken Rockwell)
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=004MC1 (this one is from 2003).

I don't really know anything about filters but wouldn't you just use an ND filter for the type of scene you are trying to capture?

--
Cheers,

Igelfeld

JensR · Jun 29, 2007

Hi Igel!

Interesting. It sounds as if it works by more or less evenly adding exposure to the film so that the shadows aren't too dark anymore. The question would be whether this would work at all with digital, with its different DR and response curve characteristic.

They seem a bit too expensive or I'd just try it :-/

Cheers
Jens

--
'I only trust those photos I have faked myself.' (Me, 2007)
http://www.jensroesner.de/
--=! Condemning proprietary batteries since 1976 !=--

blende8 · Jun 29, 2007

Since you never hear anything about it anywhere, I would assume that it is not very useful.
You have this built-in in your camera: Set contrast to -2 or -3.

Ron C277336 · Jul 5, 2007

I've had the Tiffen Ultra Contrast 3 filter for a few months, although I have only used it a little. I find its behavior hard to predict but that's likely because I haven't practiced with it enough.

The filter is clear with a hazy look to it-- kind of like a filter that's been stored for a while and needs to be cleaned.

Its visual effect on the image is to add a uniform flare. In some cases, this will add a color cast to the image, which is mostly noticeable in the darker parts of the scene, because the flare can acquire the predominant color of the brighter parts of the scene. The difference in the histogram is considerable when the filter is used compared to when it's not used.

I'll try to get some examples uploaded in the next day or two (but no promises!) if anybody's interested.

jabilson007 · Aug 17, 2007

Ron C said:
I've had the Tiffen Ultra Contrast 3 filter for a few months,
although I have only used it a little. I find its behavior hard to
predict but that's likely because I haven't practiced with it enough.
The filter is clear with a hazy look to it-- kind of like a filter
that's been stored for a while and needs to be cleaned.
Its visual effect on the image is to add a uniform flare. In some
cases, this will add a color cast to the image, which is mostly
noticeable in the darker parts of the scene, because the flare can
acquire the predominant color of the brighter parts of the scene. The
difference in the histogram is considerable when the filter is used
compared to when it's not used.
I'll try to get some examples uploaded in the next day or two (but no
promises!) if anybody's interested.

Is it possible to show some examples, please?
Jon

jabilson007 · Aug 29, 2007

Ron C said:
I've had the Tiffen Ultra Contrast 3 filter for a few months,
although I have only used it a little. I find its behavior hard to
predict but that's likely because I haven't practiced with it enough.
The filter is clear with a hazy look to it-- kind of like a filter
that's been stored for a while and needs to be cleaned.
Its visual effect on the image is to add a uniform flare. In some
cases, this will add a color cast to the image, which is mostly
noticeable in the darker parts of the scene, because the flare can
acquire the predominant color of the brighter parts of the scene. The
difference in the histogram is considerable when the filter is used
compared to when it's not used.
I'll try to get some examples uploaded in the next day or two (but no
promises!) if anybody's interested.

Ron:
How about some sample images, please?

Ron C277336 · Aug 29, 2007

Ah! Sorry. I don't always visit this forum often enough to keep up with all the messages. I'll try to post some samples tomorrow. My apologies for being a slacker!

jabilson007 · Aug 30, 2007

Ron C said:
Ah! Sorry. I don't always visit this forum often enough to keep up
with all the messages. I'll try to post some samples tomorrow. My
apologies for being a slacker!

Hey. No problem. I am just really interested in results of this filter as I shoot many pics of my family in bad lighting.

Jon

Ron C277336 · Aug 30, 2007

Here are some comparison shots that show the filter's impact from moderate to subtle to overbearing. These are hardly great art. I made them as simple nonscientific experiments of the filter's use.

I have not made any adjustments or edits to the images other than resizing and adding the notes in the corners.
I very seldom do indoor photography and have never used the filter inside.

All of these were taken with a K10D in raw using the DA 18-55mm. The locations are various places at Disney World in Florida.

Experience with Tiffen Ultra Contrast Filter ?

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