Which filters are still needed for digital?

[Ken Fong]

Tiffen mentions that a red filter and a polarizer combined make for dramatic B&W photography. For digital B&W photography, is the red filter still necessary? I can imagine needing the polarizer, but can the effects of the red filter be duplicated on the post-capture (photoshop) side?

Also, for general digital photography, which filters (on the capture side) are still necessary? I can only think of polarizers and neutral densities from my limited experience.

thanks in advance

[robertwgross]

Ken Fong wrote:
Tiffen mentions that a red filter and a polarizer combined make for dramatic B&W photography. For digital B&W photography, is the red filter still necessary? I can imagine needing the polarizer, but can the effects of the red filter be duplicated on the post-capture (photoshop) side?

Also, for general digital photography, which filters (on the capture side) are still necessary? I can only think of polarizers and neutral densities from my limited experience.

thanks in advance

I use a graduated neutral density filter a lot for pre-dawn sky shots.

---Bob Gross---

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Ken,

I think you're right: polarisers and ND grads and skylight/UV (if you want to use them for protection). Photoshop (or whatever) will allow conversion from colour to B&W with much greater flexibility.

There might also be special purpose filter, like infra red. There are PS simulations, but they don't look much like the examples that Don Ellis, for example, has posted on the Share Photos forum.

Regards,

[lziering]

Using the channel mixer in Photoshop allows you to "choose your filterafter the shot". ND filters might be useful but there are techniques to do even this in photoshop. One technique is to lock the camera down on the tripod, bracket your exposue, pull two or three of the exposures into the same file in Photoshop, and mask the areas that are improperly exposed from each frame. See: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/digital-blending.shtml

[dbarthel]

I use the Moose filter, and find it effective. Haven't had a moose on a picture since :)

Seriously, it is a combination polorizer/warming filter which is very nice for landscapes.

Dan