In reply to Vladimir.

Thats great to hear how you use those older filters! You are right red filters are too heavy for the colour digital camera’s like the M (Typ 240) but work really nice on the M Monochrom though.

Kind regards,
Jip

Hi Jip, I have a Leica M/240 and exactly the set of lenses that you took with you to France. I use the M mainly for colour, but delegated my Sigma DP2M for black and white. I too have experimented with colour filters from my film days on digital cameras. Most of these filters are 52mm in size so I have found that the easiest way is to use filter adapter rings (39 – 52, 46 – 52 act.). B+W Red filter is too ‘heavy’ on digital, both on Leica as well as Sigma. After some experimentation mid yellow gives me best results, mainly darkened blue sky and shows white clouts in more details, just like in the film days. Mid green gives interesting rendering as well.

In reply to Joerg.

Hey Joerg,

You are right it gives a little better results since you don’t push or pull colour channels in post processing. When you push certain colours in post processing you get colour channel noise for a certain colour channel. When you use real filters you don’t get this. Just make sure you set the white balance to daylight when you are shooting outdoors. Because the auto white balance will try to get rid of the yellow colour cast if you are using a yellow filter.

I advice getting filters from B+W I use them and they are very good.

Hi Jip,
Does it give you a better resolution so it would get somewhat comparable to the MM?

I can explain to myself why you get a better effect, that is because in the case of a filter you only let pass the real yellow or orange component of the light to the sensor, whereas with the post-processing you actually take a mixture of what the sensor with all of its components hat put in the file and eliminate by software the part you don’t want to consider. I don’t know whether it makes sense to explain it like that, however you made me curious enough to try it out with my M.
Above all a yellow filter in E39 or even E46 should not be that expensive – at least not second hand.

brilliant~ great skill~ lovely trip and photos!!

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I loved your experimentation – I would have never thought of using coloured filters on digital but I love the results!

Very nice pics and interesting story! Well done Jip!!!