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Does anyone use Kodak Wratten gelatin filters?
Just thought id start a discussion about these things, theyre some of the only filters ill use and trust my exposed emulsions ( technically dispersions) to, does anyone have anything good or bad to say about them?
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I only use them in ND filters for stacking. I normally find them too fragile to use for every day use. And in the large sizes I need to fit my lenses, they cost as much as a good glass filter, so I go with glass.
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I own much literature on filter transmissions down to the nanometer and im very picky about my transmissions, the addition of glass to any of these somewhat off sets its characteristics, using the cheap cokin filter holders and their gelatin filter holder i can easily take these in and out and i just mount them on the back of my lenses so the elements dont get them and using them comparatively and purely i wouldnt use anything else!
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If you're going to be that anal, then get your shutters and meter calibrated to T-stops and find what transmission you get from your lenses. I doubt very much your photographs will change in any appreciable way, though, by checking the transmission properties of your filter material. I would be more concerned with optical quality from resin filters and cheap glass before I would care about whether my filter blocks 1 stop of light vs. 1.01 stops.
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well also i get them for the quality, even the used ones i have are fantastic, how are they in ND? i have yet to buy one of them , i think i saw that they make one even as high as 3.00 , but ill bet it sure is expensive!
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Yes, they are expensive. I have a 3.00, they make a 4.00, at least they did. Gel filters are fragile, which is my main complaint for the price. Optically they are excellent, but in 4 inch or larger, which is what I need, the price is equal to an excellent quality glass filter in 4.5 inch size, which I use. The 4 inch gels won't even cover some of my lenses, so they are useless. My ND filters are older 2 inch size and are very limiting to which lens they will fit.
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Oh man the prices kill me, which is why i only buy them used, ebay is good for that, they sell certain 3x3 gels new which are 60-70 some dollars just because of the dye! that kills me too! i refuse to buy any new, all the used ones are in EXCELLENT condition, for much less, but yea i see your point , it really does get unfairly expensive
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Gelatin filters were a lot cheaper several decades ago, even with inflation added in. They were commonly used in studios, and inside of view cameras on the backs of lenses, where they were well protected. You had to color balance each reversal emulsion with a few CC of (usually) magenta or yellow to match the E6 line you were using.
With the shift to digital, that stuff is done in software, and Kodak has contracted out their gel filter business to Tiffen. It's a much smaller market, and the economies of scale are no longer there, so they have become almost prohibitively expensive. You can now get a sturdier glass filter of excellent quality for the same or less than the gels. But they still don't stack as well as gels in a holder.
Lee
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I'd be grateful if someone could tell me where Lee polyester 75mmx75mm fit in all this. I haven't bought any for a while but I don't remember them being costly. They fit well into the Mamiya RB bellows lens shade, and at the focus/compose, choose a filter and add it procedure and perhaps then try an alternate for the next shot they are more convenient than screwing in glass filters.
I hold no brief for either type and use both.
Regards - Ross
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i dont prefer the quality of lee filters, the polyester build is somewhat sketchy to me. I have had spotless results with the kodaks, there is always some sort of trace from the Lee's plus they seem to attract scratches and dust very easily where my wrattens do not
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