[Leica] Ah! Back to the Great Filter Dispte!

[kididdoc at cox.net (Steve Barbour)]

On Jun 26, 2008, at 7:41 AM, Ted Grant wrote:
> The Great Filter debate! :-)
> It's the year 3008 and this conversation will still be going on! :-)  
> WHY?
> Simply because some people are amateurs, some are pros and some  
> always seem
> to be in one panic state or other over the subject. Certainly when  
> plain old
> fashion common sense will tell you when to use and when not to.
> Absolutely honest experience... I never use them unless for specific  
> reason:
> 1/ Photographic effect, polarize for both types of film. Never used  
> any on
> digital camera! In the olden days I had a pile of filters for almost
> everything imaginable for colour & BW until I fell under the spell  
> of the
> great GURU "Neverusefiltersperiod!" A wise man? Nope! He didn't use  
> common
> sense regarding what you are shooting.
> 2/ No filter: I learned the hard way photographing a welder while  
> using a
> 28mm R Lens and shooting for real tight close-ups. OOPS!!!!!! Bad  
> move!
>
> One spark landed right in the middle of the front element burning a  
> tiny
> mark right into the glass! Damn! :-(
>
> However a test later revealed absolutely no defect in image quality  
> from
> wide open to stopped down at any aperture.  And at any size Kodachrome
> projected on 10 ft. sq. screen or for print reproduction. Kept using  
> the
> lens.


hi Ted,

here's a good place to ask an  "apparantly naive question" Ted ...  
please pass this along to all those who get their knickers in a knot,  
re filters and all similar emotional/technical issues...

given the magnitude of opinions and emotions on this,  we might see  
similar huge impacts on  actual photographs...

Can somone show one "nongreat"  image that was converted to great, OR  
great image that was converted to "nongreat" by the use of filters,  
technical tools, tricks, machinations? Either historical or a current  
image would be fun to look at...

And there must be hundreds, if not thousands of such examples out  
there, so it will be very easy and certainly informative.

Steve