Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/01/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I think that it can useful on skies, but not as useful as the G or N+2 processing. Maybe that was too strong a statement. They bring out subtle clouds and the effect does darken toward the top. But in my experience it is more a question about keeping the sky off the film's D-max than making any real shift in color rendition (speaking metaphorically, of course). It also goes to your color perception. To me, blue skies are not light blue (or light gray), especially when I am taking pictures in Italy or Spain. To me, blue is darker than limestone, whitewash, and in fact, most elements that appear in landscapes. Blues are darker. While for Michigan an XO may give just enough gray on the sky to not block it out all white, I'd rather push, have brilliant highlights (darkening the sky in the process or making overcast skies more interesting) and forget about the filter altogether. That makes it more like I see it. If you really want to change things, the G comes into play. Of course, given Murphy's law, I only discovered this after accumulating a bunch of B+W 060 filters. I use them for portraits, where they excel. Guy Bennett wrote: > Dante wrote: > > >The 060 is a false prophet. Good for darkening lips and ok at foliage, > >but completely > >useless for skies. Does not cut blue well because it contains blue. > >Maybe its appeal > >is that it tends to make pan film look like ortho. Who knows. > > Dante, > > If what you mean by "not cutting blue well" is not "shading" blue skies, > this has not been my experience at all with the 060. It does a fine job > giving a gray tint to skies that would otherwise appear white (and do, when > I forget to mount the filter). And this is a gray that darkens as it rises > away from the horizon, at times creating the effect of a dark yellow or > even orange filter toward the zenith. > > Guy