Back in the day, when I was first diving deep into the world of black and white photography, I often found myself frustrated. My skies looked flat, my landscapes lacked punch, and the overall mood I envisioned just wasn’t translating into the final image. I needed a way to inject drama and contrast, especially in outdoor scenes. Solving this problem wasn’t just about aesthetics; it was about mastering the medium, and failing to do so meant countless missed opportunities for truly compelling monochrome images. Something like the Tiffen 62mm 25 Filter (Red) would have been an absolute game-changer right from the start.
Why would anyone bother with physical filters in the age of powerful digital editing? The truth is, using contrast filters like a red one fundamentally alters the light hitting the sensor or film *before* the image is even recorded. This provides a different starting point than purely digital manipulation, often resulting in a unique look and feel, particularly for dedicated black and white shooters. If you’re passionate about monochrome work, analogue photography, or exploring specialized techniques like infrared photography, a good contrast filter is an essential tool. The ideal customer for a filter like this is someone who understands its purpose – to dramatically change tonal relationships in black and white images – and is willing to work with its effects, including significant exposure compensation. If you primarily shoot colour, rely solely on software filters, or prefer a subtle effect, this particular Tiffen red filter might be overkill or simply not what you need. Someone just starting out might prefer a milder yellow or orange filter first, but for bold results, red is the way to go. Before buying, consider your lens’s filter thread size, your shooting style (digital or film?), and how much light loss you’re willing to compensate for. Also, think about the build quality and optical material – is it glass or resin? Coated or uncoated?
- Medium red filter
- Darkens blue sky creating dramatic contrast with clouds
- 62mm diameter
Introducing the Tiffen Red Filter
Stepping up from milder filters, the Tiffen 62mm 25 Filter (Red) is a powerful tool specifically designed for black and white photography. It’s classified as a medium red filter and its promise is simple yet impactful: to dramatically enhance contrast and darken blue tones. What you get with the purchase is typically just the filter itself, often in a protective case. Compared to some market leaders like B+W or Lee, Tiffen generally positions itself as a more accessible, affordable option, making quality filters available to a wider audience without compromising too heavily on performance for many standard applications. This particular filter, the #25, is a classic choice, stronger than an orange (#16) or yellow (#8), and is intended for those who want a very pronounced effect. It’s definitely for the photographer who embraces strong, graphic monochrome images, not for someone seeking minimal adjustments.
Here’s a quick look at the pros and cons:
Pros:
* Creates very dramatic contrast in black and white
* Significantly darkens blue skies for striking cloud separation
* Enhances tonal separation between foliage and flowers
* Highly effective when used with infrared film or modified cameras
* More affordable than some high-end filter brands
Cons:
* Requires significant exposure compensation (typically 3 stops)
* Not suitable for colour photography
* Can potentially introduce flare or reflections due to being uncoated
* Strong effect might be too much for some photographers
* Some reports of minor quality control issues exist
- Includes #6, #13, & #25 Contrast Filters
- 【58mm Color Filter Kit】 This kit includes 9 pieces 58mm color filters (red, orange, blue, yellow, green, brown, purple, pink, and gray filter), 2 filter pouches, and a cleaning cloth
Unpacking the Effects and Advantages
Using the Tiffen 62mm 25 Filter (Red) feels like unlocking a secret weapon for monochrome. It’s not just a piece of coloured glass; it’s an instrument for sculpting light and tone in ways that post-processing can only approximate. Over the years, I’ve screwed this filter onto countless lenses, and its effects are predictable and consistently impressive when used appropriately.
The Dramatic Sky Effect
The most immediately noticeable and perhaps the most celebrated effect of a #25 red filter is its impact on blue skies. This filter absorbs a significant amount of blue light, causing the sky to render much darker in a black and white conversion. This isn’t just a subtle change; we’re talking about turning a light grey sky into a deep, brooding tone that makes white clouds absolutely leap out of the frame. It creates that classic, dramatic landscape look that is synonymous with striking black and white photography. The benefit here is huge: you gain instant visual impact and separation between your subject matter (like a building or a tree line) and the background sky, adding depth and mood that would otherwise be impossible. This feature alone makes the Tiffen red filter indispensable for landscape and architectural photographers working in monochrome.
Enhancing Foliage and Textures
Beyond the sky, the red filter has a pronounced effect on green foliage. Because green contains both blue and yellow light, and the red filter blocks blue and some green, green areas tend to darken significantly. However, depending on the light and the specific shade of green, it can also lighten certain plant textures, creating fascinating tonal separation between different types of leaves or grasses. For instance, in bright sunlight, certain green leaves reflecting more infrared light can appear lighter with this filter than you might expect. This ability to alter the tonal values of green areas is crucial for nature and landscape photography, allowing you to create separation and emphasis within otherwise visually busy scenes. Capturing the texture of bark or the intricate patterns of leaves becomes much more defined.
Working with Infrared
While primarily designed for visible light black and white photography, the #25 red filter is also commonly used as a gateway into infrared (IR) photography. Standard red filters allow some infrared light to pass through. When paired with IR-sensitive film (like Ilford SFX 200) or used on a full-spectrum modified digital camera with an internal IR filter removed, the red filter blocks most of the visible spectrum but lets through the infrared, along with some red visible light. This creates unique and often ethereal effects: green foliage glows white or light grey, skin takes on a translucent quality, and skies remain dark. While not a pure IR filter (which would block *all* visible light and require much longer exposures), using this filter for infrared allows for exposures that are often hand-holdable in bright sunlight, making it a versatile tool for experimenting with the IR look without needing specialized equipment beyond the filter itself and appropriate film/camera.
Optical Quality and Build
The Tiffen 62mm 25 Filter (Red) is made from optical glass. Glass filters are generally preferred over resin for their scratch resistance and perceived clarity. While this specific filter is uncoated, which helps keep costs down, it’s important to be aware of the implications. Uncoated filters can be more susceptible to internal reflections and flare, especially when shooting into or near bright light sources. This is a disadvantage compared to multi-coated filters, but manageable if you’re mindful of your light source positioning or willing to use a lens hood. The metal ring feels sturdy enough for regular use, and the threading has always been smooth on my lenses. The 62mm size is common enough to be useful on a variety of lenses, and it’s always crucial to match the filter size to your lens’s filter thread to ensure a proper fit and avoid vignetting.
The Exposure Compensation Challenge
A key aspect of using a strong filter like the #25 red is the significant amount of light it blocks. Red is at the low-energy end of the visible spectrum, and blocking all the higher-energy blues and greens removes a lot of light. This filter requires about 3 stops of exposure compensation. What does this mean in practice? If your meter suggests an exposure of 1/125th of a second at f/8, you’ll need to increase the exposure by three stops. This could mean changing your shutter speed to 1/15th of a second (1/125 -> 1/60 -> 1/30 -> 1/15) or opening your aperture from f/8 to f/2.8 (f/8 -> f/5.6 -> f/4 -> f/2.8), or a combination of both. For film shooters, this means adjusting your exposure settings manually based on the filter factor (usually indicated on the filter itself or its packaging, often around 8x or 3 stops). For digital shooters, through-the-lens metering will usually account for the light loss, but it’s still important to be aware that your shutter speeds will be slower or your apertures wider, which can impact motion blur and depth of field. This exposure compensation is a necessary part of working with such a strong filter effect.
Voices from Other Photographers
Having used this filter extensively myself, I also scoured various photography forums and retailer reviews to see what others are saying. The feedback is generally quite positive, especially considering the price point. Many users echo my experience, praising its effectiveness for creating powerful contrast in black and white and its surprising utility for exploring infrared effects, often noting its affordability compared to higher-priced competitors. People appreciate that it delivers exactly the dramatic blue-sky darkening and foliage contrast it promises. However, it’s not universally perfect. A few users have reported isolated issues with quality control, mentioning internal marks or flaws that were present upon arrival. While most filters seem fine, this suggests a slight potential for manufacturing inconsistencies compared to brands known for extremely stringent QC standards. Also, as expected, users confirm it’s absolutely unsuitable for colour photography, and specific niche uses like underwater video result in completely unusable images. Despite these minor points, the consensus seems to be that for its intended purpose – dramatic black and white contrast and accessible IR work – the Tiffen 62mm 25 Filter (Red) offers excellent value.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
If you’re tired of flat, uninspired black and white images, especially landscapes or cityscapes under a blue sky, you understand the problem of lack of tonal separation. The complications of not addressing this include your photos looking amateurish or failing to convey the dramatic mood you envisioned. The Tiffen 62mm 25 Filter (Red) is a fantastic fit to solve this problem for several key reasons. Firstly, it delivers a powerful, classic red filter effect that instantly transforms blue skies into dramatic, dark backdrops, making clouds pop. Secondly, its effect on foliage and other colours helps create vital tonal separation within your black and white scenes. Finally, it offers the added bonus of being useful for experimenting with infrared photography without a huge investment. It’s a reliable, effective tool that has earned its place in many monochrome photographer’s bags, including mine. To add that missing punch to your black and white photography and explore new creative avenues, click here to check it out.
Last update on 2025-07-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API