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UltravioletPhotography

Tiffen filters. Laminated and not fluorescent


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I came around an interesting fact when reading one of Ken Rockwell's web pages: https://kenrockwell....ers.htm#widepol

 

He is not very enthusiastic about the Tiffen filters, but say an interesting thing about how they are built:

"Tiffen filters are two pieces of clear glass glued to a colored plastic center sheet."

 

It sounded interesting as many sharp cut yellow filter materials are often fluorescent and to my knowledge, the ones that are not, are laminated filters.

 

I used my Convoy S2+ to check some of my filters

GG- and OG-filter glass materials from Schott used by B&W are fluorescent.

The same goes for my GG42 filter and the Nikon's filters ,Y44, Y48, Y52 and O 56 (made from Hoya glass?)

All of them showed a hazy dull yellow fluorescence.

 

The filter material in my Tiffen 8, 12, 15 and 16 and a Minolta-branded Y 52 are not fluorescent.

 

A Tiffen filter catalog from 2010:

http://www.videocine...roch_0413.pdf?1

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Ulf, Thanks for this info...and people say bad things about Ken... I actually really like his site/pages.

I will confirm that my Tiffen #12 filters are all laminated plastic between glass, never knew this, just now took them apart.

Also, I took apart a Tiffen #47, it is also laminated.

I can't say if all Tiffen filters are laminated or not. I have some green Tiffen filters also, I didn't take those apart, but I would imagine they are also laminated.

I also tested these above filters and they don't fluoresce, or at least not much, barely, and one could argue none.

I think the Nikon filters are made of Hoya glass, yes.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, Tiffen makes no 420/435nm longpass filter.

The Tiffen #8 is 50% at what looks like about 495nm.

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Andy Perrin
Ulf, Thanks for this info...and people say bad things about Ken... I actually really like his site/pages.

I didn't know that! I like his pages also. His lens reviews have been pretty helpful to me.

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I think the 2E may be old stuff. I can't find a 52mm version, and their catalogue that Ulf listed above doesn't show a 2E, it shows a 2A (cuts at 405nm).

If we follow the Wratten #'s, then 2E cuts at 415nm, a little better than 405nm.

405nm may not mean it doesn't leak some UV.

Even 415nm may not be quite high enough for some.

Here is the 52mm 2A version.

https://www.adorama.com/tf52uv2.html?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=adl-gbase

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I bought rather recently Tiffen Haze 2A filters in three sizes from B&H Photo. All three cut sharply with T half maximum at 417-418 nm (my own measurement). T% at 400 nm is < 0.1 %. The spectrum I measured with a sharp cut-off is different to that in historical Kodak Wratten data but very similar, as one would expect, to that shown in the figure in the Tiffen 2010 catalogue linked abobe by Ulf.

 

An old Kodak handbook recommends for UVIF to stack "fluorescent filters" with the Wratten #2A to control their fluorescence. My Hoya Y (K2) fluoresces but my Hoya R (25A) does not. Heliopan Orange 22 and Yellow 5 filters are made from Schott glass and fluoresce strongly. These Hoya and Heliopan filters are all multicoated.

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Well, I said 'plastic' because he said plastic, and 'plastic' is often the word people say for a large category of 'plasticy' things...

I don't think the material is a gel like Wratten filters, It could be polyester.

Tiffen has a process they call ColorCore, which I think refers to this process of using something 'plasticy' in the center, between two layers of clear glass.

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