the LB series filters from singh-ray... a review
The LB Filter Series
As 2005 draws to a close, a striking advance in photographic filters is about to be introduced; a new series of photographic filters that are lighter and brighter. That's what the "LB" means; Lighter and Brighter. 
I've had the opportunity to work extensively over the better part of this year with these new filters from Singh-Ray and they are fantastic.
Designed for photographers with cropped and dim viewfinders, these filters allow sixty-six percent more light than the pervious versions, which translates to two thirds of a stop. If you expose the LB and it's predecessor to light, the remarkable difference is immediately apparent to the naked eye. There is also no lose of effectiveness or color fidelity from their pervious versions. Let's not forget that when you can see more clearly though the viewfinder, so can your camera! This means that all the electronics can do their job! The light meter reads much better without a big filter factor. So does the auto focus. All functions are improved and you can compose more easily as well!
Even with a full frame bright viewfinder the benefits are many. As in all filters, the first test is to see if I can see the filter. A filter that leaves a color cast or "footprint" as like to call it, is not a filter that I'm going to use. A filter that degrades the image in any way is also not going to be of consideration either. Both of these issues were the deciding factors in my choice of Singh-Ray filters many years ago.
The Singh-Ray LB series are replacements for three of their very successful and useful filters. I'll take them one by one and in the order that I tested them. There was a considerable time lapse between filters and this gave me a good opportunity to learn each one without making a judgment or comparison prematurely.
Color Intensifier LB
Color intensifiers have a long and sorted history with me. Starting from a very inexpensive version, I quickly came to appreciate the benefits. Landscape photography deals with earth tones. These are usually subtle in nature and can become quite muted. An intensifier was a solution in a lot of cases. The red spectrum was a natural for the filter but the sky wasn't! The color cast in some cases, or shift, was just not acceptable.
The frame on the left shows an exposure for the sky. This left the foreground muted and under exposed. In the frame on the left I added the Color Intensifier and then a 5 stop soft transition neutral density filter.
The answer was a better optic. Yes, certainly more costly but I understood that a filter that degraded or otherwise made my image un useable one, was even more costly! The original color intensifier from Singh-Ray was a big step in the right direction. I have never liked the color rendition of a bright sky and would rarely use the filter if this situation was present. This color intensifier did accentuate both cool and warm colors while maintaining the realism that I sought and increased saturation without affecting neutral shades. This was most important. There was still a price to be paid in filter factor though.
Snap, crackle and pop is the way I've heard this LB filter described in many places. While not a breakfast cereal, I think some of this is applicable to the LB color intensifier. I first and foremost noticed the boost in intensity in the greens. This is one of the most difficult areas of the landscape for me to capture. It's one of the most difficult to manipulate in post processing as well. The greens jumped at me! Where you would most expect to see the improvement, I did. That would be the browns and reds. The best was yet to come however. A bright blue sky was simply deeper blue! No color cast, And .....the whites were white!
I'm not a technical person and I couldn't begin to tell you what it is exactly that is different from the previous versions. I shot frames using both the previous and new LB. I can tell you what I see, in the hope that this is the bottom line anyway. The new LB color intensifier has a cooler feel. It renders the color more natural and life like. The intensified color gives more definition and detail and adds an element of depth that was not present before.
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Notice that the snow is still white in the sunlight while the shadows have the natural blue reflected light. The ColorCombo filter to warm those shadows would have been the next step. All Images above made with the color intensifier. |
Now for the even better news, the filter has only a one third to two thirds f/stop filter factor! I see it as a free lunch! If there is a drawback to using this filter I've yet to find it. I've found that in post processing I can limit or add to its effect with use of the white balance if shot in Raw. I have never left any filter permanently on a lens, it doesn't make sense to me, but this one would be it if I were to reconsidered the issue. I've gotten to the point where I remove the filter for a comparison. That's a giant leap in strategy for me!
LB Warming Polarizer Plus
Why a warming polarizer? The uses for a polarizer are many. Cutting glare has always been the main reason I reach for mine. Cutting haze is the second and increasing contrast would be a third. This filter is the most used by far of any I have. After clearing the haze and glare and increasing the contrast you are usually left with deep dark shadows. Shadows in natures light are cold because they are the result of the cool blue reflected light of the sky. Reflected light is why I use a polarizer in the first place. In film it was most important to "warm" that cold light. A warming filter was used for this purpose. A warming filter built in is a natural! It's the same digitally. I don't argue that you can do this in post processing but my results always seem to move things globally. My preference is to get it more to my liking in the field and I think this filter does just that.
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Approaching a rapid deep in the Grand Canyon, I was able to hand hold with the Warming Polarizer Plus. The glare was cut and the shadows filled with a warm hue. The high shutter speed made possible by the 2/3 stop gained with this filter. |
The downside has always been that a polarizing filter will eat up one and half to two and a half f/stops of light in the process. This has always been a major concern when a fast shutter speed was needed. When the animal moved, I removed the polarizer! If you needed depth of field and stopped the lens down it got even worse. If you were using a warming polarizer it got even worse still. Now with the LB warming polarizer plus I have the advantage of a warming filter with a little less filter factor than that of my standard polarizer.
LB ColorCombo Polarizer
The next logical step would be to combine the two preceding filters into one very light and bright filter that had all of the qualities of the other two. Well, they did just that. And they did it well to boot! If the warming polarizer plus is the perfect compliment to a regular polarizer, then adding the color intensifier to the 
warming polarizer plus is a no brainer! Cut haze and glare AND add that natural boost of color. It's also an LB so the filter factor is only a total of about one and two thirds f/stops. Having the combo all in one also means that you don't have to stack filters and might avoid the dreaded vignette that may occur with wider lenses. The entire LB series comes in all sizes and the ring mounts can be ordered in a slim version that they call "wide" and the regular size mount as well.
All the benefits of the Warming Polarizer Plus and the color intensifier. The polarizer allowed a view into the water while still holding the reflection. The color intensified throughout while the added warmth is appreciated in the shadow of the water.
Conclusion
A definite yes!
I use these new filters with confidence. The color intensifier has changed the way I work and see. With it's filter factor of little consequence, I can, and do use it almost continuously. The Warming Polarizer Plus is so bright that I now use it instead of my regular polarizer. I have the benefit of the warming filter and actually more light! The ColorCombo Plus is simply a smashing combination! I use to get there by stacking the warming polarizer and the color intensifier, now I just go to the combo.
Which one is right for you? All of them! Thinking it through, the intensifier can be used all the time without drawback. The warming polarizer can be hand held in situations that you might not be able to use a regular polarizer. The two can be stacked but if you are like me and use graduated neutral density filters in addition, the stack can cause problems. If you have only the combo you will always have to deal with the filter factor even if you want only the effect of the color intensifier. So get them all, or as many as your budget will allow. You'll use them if you have them. Your light box and/or monitor will glow!
Be sure to see these filters, and others, demonstrated in the coming DVD issue of
Steve Kossack Photographing the Great American Landscape.
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