Tiffen 52mm 25 Filter (Red)

Perfect filter, made well.

I love Tiffen because they're WAY less expensive than brands like B+W or Lee, but I've never actually seen any optical issues when using their filters. If I'm shooting black & white, I generally carry one of these Red 25s, a Yellow 8, and sometimes an Orange 16 and/or some light NDs (1, 2, and 3 stops). All of those filters that I have are Tiffen. Just a few weeks ago I used this filter when photographing a waterfall. It got me a nice long shutter speed (it cuts 3 stops), and really made the granite rocks in the photo pop.

Tiffen has always meant quality photo products and this filter is no different. This enhances contrast for B&W shooting, makes a clearly notable difference.

The 62mm Tiffen 62mm 25 Filter (Red) has been in my arsenal along with my Tiffen 62mm Circular Polarizer. What this essentially does to you photograph is when you apply this filter onto your lens and take a picture of a subject, the outcome of the picture will be in red color. What shines the most is that when you import the red picture into a photo editing software, there is a setting depending on the application you are using where you can convert the red image into a Black and White Photo. That is what this filter does. All I can say is that using this filter and editing the photos, you can see more of the Blacks, Whites and Grays than what you usually get when you use the Black and White setting on your camera's built-in filter. Comparing the Camera's built-in filter and the edited photo of the Red filter used, the you can tell the difference. The clarity that filter brings out looked extremely sharp and darks look dark. I wouldn't say that the ease of use is easy as there are steps required to achieve the results when compared to a few button press from the camera setting to change the filter to black and White, however, it is really rewarding once you see the final result of the photographs you take with this lens on. The quality is just what you typically get for Tiffen filters, the knurling is small so grip me be questionable depending on size of hands, Screwing the filter in is easy but unscrewing is challenging as do most filters out there in the market. I wouldn't buy this if you don't really know how to use this. However, if you are into experimental photography just like I am, you would appreciate the level of fun factor in taking what is essentially a muted color and not knowing what the result would become once its been processed in the software; think inverted colors combined film like cameras, where you see a photo but colors look weird in the first place and yet it takes time to process into a result you be either surprised or not.

Combine this filter with an IR sensitive film like SFX 200 and shoot scenes or subjects in direct sunlight for a unique look: skin glows, skies darken a bit, sunlit foliage brightens up slightly, my blue eyes turned eerily dark, lots of neat effects. It still lets through plenty of visible light, so the photos aren’t too alien or otherworldly, but still unique and contrasty. Meter about three stops over with a handheld meter. If you want the alien look of white foliage and dark skies you’ll need a more specialized IR filter than this.

When I first got this I noticed a bunch of swirl marks on it that I wasn't able to get off. I ended up sending it back for a replacement but the replacement had the same issue. What I did next made the whole difference to the poor reviews seen on this. I contacted Tiffen, they had me send it to them at which they sent me a new one without defect. The guy I talked to told me this happens when the lenses get too hot such as being stuck in a shipping container in very hot conditions. It is wrong for the guy to sell these defective items but at least if you get a bad one definitely contact Tiffen as they will help you.

The filter appears to be high quality but Tiffen need to improve packaging and quality control. The filter I received was far from clean and needed some cleaning before use. Also, the lens came in a container the must be used for multiple different size filters. It was just floating around inside without any padding or protection to prevent damage. Of all the different brands of filters I’ve purchased, this was definitely packaged extremely poorly. I’m almost thinking this may have been a returned filter because I can’t imagine any manufacturer shipping a new product out that the lens was so dirty, it wasn’t properly protected or secured in the lens case and you could just hear it moving side to side in the container as I was trying to open it. Also, the lens container wasn’t wrapped or sealed in any way so I’m thinking I was sold a returned item but I paid for a new item. I should return but I need to use it tomorrow and I’m at least happy it wasn’t damaged and I was able to remove the haze and dust from both sides of the element. I’m giving it 3 stars because the cleaned item seems like a 5 star filter but the condition it was in upon arrival was not what I would call new.

I use this to enhance the contrast of Black and White photographs. It has nice results when there are interesting cloud formations in the sky. Orange, green and yellow may also be used, but I find the red most effective and don't like carrying a lot of filters with me. It's inexpensive, and if you like monochrome photography, it belongs in your camera bag. If you visit the websites of any of the major filter makers, they generally show a with/without comparison of all their filters.