Can I replicate Ray-Ban G-15/B-15 sunglass color with a camera lens filter?
Asked 6/3/2016
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2 answers
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I like the look I get when photographing through Ray-Ban sunglasses: greens become richer, the sky darkens, reds are muted, and exposure often drops a bit in a way I like. I’d like to know whether this can be matched with a camera filter.
Specifically:
- What are the Ray-Ban green/brown lens types called?
- Is there a photographic filter that closely matches that color effect?
- If not, can I make a DIY filter from sunglass lenses or an optician’s blank?
- Would the curvature of sunglass lenses cause image distortion, or is surface parallelism the important factor?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
11
The Ray-Ban B-15 created for the US Air Force. These are brownish and block 100% of all UV rays and only 15% of the remaining visual rays.
The most popular for general use is the Ray-Ban G-15, a green + gray pigment. The Ray-Ban B15 XLT are also green + brown but with lower density.
The key fact for a filter to be distortion free is both surfaces are parallel. The fact that sunglasses have a curved figure is moot if they are high quality meaning parallel surfaces.
I know of no photographic filter that matches the Ray-Ban G-15. Nothing prevents you from buying a blank from a local optometrist and making a mount. Curved shape OK.
The key ingredient of the G-15 is UV absorption. Camera filters are HF-3, HF-4 and HF-5 made for aerial photography. The HF-3 is the primary UV for this work. It is often combined such as HF-3 + HF-5 depending on altitude and amount of haze. These were made by Kodak. The density of the G-15 to visible light is moot as the automation or the photographer will adjust the aperture of the camera to compensate.
Originally by user44949. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user44949
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Ray-Ban’s common tints are generally referred to as G-15 (green/gray) and B-15 (brownish); B-15 XLT is a related lower-density variant. Based on the answers, there is no well-known standard photographic filter that directly matches the Ray-Ban G-15 look.
A DIY approach is possible. The main optical concern is not the curve itself, but whether the two lens surfaces are parallel. If the sunglass lens or optical blank is well made and the surfaces are parallel, curvature alone should not cause significant distortion. An optometrist may be able to supply a blank that you could mount in an empty filter ring.
Part of the effect may also come from UV absorption, and if your sunglasses are polarized, that can add another look that’s difficult to reproduce in post-processing. Some photographic filters such as green-enhancing filters, UV-related aerial filters, or a polarizer may produce parts of the effect, but not necessarily an exact match to Ray-Ban G-15.
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