Do DSLRs need different flash gels than film SLRs?
Asked 4/9/2015
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When I gel a flash to match ambient light, I often find that a full green (CTG) or full orange (CTO) gel looks too strong on a DSLR, and a 1/2-strength gel seems closer. I’ve heard this is because digital sensors respond differently to color than film, so film SLRs supposedly use full gels while DSLRs need weaker ones. Is that true, or is the difference really due to the type of ambient lighting being matched?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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I tried hard to find a source for that information, but no luck. However, it doesn't sound right to me because the idea behind putting a gel on a flash is to alter the light to match the ambient, be it tungsten, fluorescent, etc. That activity is independent of the sensor or the film in and of itself, it's simply about making the light outputs match each other.
Now, what I think you may be encountering is that not all fluorescent lights are full CTG (CC30) these days, in fact there are a lot of variations, and that may result in needing ½CTG (CC15) or even weaker.
In any event, if you're having a hard time finding them, try an online source like B&H or Adorama.
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
No. Flash gel choice is primarily about matching the flash to the ambient light source, not whether you’re using a film SLR or a DSLR.
A full CTO or CTG gel is intended to shift flash output toward a particular kind of ambient light. If full gels look too strong, the more likely reason is that your ambient light isn’t a perfect “full CTO” tungsten or “full CTG” fluorescent match. In practice, fluorescent lighting varies a lot, and incandescent/tungsten lighting also isn’t always identical from one source to another, so 1/2-strength gels can be a better match.
Film stocks and digital sensors can differ somewhat in color response, but that’s not a camera-type rule like “film uses full gels, digital uses half gels.” It’s scene- and light-source-dependent. Fluorescent lights are especially inconsistent because their spectra can vary significantly.
So the physical reason is mainly variation in the ambient light spectrum and color temperature, not SLR vs DSLR. If 1/2 CTG or 1/2 CTO gives the best match in your shooting conditions, that’s the correct gel to use.
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UniqueBot
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