>> On Sat, 12 Sep 1998 18:09:33 -0400, Dan
>> wrote:

>> >Is it necessary to use both a polarizer and a red filter w/ black and
>> >whitw film? DO they do the same thing???

>Neuman-Ruether wrote:

>> No, and no...
>> Most of the time, NO filter (other than a UV for protection...;-)
>> is just fine with B&W film. A medium yellow is often recommended,
>> but I find it a waste of good film speed under most conditions.
>> A red will very noticeably darken a clear blue sky. A polarizer
>> can noticeably darken a sky mostly around 90 degrees away from
>> the sun - but it will also alter reflections from other items
>> in the photograph. The two can be combined for maximum darkening
>> of the sky if conditions are right. With B&W infrared film,
>> a filter on the yellow-orange-red end is useful for cutting out
>> the other end of the spectrum to which IR film is also sensitive.

On Sun, 13 Sep 1998 11:31:53 -0500, Mark Bergman wrote:

>I didn't think I would ever disagree with you but I won't shoot B&W
>without a dark yellow filter on the lens. I like orange better but the AF
>doesn;t. I wouldn't go outside without the red filter in my bag.
>
>Now there is occasions when a contrast filter will do nothing for you and
>I take it off. but it really depends on what your shooting. Since 80% of
>what I shoot includes skies I can't live without a filter, also great to
>cuts through humidity or dusty days (common enough in Nebraska). I rarely
>use a polarizer with B&W but again use it a lot with color.

Ah, but we don't disagree...;-) I said "medium yellow", which in
these parts (Eastern US) is truly useless... (a dark yellow is
nearly so, but when skies are clear (FAR less common here than
there in Nebraska... [I did mention "most conditions"...;-]).
"Clear skies", and "in the Western US", are definitely conditions
that warrant the use of filters, even weak ones, with B&W film...
As to humidity and dust haze cutting, I recommend careful
side-by-side test exposures, with the camera controls for the
colored filter exposure set by using the filter factor rather
than the camera meter reading (to avoid exposure error due to the
meter's color error...).