Digital Camera Color Conversion Filters

When working with a digital camera we can photograph with different types of light because we can change the color sensitivity of the camera. On the other hand, when using color film we know that it only provides color balance for a determined type of light. Continuous spectrum lights differ there proportions of red and blue (extreme zones of the spectrum) regarding green (central zone), and therefore it is possible to convert a light temperature to another superior or inferior temperature (biased to the intensity). To modify the color temperature it is only necessary to use filters of two colors: one, of an orange color or amber (85 series) to reduce , and another blue (80 series) to increase it. If, for example, we sue tungsten lighting with daylight to reestablish the color balance, it's necessary to put a blue 80 filter on the camera; on the contrary, if we go out of the studio with tungsten light film, we will need to lower the color temperature of daylight with an orange 85.

In the case of discontinuous spectrum lights, the necessary correction depends on the sources characteristics, and the filtering necessary (a test is usually necessary) can be expressed as a combination of CC color compensation filters. For example, if the available lighting is fluorescent tubes, with a spectrum usually abundant in green and deficient in red, we can counteract the green with a magenta CC30M, I.e., the excess of blue with a yellow filter CC20Y (30M + 20Y).