Brands Guides About
B+W 70514 39mm #022 Medium Yellow Filter — main product image
B+W

B+W 70514 39mm #022 Medium Yellow Filter

★★★★★5.0 (5 reviews)

Separate foliage tones, deepen skies, and reduce skin blemishes in a single 39mm B+W optical glass filter built to last a career.

Check availability
Affiliate Disclosure: Studio Supplies may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you. This helps support our editorial team.

Notice a mistake? Let Us Know

Overview

The B+W #022 Medium Yellow filter is an optical glass screw-in filter designed to improve tonal rendering in black-and-white photography and add subtle warmth in color work. In monochrome applications, the Medium Yellow #8 — one of the foundational B&W contrast filters — absorbs blue light and partially absorbs cyan, which darkens blue skies and lightens warm tones like foliage and skin. The practical result is improved sky-cloud separation and more naturally differentiated green tones without the heavy-handed sky darkening that orange or red filters produce. It is the right filter when the goal is refinement of tonal relationships rather than dramatic contrast manipulation. In daylight portrait work, the yellow's blue absorption softens surface skin texture and reduces the visual emphasis on minor blemishes — a long-established technique in both film portraiture and location work.

The 39mm thread size places this filter specifically in the world of classic compact cameras and legacy lenses — most notably the 39mm M39 Leica thread mount common on Barnack-era cameras and certain Voigtländer and Cosina lenses. B+W manufactures this filter in optical glass with dyed-in-glass color rather than a coating or resin element, which is the construction choice that separates long-term workhorses from disposable optics. The dye is integrated into the glass substrate, making it immune to delamination, coating wear, and the fading that affects resin filters after extended UV exposure. For photographers invested in compact film systems or legacy glass who want to control tonal rendering at the lens rather than in post, the #022 is a reliable and optically transparent tool that earns its place in a filter wallet.

Specifications

Brand
B+W
Model
70514
Filter Thread
39mm
Filter Type
Medium Yellow #8 (#022)
Construction
Optical glass, dyed-in-glass color
Recommended Use
Landscape, foliage, daylight portraits
Film Type
Color and black-and-white

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • Optical glass construction with dyed-in-the-glass color means the yellow filtration is permanent, scratch-resistant, and will not fade over years of use — unlike coated or resin filters.
  • 39mm format serves Leica M-mount and other classic compact lens systems where few quality filter options exist at this thread diameter.
  • Medium Yellow #8 density occupies the most versatile position in the yellow filter range — noticeable tonal improvement in B&W without the heavy contrast shift of orange or red filtration.
  • Dual-use capability across daylight portrait and landscape photography extends the filter's value without requiring a dedicated filter per application.
  • B+W's quality control and optical precision maintain image sharpness and minimize color fringing at filter edges.

👎 Cons

  • 39mm is a niche thread diameter — this filter will not fit modern APS-C or full-frame lens lineups without step-down rings, which can introduce vignetting at wide angles.
  • In digital color photography, the yellow cast requires either intentional use as a warming effect or correction in post-processing — it is not a neutral filter and affects the entire frame uniformly.
  • The medium yellow density produces subtle effects in B&W; photographers seeking strong sky drama or deep tonal separation will find orange (#040) or red filters more impactful.
  • No filter case or pouch is included, requiring separate storage to protect the glass edges and face from contact damage.

Frequently Asked Questions

In color photography, a medium yellow filter introduces a warm yellow cast across the entire frame. Its primary on-camera effect is to subtly warm skin tones and slightly differentiate green foliage tones. Unlike black-and-white photography, where its tonal separation effects are strong, the color impact in digital color shooting is modest and can be replicated in post — making this filter most valuable on film or as a subtle in-camera correction.
In black-and-white photography, the yellow filter darkens blue skies relative to white clouds, increasing sky drama and tonal separation. It also lightens yellow and green tones, making foliage appear brighter against darker blue skies. A medium yellow achieves this more subtly than an orange or red filter — it improves rendering without the extreme contrast of heavier filtration.
A medium yellow filter absorbs some of the blue light that emphasizes skin imperfections and surface irregularities. The practical result in both film and digital capture is a slight smoothing of skin texture — minor blemishes become less visible — without altering the subject's overall coloration as aggressively as a red or orange filter would.
The B+W 70514 is a 39mm screw-in filter. The 39mm thread is a smaller-format size used on compact film cameras and certain legacy lenses — including classic Leica M-mount lenses like the 50mm Summicron. Verify your lens's front thread diameter before ordering.
B+W filters use optical glass in their standard line. The #022 is a dyed glass filter — the color is in the glass itself, not a coating, which provides greater durability and resistance to scratching or fading compared to dyed resin alternatives.

Related Products