I'm about to buy a few filters (uv, red yellow) for my Schneider Apo lenses.
I am mostly looking at B+W filters.
The price difference between the uncoated and coated (MRC) is $30 each.
Is this something I am going to see a difference in?
Also, will I see a difference between Hoya and B+W ?
For what it's worth, the b+w rings are thinner which means less likely to vignette if you stack them and they take up less space when stacked for storage. I don't use a uv filter unless i'm shooting near salt spray or mist. I remove it before shooting so i wouldn't worry about multicoating on that one. I don't think you'll notice the difference in multicoated vs not in the others. I've seen plenty of great prints made from negs filtered with gel filters in front of and behind the lens and those aren't multicoated. Keep sun and reflections off the lens and you'll be fine. As for hoya and b+w quality i think the glass is the same. I did, however get a hoya filter with a defect in it once. I'm sure someone's gonna disagree with everything i've just said.
vinny
I have B+W, Tiffen, and Hoya filters, some of them in duplicate colors (numbers), darned if I can tell which photo was made with which filter. In addition, I have uncoated, single coated, and multicoated filters. I don't think I could tell the difference between a photo made with any of them.
Honestly, I've yet to see an empirical test showing the differences between both types of filters - yet anything I use is multicoated. If anyone knows of one - please let us know - I think we'd all love to see what the differences are.Originally Posted by davidb
I agree with David. I own more round glass filters for black and white photography in more different sizes, colors, brands, and types than I care to count but at least 30 or more. Some are B+W, some are Tiffen, some are Hoya, I think one is a Heliopan. There is no way I could begin to look at my photographs and tell which brand was used for which photograph and I'd be very surprised if a side by side comparison of otherwise identical photographs made with different brands or different coatings would show any consistent difference.
The only comparison of different filter brands and types that I recall seeing was by Joe Englander in the final issue of "Camera and Darkroom" magazine about 12 years ago. He compared different polarizers when used with color film and showed that different brands produced slightly different color casts. Not that one was necessarily better than another, just that they looked slightly different IIRC.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
Be careful who you buy your filters from. In the last few years, I've gotten some suspicious ones, and one totally wothless one. I've gotten a Hoya, I believe, that was made in the Philipines. I thought that was pretty odd. Seems to be OK, though. Cheap. I got a UV filter that was so bad, it was impossible to get a sharp picture with it. I almost returned a new 500.00 lens because of that thing. Other than that, I can't tell a bit of difference in what any of them turn out.
Well, I am about to buy the Super HMC UV filters from Freestyle.
B+W and I think Heliopan use brass instead of aluminum; so there is less chance of the ring becomming stuck. However, when they do get stuck it is usually not a problem to free them.
I have both brands and have never seen a difference in image quality.
B+W and Heliopan use Schott glass. I am not sure of the glass used by Formatt. Hoya, Tiffen, etc. do not use Schott glass. I too like the brass rings, though they are heavier than the aluminum. All of my step up rings are Heliopan with one exception of a B+W. For my Cokin P system my filter rings are the Cokin.
I use B+W or Heliopan for my glass filters with the exception of my Singh-Ray Warm and LB Warm Polarizing Filters and Singh-Ray Enhancing Filters. All my resin filters are Singh-Ray or Lee.
Rich
Brass is a theoretically a superior metal for use on filter rings. In practice I have not had real problems with aluminum rings sticking except for one situation. I carry my filters stacked with metal caps on both ends. In winter cold sometimes my B+W (brass ring) and other filters (aluminum ring) seem to get stuck together. I assume it is because they contract differently. Apparently the slight difference can cause a bit of a problem. This is easily solved by making sure that you have extra rubber bands in your pack.
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