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davidb
21-Oct-2007, 17:26
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 ?

vinny
21-Oct-2007, 18:30
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

David Karp
21-Oct-2007, 21:49
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.

Ben Chase
22-Oct-2007, 01:54
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 ?

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.

Brian Ellis
22-Oct-2007, 11:06
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.

Glenn Thoreson
22-Oct-2007, 12:01
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.

davidb
22-Oct-2007, 12:06
Well, I am about to buy the Super HMC UV filters from Freestyle.

Ron Marshall
22-Oct-2007, 12:10
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.

naturephoto1
22-Oct-2007, 12:16
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

David Karp
22-Oct-2007, 13:41
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.

Sal Santamaura
22-Oct-2007, 14:23
B+W and I think Heliopan use brass instead of aluminum; so there is less chance of the ring becomming stuck...Ignoring questions of optical quality, this is the primary reason to select filters from those two manufacturers -- avoidance of aluminum-to-aluminum galling. I once had an aluminum filter ring become permanently fixed to a lens and decided never to repeat the experience.

Another factor to consider is where the glass is set within the ring. Some Apo-Sironar lenses (and, I'm told, some newer Schneider lenses) have very bulbous front elements. My 135mm Apo-Sironar N is one of them. The only filter that can be screwed on all the way without having its glass collide with the lens' glass is a Heliopan, since that ring places its filter glass farther forward than does the equvalent B+W. I'd suggest checking each lens very carefully for front element protuberance before selecting a filter.

Bob Salomon
22-Oct-2007, 15:25
Since you asked about the coatings:

Heliopan's SH-PMC coating (not the older PMC version) passes 99.9% of the light that hits the filter to the image plane so their is considerably less flare then most other coatings. This results in increased contrast, better apparent sharpness and greater color saturation. The SH-PMC coating has 8 layers on each side and the top layer on each side repels dust and water so they are very easy to keep clean and to clean. Naturally these are hard coatings, not soft or steamed on coatings. All Heliopan glass filters are ground plane parallel so they will not effect resolution with longer focal length lenses.

naturephoto1
22-Oct-2007, 15:29
I have to agree with Bob. The new Heliopan SH-PMC are the nicest filters that I have ever used.

Rich

davidb
22-Oct-2007, 15:30
And since you brought it up, how much is a Heliopan UV filter with the SH_PMC coating?

naturephoto1
22-Oct-2007, 15:35
David,

Price is size dependent. As an example a 55mm Heliopan SH-PMC at B&H Photo is $52.95.

Rich