coated or uncoated nd filter

[mitch brown]

i am trying to find a 10 stop 82mm nd filter and so far all i can find is a B&W 10 stop that is uncoated. all my len's are multi-coated so does the lack of coating matter? i believe that the signh ray and the lee big stopper are uncoated also.
mitch

[Two23]

I always buy coated. But then, I shoot with flash a lot and get some really bad ghosting if the filters aren't coated.


Kent in SD

[DanK]

I'm sure someone with more knowledge in/on filters will chime in here....but from what I understand...the coated filter will be a slight improvement over uncoated in regards to increased light transmission...though adding any additional surfaces (coated or uncoated) will have some effect, usually a slight decrease in contrast, even with mc lenses.

Cheers,
Dan

[Bob Salomon]

Heliopan makes one

[Bob Salomon]

"usually a slight decrease in contrast,"
No, coatings increase contrast as they reduce flare, as long as both sides have the same coating and not just one side.

[DanK]

"usually a slight decrease in contrast,"
No, coatings increase contrast as they reduce flare, as long as both sides have the same coating and not just one side.

Thanks Bob, I thought adding any filter in the light path would reduce contrast or image quality in some form - and that was the trade off for whatever the desired effect of the particular filter is.

Cheers,
Dan

[Bob Salomon]

Thanks Bob, I thought adding any filter in the light path would reduce contrast or image quality in some form - and that was the trade off for whatever the desired effect of the particular filter is.

Cheers,
Dan

More so with uncoated. Les so with high end multi coated ones, more so with filters that are not truly plane parallel, less so with ones that are.

Really good, MC modern filters, will have very little, if any, detrimental effect on a lens and then, if so, only on really long focal length lenses. Much longer focal lengths then are available for LF.