B&W Filter Selection

[Peter De Smidt]

Adam, have you tried a yellow/green filter? It cuts the sky without darkening foliage a ton.

[r.e.]

My last purchase from Adorama was shipped from that NJ warehouse.

Small clarification... B&H and Adorama both have warehouses in New Jersey. They don't share one. B&H's warehouse used to be in Brooklyn, but they moved it to New Jersey a few years ago.

[BrianShaw]

Small clarification... B&H and Adorama both have warehouses in New Jersey. They don't share one. B&H's warehouse used to be in Brooklyn, but they moved it to New Jersey a few years ago.

Correct. I looked on Goggle Earth and that area has TONS of warehouses.. many, many internet sales folks ship from there. The other place with lots and lots of warehouses is Hebron KY, just across the river from Cincinnati.

EDIT.. ahh... Adam bought from Adorama; you showed an ad from B&H... I missed that detail. Sorry if I confused anyone.

[AdamD]

If the Adorama photograph shows what you are getting, it looks like Adorama is selling the standard version of the filter at the price that European vendors want for the SH-PMC version. In 82mm, the SH-PMC version sells in Europe for about US$35 more than the standard version, ex-VAT. I think that if what Adorama is selling is the SH-PMC version, the description would say so. As far as I can tell, U.S. resellers don't even offer the SH-PMC version as an option, although they do for a number of other Heliopan filters.

Given the history of the Mac Group on prices, this does not surprise me. The Mac Group was also the distributor for Mamiya film cameras. When I purchased a Mamiya 7II, I discovered that I could purchase a return air ticket to Europe, and spend a couple of nights in a decent hotel, for the difference in the European and U.S. price. Indeed, I purchased my Mamiya 7II from Robert White in the U.K. and had them ship it to New York. Saved a lot of money.

This photo shows the ring on the SH-PMC version of Heliopan's #22 orange filter. I can't download the interactive version of the photo, which let's one "travel" around the ring, but the words "Made in Germany" come right after the code SH-PMC:

Attachment 218475


This is the Adorama photo. It matches European vendor site photos of the standard version. If you go to Adorama's site and "travel" around the photo, the rim does not contain the code SH-PMC:

Attachment 218476

I'm considering the purchase of this filter and a red #25, which raises the same issue, myself. B&H and Adorama are local to me. Before buying from either of them, I will want to know exactly what they are selling. The failure to use Heliopan's own SKUs, and the photos above, don't give me a lot of confidence in what's going on here. This may be a situation where I choose to use a vendor from elsewhere, as I did last year when I purchased Heliopan's UV/IR Cut. It helps that vendors from elsewhere also tend to have Heliopan filters in stock, or can get them with a short wait. I'm not big on catering to the Mac Group's arrogance as a distributor.

I have the Red #25 from B&H if you want I'll photo the crap out of it for. Just need to find a camera somewhere around here....

[AdamD]

And no I have not tried a yellow/green. I should as I shoot a lot of green colors in the desert and I think that would be helpful.

I was thinking about a straight up green #11. But I looked on Adorama and they show an #11 as yellow/green. Is that right?

[AdamD]

Ok forget that.....I just bought a used Tiffen #11 on ebay.

I still think I'll want an 82mm #15 or #16, but if this is my biggest problem I'm doing pretty good.

I really need the summer to be over so I can shoot again!!!!

[r.e.]

I have the Red #25 from B&H if you want I'll photo the crap out of it for. Just need to find a camera somewhere around here....

Thanks. B&H wants $120 for the #25, same as the #22. No need for a photo. I'd just like to know whether the filter it's selling has SH-PMC written on the ring or not. If it doesn't, it makes more financial sense for me to order from Europe, and I'd have the option of the SH-PMC filter if I want it.

I've asked the European dealer that I use to tell me what its inventory is, and I should get an answer when they open in the morning.

[Drew Wiley]

I'm unaware of any Heliopan multicoated b&w contrast filters. There make a number multicoated skylight, UV, and clear filters for color photography or general lens protection. And B&W, not Heliopan, once offered two versions of 22 orange, single-coat vs multicoated. Is that the source of the confusion? No big deal. You want a lens shade regardless.

Now as far as Southwestern desert usage goes, you ideally want along a fairly strong green because you'll likely encounter a lot of reddish sandstone and clay color that will look too light and paste-like in tone if you use a yellow, orange, or red filter. An 11 or X0 light yellow-green still contains too much yellow, though might be useful for other kinds of shots. But you'll need to go to either Hoya X1 or Tiffen 58 for a medium dark green filter.

[r.e.]

I'm unaware of any Heliopan multicoated b&w contrast filters. There are some multicoated skylight, UV, and clear filters. And B&W made two versions of 22, single-coat vs multicoated. Is that the source of confusion?

What confusion? I've already posted a photo of a Heliopan SH-PMC #22 Orange in post #18. The photo is from a European dealer site. European dealers sell standard and SH-PMC versions of these filters at significantly different prices. Whatever B&H and Adorama are selling, the price is the same as the European price, ex-VAT, of the SH-PMC version. If the photo on Adorama's site accurately shows what it's selling, it's selling the standard version at the much higher SH-PMC price.

[Drew Wiley]

First of all, Heliopan's official US marketing website doesn't list any such thing. If it's on the German site, I can't find it. Nor does any dealer here offer them. And in the linked example of one, it's ridiculously labeled as a "digital" filter; but some Japanese manufacturers are doing the same marketing nonsense. So could you please be more specific about likely Euro dealers who actually carry these and are willing to ship small items to the US ? - just for general forum info. I'm not personally worried about it.